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Attorney Fuller is disbarred
Published July 21, 2009
Albertville attorney Lawton Dale Fuller has been officially disbarred from practicing law in Alabama.
Fuller’s disbarment came on July 9, following the results of a “Petition for Interim Suspension” investigation initiated by the General Counsel of the Alabama State Bar on June 16 of this year.
The investigation, according to Jeremy McIntire, Assistant General Counsel for the ASB, was initiated following a complaint filed by a Marshall County resident with the ASB.
According to the affidavit filed with ASB, the complainant, Mohammed Namati, alleged Fuller had “stolen $26,349.89 in insurance funds that were made payable to Mr. Namati.”
Fuller had been hired by Namati to assist in settling a dispute on an insurance policy after, according to the affidavit, “Mr. Namati and his insurer disagreed over the extent of the damage and the amount of money necessary to fix the damage” of Namati's house after a tree fell on it in April 2008.
Namati alleged Fuller had “stolen $26,349.89 in insurance funds that were made payable to Mr. Namati.”
Additionally, according to the affidavit, the investigation uncovered the fact Namati had initially received from the insurer a check for $18,903.80. However, Namati, “Afraid that endorsing and depositing the check would release the insurer from further liability … turned the check over to Fuller for safekeeping.” After that, Namati “had difficulty contacting Fuller.”
Namati, after contacting the insurer in December 2008, learned “…an additional check in the amount of $7,466.09 had been sent to Fuller in October 2008” and “…the checks had been endorsed and deposited into Fuller’s trust account.”
The affidavit also states that, at one point after Namati contacted Fuller and he “promised to bring the money,” Fuller instead “…brought him the title to a motorcycle and offered a mobile home as collateral for future payment.”
Furthermore, the affidavit states that Fuller told Namati he had, “…improperly taken his money.” Futher, it said that Fuller asked Namati “…to sign an agreement not to press charges in exchange for repayment in the amount of $500 a month.”
Namati refused to sign the agreement.
Alabama Attorneys are required by law to maintain what is called an I.O.L.T.A. [Interest On Lawyers Trust Accounts].
Attorneys routinely receive funds to be held in trust for future use. If a client’s funds are large enough or to be held long enough to generate interest for the client, net of bank charges and administrative fees, they should be placed in an interest-bearing account for the individual client’s benefit. A lawyer who receives funds that belong to a client must place those funds in a trust account separate from the lawyer’s own money.
The investigation of Fuller’s trust fund records showed he failed to do so.
The affidavit states, “In addition, the records reflect returned check charges, ATM cash withdrawals, and checks made out to cash, Fuller and/or third parties without reference to the source and/or the purpose of the funds.”
Confronted with the results of the ABA’s investigation, Fuller, according to the Order On Surrender of License, “…filed a response to the Alabama State Bar’s Petition for Interim Suspension,” in which he “expressly admits the allegations” and “expressly surrenders his license to practice law in the State of Alabama.”
On July 9, an order from the Supreme Court of Alabama stated, “Now, therefore, it is ordered that the name of Lawton Dale Fuller be stricken from the Roll of Attorneys duly licensed to practice law in the State of Alabama, and that Lawton Dale Fuller is hereby disbarred and excluded from the practice of law in the courts of Alabama effective 12:01 a.m., July 9, 2009.”
Fuller, a resident of Albertville, began practicing law in Alabama on or about May 1, 1989.
Bruce Sanford, of Sanford Real Estate, who was mayor of Boaz at the time Fuller was Boaz’s city attorney, said, “He served well and honorably This is an unfortunate situation for him and his family. I wish him the best.”
Fuller assisted the City of Boaz Water and Sewer Board from a period in the 1990s until January 2009.
Because he admitted to the theft and agreed to be disbarred, no formal charges were or will be filed by the ASB against Fuller. Any criminal charges would have to be filed locally by the complainant or other party.
The ASB’s jurisdiction in the matter only governs the licensing of attorneys, McIntire said.
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