KENTUCKY BAR ASSOCIATION V. MICHAEL B. RONEY
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TO BE PUBLISHED
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NO. 2006-SC-000694-KB
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KENTUCKY BAR ASSOCIATION
V.
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MOVANT
IN SUPREME COURT
MICHAEL B. RONEY
RESPONDENT
OPINION AND ORDER
The Board of Governors of the Kentucky Bar Association has
recommended to this Court that Michael B. Roney be permanently disbarred from the
practice of law. We agree with the Board's recommendation . Roney was admitted to
the practice of law in September 1973; and his bar roster address is 239 South
5th Street, Suite 500, Louisville, Kentucky 40202.
The Board's recommendation is based on Roney's misconduct in four
separate cases and his lengthy history of unprofessional conduct. In order to
demonstrate why Roney's conduct warrants disbarment, we must briefly set forth the
facts of each case .
A. KBA File No. 11893
Charles Collier hired Roney to represent him in seeking post-conviction
relief in a criminal case . Roney assured Collier that he would begin to work on Collier's
case as soon as he received $1,000 .00 from Collier . Collier gave the $1,000 .00 to
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Roney; but Roney did not complete the work on Collier's case, failed to return Collier's
phone calls, and failed to return the $1,000.00 to Collier .
B. KBA File No. 12296
Robert Childers paid Roney $500.00 to file a motion to terminate
supervised release in federal court . Roney did not file the motion, nor did he provide
any other legal services to Childers . Roney falsely informed Childers that he had filed
the motion. Roney did not return the $500.00 to Childers .
C. KBA File No. 12349
Robert Bogard paid Roney $1,000.00 to collect on a judgment and to file a
lien on a piece of real property . Bogard informed Roney that time was of the essence .
Nevertheless, Roney failed to file the lien ; and he did not attempt to collect the
judgment. Roney did not return the $1,000.00 to Bogard.
D. KBA File No. 12701
Vickie Haycraft paid Roney $3,000.00 to represent her son in a criminal
case . Roney told Haycraft that all of his assets were tied up in a divorce action, and he
asked to borrow $500 .00 from Haycraft . Haycraft loaned the money to Roney. Roney
failed to perform the agreed upon legal work for Haycraft's son; and Haycraft was forced
to pay $5,000.00 to obtain the services of another attorney . Roney failed to repay either
the $500.00 loan or to return any portion of the $3,000.00.
Roney failed to respond to any of these allegations, and he was ultimately
charged in all four cases with:
"
violating Kentucky Supreme Court Rule (SCR) 3.130(1 .3)
(failing to exercise reasonable diligence); SCR 3 .130(1 .4)
(a) and (b) (failing properly to communicate with a client) ;
SCR 3.130(1 .5)(a) (charging unreasonable fees);
"
violating SCR 3.130(1 .16)(d) (failing to refund any fees
not earned upon termination of representation) ;
violating SCR 3.130(8 .1)(b) (failing to respond to a lawful
demand for information from a disciplinary authority) ;
SCR 3.130(8 .3)(c) (engaging in conduct involving
dishonesty, fraud, deceit, or misrepresentation) ;
"
violating SCR 3.130(1 .1) (failing to provide competent
representation) in the cases involving Childers and
Bogard ; and
violating SCR 3.130(1 .8)(a) (entering into a business
transaction with a client) in the case involving Haycraft .
The Board unanimously found Roney guilty of all twenty-seven counts of
misconduct stemming from the four cases.
In determining the appropriate discipline to be imposed, the Board
considered Roney's lengthy disciplinary history . Roney received a private admonition in
December 1992, as well as two additional private admonitions in May 2006 .
Furthermore, Roney received a public reprimand in January 1992 for his guilty plea to a
misdemeanor charge of theft by deception under $100.' Most seriously, Roney was
disbarred in September 1993 for engaging in improper conduct, which included lying to
his clients about the status of cases, failing to hire counsel to assist him in defending a
client in New Jersey, and failing to return the fee paid by the client to acquire the
services of counsel in New Jersey. We accepted the Board's recommendation and
See Kentucky Bar Association v. Roney, 822 S.W.2d 416 (Ky. 1992) .
See Kentucky Bar Association v. Roney, 862 S.W.2d 315 (Ky. 1993).
reinstated Roney to the practice of law in 2001 .3 But Roney was suspended again for
non-payment of bar dues and non-compliance with mandatory continuing legal
education in January 2005 .
Roney has failed to take advantage of the second chance we afforded
him. Instead, he has returned to regrettable patterns of serious misconduct that reflect
poorly upon him and the legal profession in general . We stated when we disbarred
Roney in 1993:
[w]hile disbarment is an extreme penalty, respondent has
failed to demonstrate good cause why the Board of
Governor's report recommending disbarment should not be
adopted. Respondent failed to respond to the complaint, the
charge[,] or the Board of Governors. He has not presented
this Court with any newly-discovered matters or even a good
reason why this Court should not adopt the Board's
recommendation pursuant to SCR 3.370.4
So, based on Roney's lengthy history of improper conduct, we believe the Board's
recommendation of permanent disbarment is amply justified . Roney has not filed a
notice of review under SCR 3.370(8) ; nor do we elect to review the decision of the
Board under SCR 3 .370(9), meaning that the decision of the Board is hereby adopted
under SCR 3.370(10) .
ACCORDINGLY, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that:
1)
Respondent, Michael B. Roney, is permanently disbarred from the
practice of law;
See Kentucky Bar Association v. Roney, 44 S.W.3d 372 (Ky. 2001) .
Roney, 862 S.W.2d at 317.
2)
In accordance with SCR 3 .450, Roney is directed to pay all costs
associated with these disciplinary proceedings against him, said sum being $887.44, for
which execution may issue from this Court upon finality of this Opinion and Order; and
(3)
Under SCR 3.390, Roney shall, within ten (10) days from the date
of entry of this Opinion and Order, notify all clients, in writing, of his inability to represent
them ; notify, in writing, all courts in which he has matters pending of his disbarment
from the practice of law; and furnish copies of all letters of notice to the Executive
Director of the Kentucky Bar Association . Furthermore, to the extent possible, Roney
shall immediately cancel and cease any advertising activities in which he is engaged .
All concur.
ENTERED: December 21, 2006.
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