In re Cutright

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In re Cutright

State: Illinois

Docket No: 107236

Case Date: 06/04/2009

Preview:Docket No. 107236.

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS

In re JOHN O. CUTRIGHT, Attorney, Respondent. Opinion filed June 4, 2009.

JUSTICE FREEMAN delivered the judgment of the court, with opinion. Chief Justice Fitzgerald and Justices Thomas, Kilbride, Garman, Karmeier, and Burke concurred in the judgment and opinion.

OPINION The Administrator of the Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission (ARDC) filed a three-count complaint against respondent, John O. Cutright (Cutright), charging him with various violations of the Illinois Rules of Professional Conduct (Rules). The Hearing Board recommended that Cutright be suspended for 120 days and be required to successfully complete the professionalism seminar of the Illinois Professional Responsibility Institute. The Administrator timely filed exceptions to the report and recommendations of the Hearing Board with the Review Board (210 Ill. 2d R. 753(d)(2)). The Review Board recommended that Cutright be suspended for six months. The Administrator filed a motion to approve and confirm the report and recommendation of the Review Board pursuant to Supreme Court Rule 753(e)(6) (210 Ill. 2d R. 753(e)(6)). We denied

the Administrator's motion and transferred the case to the general docket and designated the Administrator as the appellant. I. BACKGROUND Cutright was admitted to practice law in Illinois on November 29, 1967, and began his law career in private practice working in his father's law office, which then became known as Cutright & Cutright Law Office, the name that it retains today. In addition to maintaining his law office, he was appointed the public defender of Cumberland County in 1990. His practice is centered predominantly on tax and real estate work, but also includes some criminal defense, probate matters and bankruptcies. Cutright has no prior disciplinary complaints against him. The charges in the ultimate complaint allege that Cutright violated various rules of the Illinois Rules of Professional Conduct including: Rule 1.7(b) (engaging in a conflict of interest) (134 Ill. 2d R. 1.7(b)); Rule 8.4(a)(4) (conduct involving fraud, dishonesty, deceit or misrepresentation) (210 Ill. 2d R. 8.4(a)(4)); Rule 3.5(h) (giving or lending anything of value to a judge, official, or employee of a tribunal) (134 Ill. 2d R. 3.5(h)); Rule 8.4(a)(5) (engaging in conduct that is prejudicial to the administration of justice) (210 Ill. 2d R. 8.4(a)(5)); Rule 1.3 (failing to act with reasonable diligence and promptness in representing a client) (134 Ill. 2d R. 1.3); Rule 1.4(a) (failing to keep a client reasonably informed about the status of a matter and failing to promptly comply with reasonable requests for information) (134 Ill. 2d R. 1.4(a)); and Rule 1.4(b) (failing to explain a matter to the extent necessary to permit the client to make informed decisions regarding the representation) (134 Ill. 2d R. 1.4(b)). The complaint also alleged that Cutright violated Supreme Court Rule 770 (210 Ill. 2d R. 770) by engaging in conduct which tends to defeat the administration of justice or bring the courts or the legal profession into disrepute. A. Representation of Martha Hayden In count I of the complaint the Administrator alleged that Cutright (1) breached his fiduciary duty to his client; (2) engaged in a conflict of interest by representing a client when the representation was -2-

materially limited by the lawyer's responsibilities to another client (134 Ill. 2d R. 1.7(b)); (3) engaged in conduct involving fraud, dishonesty, deceit, or misrepresentation (210 Ill. 2d R. 8.4(a)(4)); and (4) engaged in conduct "which tends to defeat the administration of justice or to bring the courts or the legal profession into disrepute" in violation of Supreme Court Rule 770 (210 Ill. 2d R. 770). All of the allegations in this count arise from Cutright's representation of Martha Hayden (Hayden) which commenced in 1993 when Hayden asked him to prepare her will. She also asked him to prepare a document to forgive a debt owed to her by the Cochonours, a wealthy Cumberland County family. During this time, Cutright also represented Ruth Cochonour, the executor of the estate of Clark Cochonour. Triple C Thorostock, an entity in which Clark Cochonour and his three sons were principals, owed Hayden $312,900. Cutright did as Hayden requested and prepared a will for her which forgave the entire debt owed by the Cochonours and left the remainder of her estate to her two nieces. When Cutright explained that the will would take effect only upon her death, she asked him to draft a document that would forgive the Cochonours' debt immediately. He did so, and Hayden signed the document. At the time Cutright drafted these documents for Hayden, she was 86 years old. Cutright testified that he believed that she was of sound mind and competent. However, numerous friends and family members, as well as Hayden's physician, testified that Hayden was often confused and had little short-term memory. Hayden's physician also testified that in 1993, Hayden was in the second stage of Alzheimer's disease. He testified that while she did have periods of lucidity, he did not believe that she could have executed a will or a cancellation of a note in February 1993. Hayden died of a stroke caused by Alzheimer's disease in 2001. In a later will contest, the circuit court found the will invalid based on Hayden's lack of testamentary capacity. During his testimony before the Hearing Board, Cutright testified that he never inquired as to the financial status of Hayden's estate. He indicated that he believed that he knew the extent of her property based on his previous dealings with her family in 1966 and the early 1970s. Unbeknownst to Cutright, Judge Robert Cochonour, the son of Clark Cochonour, was a signatory on Hayden's checking account

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and had a right of survivorship on the account.1 Cutright testified that he had no knowledge of Judge Cochonour or anyone else influencing Hayden's decisions. After Hayden died, Judge Cochonour was convicted of stealing money from the estate of Jay Hayden

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