| Description: |
Lloyd M. Jones (WSBA No. 18949, admitted 1989), of Seattle, has been disbarred by order of the Supreme Court approving a stipulation, effective May 8, 2002. The discipline is based upon his conduct involving dishonesty, fraud, and conduct prejudicial to the administration of justice between 1995 and 2001.
Mr. Jones and Ms. M met in 1995. In March 1998, Ms. M sold two condominiums for $254,000, and shortly thereafter purchased a duplex for $253,000 jointly in Ms. M’s and Mr. Jones’ names. In March 2000, Ms. M quit-claimed the duplex to Mr. Jones.
Between January 1995 and April 2001, checks payable to Mr. Jones totaling over $41,000 were written on Ms. M’s bank account. Mr. Jones completed credit-card applications for Ms. M, and requested additional cards in his name. The cards were used for personal expenses.
In September 2000, Ms. M’s son filed a petition asking for a guardian for his mother’s person and estate because she suffered from blindness, short-term memory loss, and had demonstrated inability to care for herself and her affairs. In December, Ms. M executed a will, leaving all her property to Mr. Jones. On December 28, the court appointed a guardian ad litem, who interviewed Ms. M on February 5, 2001.
On February 12, Ms. M and Mr. Jones were married. Several months later, Ms. M did not understand that she was married to Mr. Jones. Mr. Jones stipulated that he married Ms. M to circumvent the guardianship process. The court subsequently invalidated this marriage. On February 20, 2001, the guardian ad litem recommended that a neutral third party be appointed guardian for Ms. M’s person and estate; Partners in Care was appointed on March 6, 2001.
The order appointing a guardian also ordered Mr. Jones to disclose to the guardian, within 60 days, all transactions on behalf of or with Ms. M, and provide documentation. Mr. Jones did not disclose the transactions or provide documentation, and on May 24, 2001, the court entered an order assessing sanctions against Mr. Jones for failure to comply, and requiring him to provide the documents in three weeks. On June 19, Mr. Jones provided the guardian with some documents and signed releases for records from his bank accounts. On June 22, the court entered an order finding Mr. Jones’s compliance was de minimus, and that he was attempting to hinder the guardian. The guardian and Mr. Jones subsequently agreed to a settlement approved by the court, in which Mr. Jones quit-claimed his interest in the duplex to Ms. M, agreed to entry of a judgment of $99,300, and permitted the guardian to obtain the remaining funds in a bank account in Mr. Jones’s name. At the time her property was transferred to Mr. Jones, Ms. M was not competent to agree to the transfers or to understand it.
Mr. Jones’s conduct violated RPCs 8.4(b), prohibiting lawyers from engaging in criminal acts that reflect adversely on lawyers’ honesty or trustworthiness; 8.4(c), prohibiting lawyers from engaging in acts involving dishonesty, fraud, deceit or misrepresentation; and 8.4(d), prohibiting lawyers from engaging in conduct prejudicial to the administration of justice.
Anne Seidel represented the Bar Association. Andrew O. Carrington represented Mr. Jones.
|