Oswald Paul David James

Findings — machine-extracted (anthropic-batch:claude-opus-4-8); verify against the decision

Prosporex Limited Inc., through director Carl Lewis, retained attorney Oswald James and sent him U$337,500 in connection with the purchase of property (Villa Maria). When that transaction failed, Lewis demanded the return of the funds. The attorney claimed he had oral instructions to invest the money in the Queen Hill development, but produced no agreement, title, mortgage or security in the client's name, and the documents he relied on were prepared after the money was paid out and were unsigned by the vendor. He repaid only U$100,000 and gave a written undertaking to return the U$237,500 balance by 30 July 2008, which he did not honour. The Committee, applying the criminal standard of proof, found the Complainant's witnesses truthful and the attorney less than frank, rejected his account, and found him in breach of Canon VII(b)(ii) for failing to account to his client. No express finding of dishonesty was made. The attorney was struck off the Roll, ordered to make restitution of U$237,500 with 3% interest from 15 April 2008, and to pay costs of J$100,000.

Duties found breached:

• No improper use of client money
• Prompt accounting and return of money

Aggravating factors:

• Large sum of client money involved (U$337,500, balance of U$237,500 unrefunded)
• Money still not refunded as at date of decision
• Attorney gave a professional undertaking and failed to honour it
• Conduct that brings the profession into disrepute
• Attorney found to be less than frank in his account of events