Attorney Uses Clients Funds to Pay Personal Bills

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Summary: A Stratford attorney removed money from an escrow account in dispute with the client to his personal account which he then used to pay his bills.

Stratford attorney Laurence Parnoff thought things were going great after he won a case against a water company providing him with rights to water for his goats. That good mood quickly changed when a jury ordered him to pay $1.4 million to a local woman because he spent over $300,000 of her money that was being held in a special account.

  

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The ruling is not final – a judge will decide how much money should be added since the jury also ordered him to pay punitive damages. Darcy Yuille was represented by New Haven attorney Kenneth Rozich. He said, “My clients is happy with the result, she felt the jury listened to her and paid attention to the relevant counts.”

The state Supreme Court agreed with a lower court that Parnoff should not be disbarred, believing that he did not willfully steal from Yuille. However, the six-member Superior Court found that he committed civil theft through the misappropriation of her money. A hearing will be held to determine the amount in punitive damages.

Parnoff represented himself in the case and is expected to appeal but the 18-year case is coming closer to an end. Yuille hired Parnoff to sue the Bridgeport Hospital in 1998 where she had been a nurse until being fired after suffering a work-related injury. She signed an agreement giving him 40 percent of whatever money he won from the hospital. She later learned that state law caps contingency laws in civil cases at 33 percent.

The hospital settled for $1.1 million. She agreed to give him $125,000 instead of what would have been $440,000. The difference – about $315,000 – was placed into an escrow account until the fee dispute was settled.

Parnoff sued Yuille and won a $252,000 award from the jury but that was overturned by the state Appellate Court. During this time, Parnoff moved the $315,000 plus interest from the escrow account into his personal account, using all the money to pay bills. He was caught doing this and threatened with suspension and was required to place the interest of nearly $62,000 back into the account. He was required to retain the full disputed amount in the client’s account but did not do so or place the interest back into the account. She sued him for theft.

He was arrested in 2014 by the Office of the Chief State’s Attorney after a complaint from the Office of the Chief Disciplinary Counsel alleging misappropriation. The criminal case was dropped since the civil court ruling stated the he did not willfully steal the money.

Parnoff was also convicted in 2014 of disorderly conduct after threatening two water company employees. The company claimed he was using a hydrant to get water for his goats. A judge ordered him to write a letter of apology to the water company employees but he refused and appealed the conviction. The state Appellate Court overturned the conviction.

Does it seem pretty obvious that Parnoff willfully stole the disputed money? Tell us why it wouldn’t be in the comments below.

To learn more about lawyers that has misappropriated client funds, read these articles:

• Former Sidley Austin Executive Committee Member Accused of Misappropriation
• Attorney Disbarred over Missing Funds
• Attorney Disbarred from Tennessee and Louisiana

Photo: caraccident-lawyer.net