Battle over Sam DuBose estate includes questionable text messages, theft claims

Battle over Sam DuBose estate includes questionable text messages, theft claims (OH)
Cincinnati.com
October 27, 2015
The battle to oversee Sam DuBose’s estate and an anticipated multi-million-dollar wrongful death settlement now includes claims that DuBose’s property was stolen as well as allegations an attorney sent questionable text messages.
DuBose’s mother, Audrey DuBose, and an attorney representing his father are both seeking to oversee the estate. In July, a University of Cincinnati police officer shot and killed Sam DuBose as he started to drive away from a traffic stop for a missing front license plate. The university has indicated it intends to settle any wrongful death claim.

Appeals court decision reopens Warner Bros. and Tolkien Estate battle (CA)
Examiner.com
October 29, 2015
A judicial memorandum filed Wednesday in California opens the way for the Warner Bros. and the Tolkien Estate to continue their battle over the extent of Warner’s rights to market products associated with “The Hobbit” and “The Lord of the Rings.” The disagreement hinges on the Estate’s claim Warner only has the right to sell “tangible” merchandise.
In 2012, The Tolkien Estate filed a lawsuit against Warner Bros., claiming Warner was exceeding the limits of the licensing agreement by marketing certain Middle-earthed themed “digital exploitations,” including online slot machines. Warner counter-sued, claiming the Estate’s actions had cost them money since they were not able to exploit revenue sources they believed were within the purview of the agreement as it had been interpreted through the years. Warner also asserted this limited potential publicity for the Hobbit films.

Van Wert lawyer accused of misappropriating funds

Editor's note: This Shark finds Ohio Board of Commissioners punishes lawyers for doing exactly the same as the lawyers employed by the Probate Court of Cook County in the Estate of Alice R. Gore.  Our Illinois ARDC protects these criminal lawyers.  Lucius Verenus, Schoolmaster,  ProbateSharks.com


Van Wert lawyer accused of misappropriating funds (OH)

November 15, 2014

VAN WERT — Long-time Van Wert attorney C. Allen Runser is being charged with misconduct in a case filed last month by Disciplinary Counsel in the Board of Commissioners on Grievances and Discipline for the Ohio Supreme Court. Specific charges against Runser include failure to hold property of clients separate from the lawyer’s own property, not complying with reasonable requests for information from the client, not promptly delivering funds to a client or third party, not holding property of clients separate from the lawyer’s own property, engaging in conduct involving, fraud, deceit, or misrepresentation, and not acting with reasonable diligence and promptness in representing a client.
Runser has been practicing law since being admitted to the bar in 1967. That same year he established a practice. Shaun A. Putman was included as a partner in 2004.
Putman released this statement about the current situation: “I have a deep respect for the legal system, for the Plaintiffs, and for the Court, and as such I will not speak to any specifics of the pending lawsuit other than to say that I look forward to continuing to distance myself from the allegations at hand. I can assure you that my personal integrity and ethics were never, and will never, be compromised. I am excited to begin my own firm under the name of Putman Law Offices, LLC, and look forward to providing the same high standards of legal counsel as I have in the past. The current matter is certainly unfortunate, shocking, and disappointing, but it has also given me a new eagerness and determination that will only enhance my current practice.”
There are three counts in the Supreme Court complaint. The first deals with the guardianship of Jeanne Koch between 2005-2011. During this time Runser is accused of not filing proper and timely guardian’s reports or an inventory of Koch’s assets as required. The case outlines several past due notices sent to Runser from Van Wert County Probate Court, plus one notice of a final account which was to be filed within 30 days of the termination of the guardianship. Koch died June 13, 2011. That account was finally filed on Sept, 7, 2012.
Runser is also accused of not filing an inventory of Koch’s real and personal assets in a timely manner. As executor of Koch’s estate, he did not file the inventory by Nov. 9, 2011 as required and did not respond to an April 2, 2012 notice from Probate Court. After an extension was granted until Aug. 24, 2012, that deadline was missed also. The inventory was filed in November, more than 15 months after Koch was appointed as executor/administrator. The account of Koch’s estate,due Feb. 9, 2012 was not filed until January 2014.
Questions about the bank account for the estate were also raised in the case. The account was opened January 12, 2012. A check for nearly $112,000 was deposited at the end of May from the sale of Koch’s residential property in Van Wert, however instead of distributing the receipts of the sale according to the instructions in her will, Runser is accused of writing a series of checks to either himself or to his law firm totaling $80,965. Another deposit in September 2012 of over $28,000 from other possessions.
After making partial payment from the account to those entities named in the will and the payment of estate taxes and assorted debts, there was only $4,000 remaining in the account. A $4,000 check to the law firm reduced the balance to approximately $57. The account was overdrawn by a $900 check written to the law firm a few months later. Then after depositing more than $71,000 into the account from personal funds, the check writing resumed. After another infusion of funds from either a personal account or from another fund Runser was managing, estate distributions totaling over $100,000 were finally made over 18 months after the original account deposit was made.
The charge states, “Throughout the entire administration of the estate, at least two of the three beneficiaries of the estate had been attempting to reach [Runser] regarding the status of Koch’s estate. They had an extremely hard time reaching [Runser], and when they were able to speak [with him], he was unable/unwilling to provide them with any substantive information regarding the estate.”
The accusation of misusing the funds is bolstered by the following statement from the Supreme Court complaint: “When relator inquired into the funds that [Runser] has withdrawn from the Koch estate account, [Runser]attempted to minimize his conduct by stating that the funds were for attorney and executor fees for him and Putman. [Runser] neither requested, nor received, permission from the Van Wert County Probate Court to receive attorney or executor fees from the Koch estate.”
The second count deals with irregularities with as trustee of a trust fund for Barbara Mary Shackley. This charge contains many similar violations as charged in the first count. A trust beneficiary, Mary Ann Jensen, hired a law firm to get to the bottom of issues she was having with Runser. Over almost 19 months, Runser wrote check from the trust fund account to himself or his law firm totaling $471,350.
In a conversation with a representative of the law firm representing Jensen, Runser allegedly admitted that he had :inappropriately borrowed funds from the trust.” On another occasion, Runser wrote to Jensen’s attorney that he “had not done a good job in handling trust activity during the last several years,” and that he had not responded to requests for information from Jensen and that he had not completed annual trust accountings due to the “anticipated time involved in creating reports.”
The third count involves Runser’s Interest on Lawyer Trust Account (IOLTA), which was overdrawn several times in 2014.
The complain contends, “At a minimum, [Runser] used funds from his IOLTA to repay a personal and/or business line of credit. He also withdrew funds from his IOLTA on an ‘as needed’ basis, rather than ‘as earned,’ and he ran estate funds through his IOLTA rather than depositing them into a separate estate account. Furthermore, [Runser] misappropriated client funds from his IOLTA resulting in a shortage of at least $15,739.36.
The case against Runser is not on the schedule of the Board of Commissioners on Grievances and Discipline posted online. This body is the same one former judge Phil W. Campbell was brought before in 2010 on judicial misconduct charges.
Attribution:
Van Wert lawyer accused of misappropriating funds
Ed Gebert
October 16, 2014
Times Bulletin
http://www.timesbulletin.com/Content/News/News/Article/Van-Wert-lawyer-accused-of-misappropriating-funds/2/4/190919

