A Texas woman, Isabel Sloan, received a large settlement after her attorney “misappropriated most of the $100,000 she was suppose to [receive] in a probate case.” Sloan received about $867,000 from the jury verdict. The majority of the settlement was against her attorney, Eric Turton. In this case, the award includes $377,000 against her attorney, $200,000 against the firm that referred her to Turton, and $290,000 for her attorney’s fees. According to the ABA Journal, “[t]he jury found both lawyers responsible for a $75,000 misappropriation and fraud and additionally held Gonzalez and his firm liable for false, misleading and deceptive acts and practices and gross negligence.” In addition, Turton was disbarred for his role in this scandal.
See Martha Neil, Ex-Client Awarded $867K Against Lawyer Who Stole $75K and Law Firm That Referred Her to Him, ABA Journal, Oct. 16, 2012.
Special thanks to Brian Cohan (Attorney at Law, Law Offices of Brian J. Cohan, P.C.) for bringing this article to my attention.
