Bodisco v. State Bar

THE COURT. Petitioner, Andrew Bodisco, seeks a review of the recommendation of the Board of Governors of the State Bar that he be disbarred. Pour members of the board voted against the recommendation on the ground that the discipline was too severe.

Mr. and Mrs. Charles Martin employed petitioner in July 1958 to bring an action against Safeway Stores, Inc., for personal injuries sustained by Mrs. Martin. In March 1958 petitioner orally negotiated a settlement agreement for $2,250 with Safeway’s attorney. Petitioner testified to the effect that before entering into the agreement he discussed the settlement with the Martins and that they said, “Andy, if that’s the most you can get, $2250, ... we don’t like it but if that’s the most you can get I guess we’ll have to take it. Go ahead.” The Martins testified that they discussed the possibility of a settlement with him but that they did not authorize him to settle for $2,250.

The Martins’ daughter later wrote to petitioner stating in effect that she would not permit her parents to settle for less than $10,000. Her letter was not received by petitioner until a few days after the oral settlement agreement was entered into. Petitioner talked with one of the Martins, who told him that because of their daughter’s views he should arrange a better settlement for them, and he replied that if it were necessary for him to do better he would see if he could.

After receiving the daughter’s letter petitioner signed the Martins’ names, without their consent, to a release which he [497]had received from Safeway about the same time as the letter. He also had a legal secretary sign the document as a witness and notarize it. He returned the release to Safeway, and the action was dismissed with prejudice. A check for $2,250 payable to him and the Martins was sent to him, and he endorsed their names on the check without their consent.

Petitioner cashed the check, deposited $600 of the proceeds in an account designated “Bodisco, Andrew, Special,” placed $1,400 in a commercial account in the names of “Andrew and Karen Bodisco,” and retained the remaining $250 for his own use. The balances in the two accounts were later reduced until they totaled less than $1,500, the approximate amount to which the Martins would have been entitled under their contingent fee contract with petitioner if the settlement were valid. There was uncontradicted evidence that petitioner always had sufficient assets to meet a demand by the Martins for their share of the settlement.