2006 Louisiana Laws - RS 6:332 — Attorney fiduciary accounts; overdraft notification to office of disciplinary counsel

§332.  Attorney fiduciary accounts; overdraft notification to office of disciplinary counsel

A.  A federally insured financial institution or its affiliate that maintains a fiduciary account for an attorney or law firm designated as a trust or escrow account, as mandated by Louisiana Supreme Court Rule XIX, may execute an agreement with the attorney or firm to authorize written or electronic notification to the office of disciplinary counsel, Louisiana Attorney Disciplinary Board, of an overdraft on such account.  Written or electronic notification to the office of disciplinary counsel may only be given after such federally insured financial institution or its affiliate has given notice to the offending attorney and five business days have passed from the date of such notice.

B.  A reasonable cost may be charged by the federally insured financial institution or its affiliate for such an overdraft notification service and shall be payable to the federally insured financial institution from the interest earnings on the trust account.

C.  The provisions of this Section shall not create any cause of action against a federally insured financial institution or its affiliate for the unintentional failure to provide overdraft notification to the office of disciplinary counsel, nor for the unintentional failure to otherwise comply with the provisions of this Section, nor provide a defense or remedy to any other party for any action against it.  No federally insured financial institution or its affiliates, including any of its directors, officers, employees, attorneys, accountants, or other agents, shall be civilly or criminally liable to any person, including any customer, for any disclosure or non-disclosure of financial records made in compliance with or as authorized by the provisions of this Section.

D.  No notification shall be made or sent under this Section where the overdraft is caused by charges applicable to the account that are imposed by a federally insured financial institution or are imposed through error by such institution.

Acts 2005, No. 249, §1.

NOTE:  Section 2 of Acts 2005, No. 249, provides that the Acts shall become effective six months following adoption of a final rule by the Louisiana Supreme Court requiring attorneys to utilize, in whole or in part, the overdraft notification services provided in R.S. 6:332 as enacted by this Act.