Andrew Luster's mother sues attorney over $1M bail
By Emanuella Grinberg, Court TV
(Court
TV) —
The mother of convicted rapist and Max Factor heir Andrew Luster claims the
$1 million bail she posted for his charges was never returned to her because
of her lawyer's ineptitude. Elizabeth Luster is seeking at least $3
million from attorney Joan Lavine for alleged breach of contract, fiduciary
duties and legal malpractice for failing to help her recover the cash. The
suit alleges Lavine represented Luster "below the applicable standard of
care for other attorneys" when she failed "to recover all or substantially
all of the sums deposited ... in connection with the Andrew Luster criminal
case." Lavine says she is "amazed and shocked" by the suit, which she has
not seen in its entirety, claiming that she did "a really fabulous and
thorough job" for Luster. In January 2003, the great-grandson of the cosmetics legend fled his
Ventura County, Calif., criminal trial on charges that he raped three women
after knocking them out with the date rape drug gamma hydroxybutyrate,
commonly known as GBH. A judge declared his $1 million bail
forfeit. After he was captured five months later in Mexico by bounty
hunter Duane "Dog" Chapman, the lawsuit states, a judge lifted the bail
forfeiture and reinstated the funds. However, when Elizabeth Luster
retained Lavine in a bid to recover the money she claims she posted, a judge
denied the request, saying she failed to prove that she had been the money's
depositor. The suit, which was filed in Los Angeles Superior Court
Friday, alleges that Lavine "failed to present critical evidence, which was
readily available to her, substantiating that Mrs. Luster was the source of
the funds." Luster also alleges Lavine didn't advise her of her right
to seek an appeal and that she failed to pursue an appeal on her behalf,
"notwithstanding her clear authority to do so." Lavine told
Courttv.com that Luster's request was denied on a number of technicalities
that she says would have been "intriguing" to pursue in an appeal, except
that Luster terminated her services after deciding she did not want to
pursue one. "I couldn't file a notice of appeal for someone I don't
work for," Lavine said. "Many clients don't want to accept responsibility
for their position, but the judge made factual findings against her, so
unless she had appealed, she was bound to that decision." Lavine said
that, during an investigation to determine the origin of the funds, a judge
found that Andrew Luster's attorney had given the information for a wire
transfer over the phone. He also initiated the bail return in a phone
call with the Ventura County Courthouse, so the judge replaced Elizabeth
Luster's name with Andrew Luster's in documents relating to the bond,
designating him the depositor of the cash. The money was put toward costs
and restitution. "What's unusual about this case is that there was no
receipt for the wire transfer and it wasn't her attorney who made the
request to return the bail," Lavine said. Luster's attorney, Daniel
Spitzer, declined to comment on the suit when contacted by
Courttv.com.
