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Complaint filed against Niles Law Director J. Terrence Dull
Ohio Supreme Court responsible for reviewing case record, imposing discipline
By Ed Runyan
COLUMBUS
The Ohio Board of Professional Conduct has certified a complaint against Niles Law Director J. Terrence Dull to the full board for formal disciplinary proceedings.
The complaint, written by Atty. William Flevares of the Trumbull County Bar Association Certified Grievance Committee, alleges Dull spent $37,000 that he was supposed to be holding for a client for investment purposes. Dull eventually paid the money back.
It also alleges Dull failed to notify the client that he did not have professional liability insurance for 1996.
Dull, when reached by phone Wednesday, said he cannot comment.
The complaint says the client hired Dull in 1996 to prepare a trust in which to hold investment assets and chose Dull to serve as trustee of the fund.
The client gave Dull $15,000 to invest in a Vanguard fund, which Dull did. There was little activity in the trust for many years until February and March 2011, when the client gave Dull $45,000 to invest in the fund as soon as possible.
However, Dull did not invest the money in the fund, despite inquiries from the client, saying he was too busy.
Eventually, the customer told Dull to hold onto the funds until the share price dropped and then invest it. Dull held the money in an Interest on Lawyer Trust Account, which uses the interest from such money for charitable purposes.
In June 2012, the client asked for $8,000 of the money, and Dull gave it to him. Sometime after June 2012, the client told Dull, “You might want to put some money in Vanguard now,” but Dull did not, according to the complaint.
In November 2015, the client asked Dull for some of the money to buy a car, and Dull informed the client he no longer had any of the remaining $37,000.
The client filed a grievance with the bar association in December, and the bar association investigated and later certified a grievance in March.
In two separate checks in March and April, Dull paid the client the $37,000 owed.
An attorney is required to hold property of clients or third persons separate from the lawyer’s own property, the complaint says.
Dull didn’t have proof of professional liability insurance for 1996 and failed to provide the client with notice to that effect, as required by the Professional Conduct Rule for attorneys, the complaint says.
The board has sent a certified complaint to Dull, and he has been asked to file an answer to the allegations, according to an Ohio Supreme Court announcement.
If the board finds that Dull engaged in professional misconduct, it will file a report with the Ohio Supreme Court that includes a recommended sanction.
The Supreme Court is responsible for reviewing the case record and imposing discipline.