Woman jailed over probate court case wins appeal (OH)

Woman jailed over probate court case wins appeal (OH)

October 28, 2014

A woman who spent several days in jail in 2013 stemming from a guardianship case in Stark County Probate Court has won her appeal.
The 5th District Court of Appeals last month reversed a ruling by Probate Judge Dixie Park, concluding that Park had abused her discretion by finding the woman in contempt of court.
Barbara Lockhart, formerly of Alliance, was jailed for around 10 days on the orders of Park after Lockhart missed some court hearings — and failed to provide requested documents — in the guardianship case of an 83-year-old man, according to probate court records.
A guardian was seeking to revoke the power of attorney Lockhart held on behalf of the man, and Park had requested records regarding his finances, court records said.
Attorney Jeffrey Jakmides, who handled Lockhart’s appeal, said Lockhart was jailed without bond in October 2013. He noted that the woman — 56 years old during her jail stay — did not have a criminal record.
Lockhart has “recovered from (her jail stay) at this point, at least as much as she can recover from an experience like that, and is just wanting to move forward with her life,” Jakmides said.
Some of the probate court hearings took place in August 2013. Lockhart showed up at a Sept. 17 hearing, and then missed a Sept. 24 hearing, resulting in the contempt charge and Lockhart’s arrest and jailing on Oct. 1. Court records indicate Lockhart thought the last hearing had been continued.
Park set another hearing for Oct. 2, but Lockhart couldn’t provide the requested documents to purge her contempt charge because she was transported directly from the Stark County Jail to the hearing, according to the appeals ruling.
Lockhart was eventually released on Oct. 11 after a motion was filed to suspend the rest of her 30-day jail sentence. She later supplied the court with the financial documents.
During the case, the power of attorney was revoked for Lockhart. Park found that Lockhart put about $12,000 in Social Security and pension funds belonging to the elderly man in an account under her own name.
In court records, Park wrote that Lockhart had admitted she opened the bank account in her name even though she knew the man’s bank accounts had been frozen by the court.
The funds were either retained or used for the benefit of Lockhart or the man’s daughter, Park wrote in court records. The judge ordered Lockhart to return $12,239 to the estate.
Those issues were not part of the appeals ruling, which included two claims of error 5th District Judges William B. Hoffman, W. Scott Gwin and John W. Wise agreed with.
In the ruling, Gwin wrote that Lockhart’s actions did not “rise to intentional acts of disobedience,” adding that “the trial court abused its discretion in finding Lockhart guilty of criminal contempt.”
The appeals ruling also said Lockhart was not informed of her right to counsel at the Oct. 2 hearing and did not reject an offer of legal representation.
Park said she could not comment on the case because it’s pending. A message seeking comment was left for Lockhart through Jakmides.
Attribution:
Woman jailed over probate court case wins appeal
The 5th District Court of Appeals recently reversed a ruling by Stark County Probate Court Judge Dixie Park involving a woman who was jailed for contempt of court in a guardianship case.
Ed Balint
September 26, 2014
CantonRep.com
http://www.cantonrep.com/article/20140926/News/140929405#ixzz3Eq6utRLT

