The Illinois Administrator has charged an attorney with conversion of entrusted funds in one matter and harassing opposing counsel in another

On or about March 15, 2018, Florida-based company Plain Bay Sales LLC (“Plain Bay Sales”), which was owned by Katie Prudent and her son Adam Prudent, sold a horse, Victorio 5, to William Gallaher (“Gallaher”), who was buying the horse for his daughter, Zume Gallaher. Around that same time, Gallaher wire-transferred $950,000 to Plain Bay in payment for the horse’s purchase..

Between March 15, 2018, and April 5, 2018, Gallaher notified Katie Prudent that he sought to cancel his purchase of Victorio 5 and asked for the return of the funds he had paid to purchase the horse. On behalf of Plain Bay Sales, Ms. Prudent refused to cancel the sale. Ms. Prudent then contacted Respondent, who she knew from his involvement in equestrian matters and Respondent and Katie Prudent agreed that Respondent would represent Plain Bay Sales in matters related to the disputed sale of Victorio 5 at a rate of $400 per hour. Respondent later sent invoices charging Plain Bay Sales for the legal services he claimed to have provided, and Ms. Prudent paid the amounts requested within a reasonable time after receiving the invoices.

Suit was filed by Florida co-counsel and it is alleged

On or about May 14, 2018, Respondent requested that Katie Prudent send him the $950,000 proceeds from the sale of Victorio 5, which Respondent agreed to hold pending resolution of the dispute. Respondent told Katie Prudent that he had opened an account at Belmont Bank & Trust in Illinois for the sole purpose of maintaining the proceeds from the sale of Victorio 5.

Editor's note: A bank named Belmont Bank & Trust seems an appropriate choice.

Between May 14, 2018 and May 15, 2019, pursuant to directives from Katie Prudent or Adam Prudent, Respondent disbursed a total of $654,512.64 from the proceeds of the sale of Victorio 5 from the Belmont Bank account ending in 3180. As of May 15, 2019, following the final authorized disbursement from Respondent’s Belmont Bank account ending in 3180, Respondent should have been holding $295,487.36 from the proceeds of the sale of Victorio 5, pending the receipt of further direction from Katie Prudent or Adam Prudent.

The complaint alleges that the bank account balance fell below $1,000 and that demands for the entrusted funds have not been satisfied.

He is further alleged to have harassed opposing counsel in unrelated civil litigation

On July 3, 2018, while Respondent and Ms. Caisman were involved in discussions regarding the production and use of documents relating to the Meister case, Respondent sent an email to Ms. Caisman stating, in part:

“Also based on what was produced to Hartford’s attorney, my request to place my communications that the 2014 chart should not be produced in the chart was ignored. Am I Glenn Close???”

On July 4, 2018, Respondent sent an email to Ms. Caisman stating: “For sure I have to keep my eyes on you to be sure I am not too badly over matched [sic].”

Ms. Caisman felt that the July 3 and 4, 2018, emails…were overly familiar and unprofessional, and she was uncomfortable with what she understood to be Respondent’s reference to Glenn Close’s role in the movie “Fatal Attraction,” in which Close’s character obsessively stalks and attempts to kill another character (played by Michael Douglas), with whom Close’s character had been romantically involved, at one point complaining that she resented being ignored by the Douglas character.

At a status conference

In the course of discussions about the content of the proposed order, Respondent told Ms. Caisman that he could (or would) serve her with documents at her home address, which Respondent orally stated in open court by specific street name and number. Ms. Caisman told Respondent that his statement was unwelcome and that it made her uncomfortable, and asked Respondent how he knew her home address since she had not used it in connection with the Meister case, the home address was not available on her firm’s website, and she carefully guarded her privacy. Respondent did not provide an explanation for how he had obtained Ms. Caisman’s home address.

Opposing counsel filed a bar complaint after seeking advice of counsel.

Then, allegedly, at a deposition in the civil case

During the course of that deposition, Respondent interrupted Ms. Caisman, raised his voice, repeatedly told her to “shut up,” and told her that he had been a lawyer since “before [she was] fucking wearing pajamas.”

(Mike Frisch)