Sec. 7200.9. Filing claims

(a) Claims for reimbursement from the fund shall be written and verified. The fund shall provide an official claim form which shall require the following information: the name and address of the claimant; the name and last-known address of the attorney who is alleged to have committed a dishonest act; the terms of the attorney's professional engagement for the claimant; the amount of loss incurred; the date of the loss or the period of time when the loss occurred; the place and manner in which the loss occurred; the date and manner in which the claimant discovered the loss; a description of what steps the claimant has taken to recover the loss from the attorney or any other source; and whether there are other sources, such as insurance, fidelity bonds or surety agreements, to reimburse the claimant's loss. Unless the attorney accused of dishonest conduct is deceased, a claimant may be required to file both disciplinary and criminal complaints against the attorney and provide copies of such complaints within 30 days of the fund’s acknowledgement of the receipt of an application for reimbursement. The trustees may require a claimant to submit additional information that may be necessary to determine a claim.

(b) The fund shall promptly acknowledge receipt of the claim, which shall be assigned a claim number.

(c) A claim shall be filed with the fund within two years after the following dates, whichever is later:

(1) the date when the alleged dishonest conduct occurred; or

(2) the date when such dishonest conduct was first discovered.

(d) The trustees, in their discretion, may permit the late filing of claims upon a showing that compliance with the time limitations of this section may cause undue hardship or result in an injustice.

(e) In the discretion of the trustees, a claim shall be deemed filed when any writing specifying the claim is received by the fund, a bar association, an attorney grievance committee, or a police or other government agency.