How did the opinion direct a lawyer to handle a client refund when the former client could not be found?

Plain-English summary

Years after settlement, a medical facility refunded an overpayment. The lawyer could not locate the client despite repeated mail and address searches, and a detective’s fee would exceed the amount.

The opinion required continued reasonable efforts to find the client and holding the refund in trust. If the client remained unlocated when the escheat statute became applicable, the lawyer could follow it to dispose of the funds. Official notes identify subsequent Rule 4-1.15 amendments.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 2000, before Missouri’s 2007 revisions to the Rules of Professional Conduct. Later amendments or opinions may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context and verify current rules before relying on it. The official Rule 4-1.9 and 4-1.10 reference notes identify July 1, 2007 amendments.

Common questions

Q: Could the lawyer immediately move the refund out of trust?

A: No. The answer required it to remain in trust meanwhile.

Q: What would permit disposal under escheat law?

A: The client remaining unlocated when the statute took effect.

Background and rules framework

The official reference notes identify pre-amendment Rule 4-1.15 as the rule on which the opinion relied.

Citations and references

Missouri Rules of Professional Conduct:

• Rule 4-1.15

See also

• Missouri Informal Op. 20000129: Unclaimed Trust Funds

Source

• Landing page: https://mo-legal-ethics.org/informal-opinion/20000007/

• Rule revision reference: Missouri Informal Opinion 20030007

Original opinion text

Reproduced from the official source for research purposes. The linked source is authoritative.

Reference Note: Effective July 1, 2016, subdivision 4–1.15(f) of Rule 4 was repealed and a new subdivision 4–1.15(f) adopted in lieu thereof. This opinion is based on Rule 4–1.15 in effect prior to that date.

Reference Note: Rule 4–1.15 was amended, effective July 1, 2013. This opinion is based on the rule in effect prior to that date. Please see the July 1, 2013 version of Rule 4–1.15.

QUESTION: Attorney settled Client´s case. As part of the settlement, Attorney wrote a check to a medical facility for care Client received. The payment turned out to be an overpayment and Attorney received a refund from the medical facility several years after the payment was made. Attorney has tried repeatedly to contact Client by mail, but has had no luck. Attorney has been unable to locate an address or telephone number for Client. Attorney contacted a private detective, but the private detective indicated that they would charge more than the funds that they have to locate Client. How should Attorney proceed?

ANSWER: Attorney must continue to make all reasonable efforts to locate Client. If Attorney has not been able to locate Client by the time the escheat statute takes effect, Attorney may follow that statute to dispose of the funds. In the meantime, Attorney must keep the funds in a trust account.