Lawyer Claims Memory Loss as Defense to Will Forgery Claims

Richard Horne is a prominent lawyer in Mobile who has recently withdrawn from his cases because of memory loss. David Stroecker is a Mobile insurance agent who is pressing a State Bar complaint against Horne over a will that jurors in the Probate Court found to be forged. Stroecker wants to ensure that Home never practices law in Alabama again.

The will at issue is that of Joseph Brunson. Horne emailed a copy of Joseph’s will to the attorney who was representing Brunson’s two daughters. The two daughters questioned the signature on the will, and evidence indicated that the will was a fake one. Stroecker’s complaint to the State Bar accuses Horne of perjury and forging a will. Furthermore, Stroecker is going after a correction Horne made to his testimony during a sworn deposition. Stroecker claims that Horne has claimed memory problems to explain the correction as an honest mistake, and dismisses the memory loss justification as a cowardly one.

See Brendan Kirby, Prominent Lawyer’s Life Unravels Amid Claims of Memory Loss, Allegations of Will Forgery, Apr. 10, 2012.

Special thanks to Jim Hillhouse (Professional Legal Marketing (PLM, Inc.)) for bringing this article to my attention.