Disciplinary Probe May Proceed Against Surrogate

Disciplinary Probe May Proceed Against Surrogate
The New York Law Journal by Brendan Pierson  -  December 7, 2011

Bronx Surrogate Lee L. Holzman yesterday lost a motion to stay a disciplinary proceeding against him brought by the Commission on Judicial Conduct for allegedly allowing Michael Lippman, a former counsel to the Bronx public administrator, to collect $300,000 in excessive fees. Surrogate Holzman filed an Article 78 petition earlier this year seeking dismissal of the commission's action without prejudice to refile after the resolution of a criminal case against Mr. Lippman pending in the Bronx.  Acting Supreme Court Justice Barbara Jaffe, who is presiding over the Article 78 case, dismissed Mr. Holzman's petition on Sept. 8, and the disciplinary proceeding began on Sept. 12. But Surrogate Holzman filed a renewed motion to stay with Justice Jaffe, who granted a temporary stay before eventually denying the renewed motion in early October. Justice Holzman then appealed to the Appellate Division, First Department. Justice Sheila Abdus-Salaam immediately issued a temporary stay until a full panel could consider the motion.  The panel that ultimately denied the motion yesterday consisted of Justices Abdus-Salaam, James M. Catterson, Karla Moskowitz, Leland G. DeGrasse and Rosalyn H. Richter. All concurred except Justice Catterson, who said the panel should have stayed the case pending the resolution of Mr. Lippman's criminal case so that he could testify if he is acquitted. Mr. Lippman is refusing to testify in Surrogate Holzman's disciplinary case, invoking his Fifth Amendment right. The disciplinary case will now resume.  The conduct commission has alleged that Surrogate Holzman allowed Mr. Lippman to collect fees without sufficient documentation, awarded fees beyond those authorized by an oversight commission, which the surrogate oversaw (NYLJ, Sept. 13), and failed to report to authorities that Mr. Lippman had taken advance or excessive fees in some cases. Surrogate Holzman became the chairman of the Administrative Board of the Offices of the Public Administrators in 2002, the year the body formulated guidelines for the payment of counsel to public administrators. Mr. Lippman was indicted last year for allegedly collecting excess fees in five cases. The surrogate eventually fired Mr. Lippman in 2006.