United States Ninth Circuit

Washington state's Interest On Lawyer's Trust Account Program violates the Fifth Amendment because government appropriation of the interest earned on client trust accounts is a "taking" that entitles clients to just compensation.

Appellate Information

• Argued 06/21/2001
• Decided 01/10/2001
• Published 01/10/2001

Judges

• WARDLAW, Circuit Judge:, Before:  SCHROEDER, Chief Judge, PREGERSON, KOZINSKI, TROTT, KLEINFELD, TASHIMA, SILVERMAN, WARDLAW, FISHER, BERZON, and RAWLINSON, Circuit Judges.

Court

• United States Ninth Circuit

Counsel

• For Appellant:
  
• James J. Purcell, Esq., Seattle, Washington, for the plaintiffs-appellants;  Daniel J. Popeo, Esq., Washington, DC, for the plaintiffs-appellants;  Richard Samp, Esq., Washington, DC, for the plaintiffs-appellants., Stephen M. Rummage, Davis Wright Tremaine LLP, Seattle, WA, for the amicus curiae the American Bar Association;  Thomas P. Brown, Heller Ehrman White & McAuliffe, San Francisco, CA, for the amici curiae Alaska Bar Foundation, Arizona Bar Foundation and Oregon Law Foundation;  Peter M. Siegel, Florida Justice Institute, Inc., Miami, FL, for the amici curiae National Association of IOLTA Programs and 64 State IOLTA Programs, State Bar Associations and other organizations concerned with the availability of legal aid to the poor;  Robert Dean Welden, Seattle, WA, for the amicus curiae Washington State Bar Association.


• For Appellees:
  
• David J. Burman, Esq., Nicholas P. Gellert, Esq., Todd E. Pettys, Esq., Kathleen M. O'Sullivan, Esq., Perkins Coie, LLP, Seattle, Washington, for the Defendants-Appellees, Legal Foundation of Washington and Bradley C. Diggs;  Maureen A. Hart, Esq., Assistant Attorney General, Olympia, Washington, for the defendants-appellees, Washington State Supreme Court Justices.