Woman’s guardians arrested in abuse case (OH)

Woman’s guardians arrested in abuse case (OH)

October 8, 2014

Police arrested a West Toledo couple, who are guardians of a mentally and physically disabled woman, after the woman suffered broken bones, dog and apparently human bites.
Norman and Susan Demski, both 56, of 940 Southover Rd., were arrested Sunday and charged in Toledo Municipal Court with patient abuse and neglect. Both were arraigned Monday morning and ordered to be released on their own recognizance, despite a request for a $50,000 bond.
Mr. and Mrs. Demski were ordered to not have contact with the victim, Lori Demski, 53, Mr. Demski’s sister, who remained hospitalized in fair condition Monday afternoon. As part of the arraignment agreement, if the victim is released from the hospital, she is to not return to her brother and sister-in-law’s care, said Judge William Connelly, Jr.
According to affidavits, the guardians both left their home Thursday, leaving the victim alone for five hours. When Mr. Demski returned home, he found Lori Demski “in a pool of blood.” He called 911 and she was taken to Mercy St. Vincent Medical Center.
Police said the victim was attacked by two “pitbulls” inside the home. Because of the attack, the victim suffered “numerous dog bites from the bottom of her feet to the top of her head” and wounds to both arms, according to affidavits. A police report notes a nurse stated the victim also suffered fractures to both arms.
A nurse also noted “what appeared to be human bites on her thighs, buttocks, and shoulder.” Court documents also state that the Southover home was roach infested and the floors were covered with dog feces.
Toledo police Detective Larry Anderson, who filed the charges on Sunday, did not return messages seeking comment. Mr. Demski also did not return a message seeking comment.
Phillip Wall, 27, who described himself as the son-in-law of Mr. and Mrs. Demski, said the victim was attacked when she fell while trying to break up a fight between the two 2-year-old “pitbulls.” The dogs, according to a police report, belong to Mr. Wall.
“It’s just upsetting to me,” Mr. Wall said of the injuries. He said the charges against Mr. and Mrs. Demski were “blown out of proportion.”
The Demskis have been guardians of Lori Demski since 1994, according to records in Lucas County Probate Court. The guardianship documents state that the victim suffers from grand mal seizures and has an IQ of less than 45, according to a test given in 1994. In the same year, Lori Demski was also noted to have the functionality of a 4 or 5 year old.
In 2000, a case worker from the Lucas County Board of Developmental Disabilities reported to police injuries on Lori Demski that appeared to be the result of abuse. The case never resulted in charges because the injuries, a doctor ruled, could have been from falling, which Lori Demski is prone to, according to various court documents.
Lon Mitchell, spokesman for the Lucas County Board of Developmental Disabilities, said state law prohibits him from saying if Lori Demski receives services from the agency. He could not comment about the pending case.
“In instances of this nature, and we don’t see many, but in any kind of incident like this we would call it a ‘major unusual incident’ and we have an investigative team that would be working cooperatively with police to address them,” Mr. Mitchell said, speaking generally.
Mr. Mitchell said that guardians might not have site visits if the ward is living with a relative. Site approval is done if someone is a licensed provider, however.
Lucas County Probate Court Judge Jack Puffenberger said he expects that the Board of Developmental Disabilities would file, as soon as today, an emergency protective order, possibly seeking the removal of the Demskis as guardians, appointment of a new guardian, and a general protective order.
The most recent report filed by a representative of the developmental disabilities board noted that there were no signs of neglect, abuse, or exploitation, Judge Puffenberger said. He said there were no known prior issues with the guardianship.
“Our court is concerned about this person being her [Lori Demski's] guardian,” the judge said. “We need to be sure that guardians are looking out for the best interest of and protecting their wards.”
The “pitbulls” that attacked the victim were seized by Lucas County Canine Care and Control on Sunday, said Director Julie Lyle. On Monday, officers were back at the Southover home to see about a third dog. Ms. Lyle said the dogs would be held in “bite quarantine” for 10 days, as part of standard procedure. If no one attempts to claim the dogs after that time, they will likely be euthanized.
Ms. Lyle said representatives from her office were not called upon on Thursday at the time of the attack. She had not seen the victim’s bites or the police report generated by the incident.
Attribution:
Woman’s guardians arrested in abuse case
Victim had broken bones, dog bites
Taylor Dungjen
September 9, 2014
The Toledo Blade
http://www.toledoblade.com/Courts/2014/09/09/Woman-s-guardians-arrested-in-abuse-case.html#mHcuMRcfW8piCmB7.99