Kentucky Bar Ass'n v. Geller, No. 2004-SC-0379-KB.
| Decision Date | 26 August 2004 |
| Docket Number | No. 2004-SC-0379-KB. |
| Citation | 141 S.W.3d 365 |
| Parties | KENTUCKY BAR ASSOCIATION, Complainant, v. Mark Blair GELLER, Respondent. |
| Court | United States State Supreme Court — District of Kentucky |
Mark B. Geller, KBA No. 85673, of Louisville, Kentucky, was charged by the Inquiry Commission with the following six disciplinary violations:
1) SCR 3.130-1.3, failure to act with diligence and promptness when representing a client; 2) SCR 3.130-1.4(a), failure to keep a client informed of the status of a matter and to respond to reasonable requests for information; 3) SCR 3.130-1.15(b), failure to refund fees to a client; 4) SCR 3.130-1.16(d), failure to take reasonable steps to protect the client's interest after termination of the representation; 5) SCR 3.130-8.3(c), engaging in conduct involving dishonesty, fraud, deceit, or misrepresentation; and 6) SCR 3.130-8.1(b), failure to knowingly respond to a lawful demand for information from the disciplinary authority.
On March 21, 2002, Dauton Kuhn, Jr. hired Geller to represent him in a personal bankruptcy proceeding. He paid Geller a $1,600.00 retainer fee and received a receipt indicating that he had paid in full for the legal services. Geller never filed a bankruptcy claim for Kuhn, nor have any pleadings been filed on his behalf with the bankruptcy court. Geller has retained the $1,600.00 fee paid to him by Kuhn, who made several unsuccessful attempts to contact Geller, and subsequently filed a bar complaint against him on June 6, 2003.
Geller was served with a copy of the complaint on July 16, 2003, but failed to respond, even after receiving a warning letter on August 16, 2003. After investigating Kuhn's bar complaint, the Inquiry Commission charged Geller with the above-referenced charges on September 24, 2003. He spoke with Deputy Bar Counsel on October 8, 2003, regarding those charges and an additional pending disciplinary matter. Bar Counsel mailed Geller several documents that he requested during the telephone conversation, but he has yet to respond to the Inquiry Commission's charges.
Geller was suspended from the practice of law on February 4, 2003, for failure to pay bar dues. He also has another disciplinary matter (KBA No. 9989) pending before this Court, which involves findings by the Board of Governors of the Kentucky Bar Association (Board) of lack of competence, lack of diligence, lack of communication, and conduct involving dishonesty, fraud, deceit, or misrepresentation. The Board has recommended that Geller's license be suspended for 181 days as a result of those findings....
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