Zeigler v. Hughes

Citations

• 55 Ill. 288

Syllabus

<p>1. Attorney and client—when the relation ceases—in the matter of collecting a debt. It has been held that an attorney’s duty does not cease upon the recovery of a judgment on a claim put in his hands for collection, but that it continues until the expiration of the time of redemption from the sale, where laud has been sold towards the satisfaction of the judgment.</p> <p>2. So where an attorney was employed to foreclose a mortgage, and to do all acts necessary to be done, in and out of court, for the sale of the mortgaged property, and was to receive out of the proceeds of such sale a certain portion thereof for his services, it was held, a judgment of foreclosure having been obtained, and a sale had, the premises being bid off in the name of the creditor, and a purchase by the attorney from him within a year after the sale, the relation of attorney and client continued to exist, so as to subject the former to the rule which regulates the dealings between them.</p> <p>3. In such a case it appeared the attorney purchased the property from his client, during the time that relation existed between them in respect to the same, at a price much below its value, the client having no knowledge of the value except from representations of his attorney, in making which the latter failed to exercise that degree of good faith demanded by the confidential relation he held. So upon bill filed by the client it was held, the attorney should be regarded as holding the proceeds of the property, which he had sold, as a trustee for his client, and should account therefor accordingly.</p> <p>4. Same—of. the good faith required of the attorney, in dealing with his client—burden of proof. In order to sustain a purchase of property by an attorney from his client during the existence of that relation in respect to the subject matter of the contract, where the transaction is afterwards questioned by the client the burden rests upon the attorney of establishing its perfect fairness, adequac