BELLEVILLE – Injury lawyer Jason Caraway kept about $770,000 that belonged to clients, according to Illinois Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commissioners (ARDC).
Commission administrator Jerome Larkin has acted as receiver of the firm Caraway owned, Caraway & Broombaugh in Belleville, since February.
Commissioners suspended Caraway’s license in May for a year and until further order.
They found he failed to distribute about $560,000 to clients and lien holders.
They also found his client trust account should have held about $230,000 for medical bills and about $10,000 in retainers as of March 5, but it held less than $33,000.
In the worst case they found, Caraway failed to distribute $124,000 that the state Court of Claims awarded to Rylan Davis and Rickyiah Davis, children of late policeman Ricardo Davis.
Davis fell to his death while chasing a suspect when he accidentally jumped from a section of the Poplar Street Bridge in belief that he’d land on a lower section.
Caraway then disappeared or became disabled on Jan. 26, according to a receivership petition his employee Daniel Broombaugh filed in St. Clair County Circuit Court on Feb. 2.
He claimed Supreme Court rules contemplate receivership “when a lawyer is unable to properly discharge his or her responsibilities.”
He stated the disciplinary commission indicated a willingness to serve.
Chief Judge Andrew Gleeson appointed Larkin the next day and authorized him to take possession of all files, records, and client trust accounts.
In April, commission counsel Tammy Evans reported that the commission took possession of 235 client files and shipped 87 to clients and attorneys.
"On or about Sept. 19, 2022, Mr. Caraway is believed to have forged Judge Thomas Cannady's signature on a court order that authorized the disbursement of $15,000 from a trust fund for Ashley Ybarra, a disabled adult,” she wrote.
“In the order, Mr. Caraway alleged the funds were needed for repairs to Mrs. Ybarra’s home, but no such repairs were needed," she added.
“It is believed Mr. Caraway used the $15,000 for his own purposes," she continued.
Former Caraway clients Terri Harmon and Robert Carlile filed malpractice suits.
Then on May 17, Berkley Insurance sued Caraway and the firm in U.S. district court for judgment that it didn’t owe a duty to defend malpractice claims.
The complaint also sought relief against Broombaugh, plaintiffs Harmon and Carlile, two clients who sent demand letters, and up to 25 John Does who might sue.
Berkley counsel Jeremy Macklin of Chicago claimed the firm’s policy precluded coverage for actual or alleged conversion, misappropriation, or improper commingling of client funds.
He claimed the policy precluded coverage for personal profit or advantage to which Caraway and the firm weren’t legally entitled.
“By taking clients’ money without permission, J. Caraway gained a personal profit in the amount of the money he converted to which he was not legally entitled," he wrote.
On May 23, disciplinary commissioners suspended Caraway by agreement on a single violation.
On June 1, in St. Clair County court, Caraway’s counsel Robert Kunkel of St. Louis County answered Terri Harmon’s malpractice complaint.
“Caraway admits he owed plaintiff all duties prescribed by law within the scope of his representation of plaintiff but denies violating any such duties," he wrote.
Kunkel wrote that any recovery for Harmon should be limited or denied due to her comparative or contributory fault.
He claimed her employer contested her injuries and the need for surgery.
He wrote that she agreed to settle a worker’s compensation claim for $85,000, “after being fully advised of her rights and the ramifications of settling her claim.”
He added that she failed to mitigate her damages.
Kunkel wrote that Harmon's claims were barred due to her unclean hands.
On June 9, Caraway moved to quash a deposition notice Harmon served on him for June 15.
Kunkel wrote, “Caraway in bringing this motion is not seeking to frustrate the litigation process but rather be permitted time to adequately prepare for his deposition and conduct discovery.”
Harmon’s counsel Eric Kirkpatrick of Belleville responded on June 12 that Caraway very well had the financial means to flee.
He wrote that Caraway’s answer indicated a state of mind that “the litigation against him is a farce that he is not taking seriously.”
“Caraway may be incarcerated at some point in a federal penitentiary which will make it difficult to obtain his deposition without significant costs and time,” he wrote.
Circuit Judge Heinz Rudolf didn’t enforce the notice but set a July 21 deposition deadline.
In July, he ordered Caraway and Harmon to mediate with former U.S. magistrate judge Stephen Williams prior to a status conference on Oct. 24.
He has set trial next April.