Section 7 - Claims Procedure(A) Forms. The Board shall provide forms for the presentation of claims to Disciplinary Counsel, all bar associations, and to any other person upon request. The Board shall create an application form for the use of claimants that shall include, but not be limited to the name and address of the claimant, the name and last known address of the attorney against whom the claim is made, the date of the alleged wrongful act, a clear and simple statement describing the wrongful act, the amount of the claimed loss, and a statement as to whether other affirmative action has been taken as described in Section 3(C) of this rule. A claim shall be considered as filed on the date the Board receives written notification of the claim, even in the absence of the prescribed form. However, completion of the formal application may subsequently be required by the Board.(B) Notice. Upon receipt of a claim against an attorney, the Director of the Board shall notify the attorney of the fact of its filing by certified mail or email to the service email address provided by the attorney. All parties shall be notified of any action taken by the Board with respect to a claim.(C)Investigation; Cooperation With Disciplinary Counsel and Local Bar Associations.(1) The Board shall investigate or cause to be investigated all claims received under this rule.(2) At the request of the Board, Disciplinary Counsel and local bar associations authorized to investigate attorney discipline complaints under Gov. Bar R. V shall make available to the Board all reports of investigations and records of formal proceedings in their possession with respect to any attorney whose conduct is alleged to amount to dishonest conduct under this rule. Where the information sought is the subject of a pending investigation or disciplinary proceeding required by Gov. Bar R. V to be confidential, disclosure shall not be required until the termination of the investigation or disciplinary proceeding, or both.(3) Where the Board receives a claim that is ineligible because disciplinary proceedings have not been undertaken, the Board shall hold the claim in abeyance, forward a copy of the claim to Disciplinary Counsel for further action, and advise the claimant that these procedures have been undertaken and that disciplinary action is a prerequisite to eligibility under this rule. If filed within the time limits prescribed in Section 3(C) of the rule, the claim shall be considered timely regardless of the time it is held in abeyance pending the outcome of disciplinary proceedings. Disciplinary Counsel shall advise the Board as to the disposition of the complaint.(D) Hearings; Subpoenas. The Board may conduct hearings for the purpose of resolving factual issues. Upon determining that any person is a material witness to the determination of a claim made against the fund, the Board, chair, or vice-chair shall have authority to issue a subpoena requiring the person to appear and testify or produce records before the Board. All subpoenas shall be issued in the name and under the Seal of the Supreme Court, signed by the chair, vice-chair, or Director, and served as provided by law.
(E) Confidentiality.All claims filed under this rule and all records obtained by the Board pursuant to this rule shall be confidential. If a reimbursement is made under this rule, the reimbursement, the name of the claimant, the name of the attorney, and the nature of the claim may be disclosed.
(F) Consideration of Claims.The Board, in its sole discretion, but on the affirmative vote of at least four members, shall determine the eligible claims that merit reimbursement from the fund and the amount, time, manner, conditions, and order of payments of reimbursement. No reimbursement may include interest from the date of the reimbursement. In making each determination, the Board shall consider, among other factors set forth in this rule, all of the following:
(1) The amounts available and likely to become available to the fund for the payment of claims and the size and number of claims that are likely to be presented;(2) The amount of the claimant's loss as compared with the amount of losses sustained by other eligible claimants;(3) The degree of hardship suffered by the claimant as a result of the loss;(4) The degree of negligence, if any, of the claimant that may have contributed to the loss.(5) Any special or unusual circumstances. To preserve the fund, the board may adopt rules implementing a sliding scale whereby eligible claims are compensable at fixed percentages of the total loss but not to exceed the maximum reimbursement allowed by this rule.
The determination of the Board shall be final.
Amended 11/1/2020; amended March 8, 2022, effective 3/21/2022; amended October 12, 2023, effective 12/1/2023.