ZNC Senior Partner, Jacob Zeldes, designated as lead plaintiff in class action against Governor Jodi Rell and other state officials in effort to block $2 million transfer from Client Security Fund

ZNC senior partner Jacob (Jack) Zeldes has been designated as the first named plaintiff in a high profile class action lawsuit recently filed against Connecticut Governor M. Jodi Rell and other top officials to stop a $2 million transfer from the Client Security Fund. The named plaintiffs also include a number of other prominent Connecticut attorneys, as well as the Connecticut Bar Association. The Client Security Fund is a special state fund financed and operated by Connecticut lawyers and judges for certain exclusive, designated purposes, such as providing restitution to victims of attorney misconduct and providing emergency assistance to attorneys suffering from substance abuse problems. Among other claims, the suit alleges that it is illegal for the defendants to take the $2 million because it is generated by fees for the specific purpose of aiding clients and was not collected via general taxation for use in the overall budget. The lawsuit, filed March 30, 2009, seeks a restraining order against the transfer, slated to occur once a newly passed "deficit mitigation" bill becomes effective April 1, 2009. The cause has been advanced by some of the highest-ranking members of the Connecticut Judicial Branch. Associate Justice Joette Katz of the Connecticut Supreme Court has written in state newspapers to protest the proposed re-direction of the funds, and former Associate Justice David L. Borden filed an affidavit in the suit, explaining the development of the current fund.

A copy of the lawsuit, Jacob D. Zeldes, Esq., et al. v. M. Jodi Rell, et al., is available here.

The plaintiffs are represented by Steven Ecker of Cowdery, Ecker & Murphy and Ernest Teitell of Silver, Golub & Teitell.