Title: KENTUCKY BAR ASSOCIATION V. JAMES GRANT KING AND JAMES GRANT KING V. KENTUCKY BAR ASSOCIATION

State: kentucky

Issuer: Kentucky Supreme Court

Document:

SEPTEMBER 28, 2017 TO BE PUBLISHED $Suprttttt <tlnurf nf ~tnfurku · ---._ 2017~SC-000142-KB . KENTUCKY BAR ASSOCIATION . MOVANT v. IN SUPREME COURT JAMES GRANTKING RESPONDENT ' AND 201 7 -SC-000245 JAMES GRANT KING MOVANT v. IN SUPREME .COURT KENTUCKY BAR ASSOCIATION RESPONDENT ·.OPINION AND ORDER Movant, James Grant King, Kentucky Bar Association (KBA) Number 88465, 1 admits to violati,ng the Kentuclgr,Rules of Professional Conduct and . I I - . ' .- 1 King was admitted to the practice of law in Kentucky on October. 23, 2000, and his bar roster address is 115 Noah Cove, Suite A, Paducah, Kentucky 42003. j ~ . .. moves this Court to impose the sanction of permanent disbarment. The KBA has no objection to King's motion. I. BACKGROUND The misconduct leading up to King's motion to resign under terms of permanent disbarment spans six KBA files and occurred over the course of . . ' more than a decade.. Only one of the files has progressed to the point of the KBA issuing charges; however, King acknowledges that sufficient facts exist in the remaining files to justify the issuance of charges. In order to terminate all KBA proceedings, he seeks to resign under terms of permanent disbarment.· The facts contained in the KBA files are disconcerting to say the least. On separate occasions, King used various clients' funds for his personal use. To do so, King used an assortment of tactics. He lied about settlement agreements, failed to reimburse entities with subrogation interests, wrote cold checks, and falsified information. King has since been indicted on three felony charges related to fraud he perpetrated after defaulting on a loan. A. KBA File 16-DIS-0012 King represented Duane Isbell in a personal injury actibn in 2006. An agreed order was entered in 2007 stating Isbell would receive $75,000, but would be required to reimburse Medicare for his medical bills. King placed $20,000 of the settlement in escrow, purportedly to pay Medicare following ' - . - negotiations of the total bill. King collected his fee out of the remaining $55,000, then distributed the balance to Isbell. King. negotiated a . reimbursement total of almost $14,000 with Medicare in 2008 and sent Isbell a . ' 2 letter in 2009 indicating he paid Medicare. In 2010, King gave Isbell a check for around $6,000, which should have been the balance remaining in the escrow account after paying Medicare. Isbell grew concerned when years passed without him receiving a release from Medicare. In 2013, King sent Isbell a letter and a second check purportedly to Medicare from a separate escrow account. However, that account had been drained of funds. In 2016, MediCare told Isb~ll it had never received a check from King and that interest had accrued over the years. Isbell's balance at that time was more than- $25,000. Isbell and Medicare both requested a copy of the cancelled check from King, but King responded to neither party. The Inquiry Commission charged King with violating SCR 3.130-1.3 for failing to pay Medicare on !shell's behalf: -1.15(a) for comingling funds, and - 8A(c) for deceiving Isbell with a check written· to Medicare from an account he . knew had a ~ero balance and dishonestly misappropriating the funds he should have used to pay Medicare. B. KBA Fil~--16-DIS-0393 Bruce Jett, King's neighbor, loaned King $97,500. Under the terms of · the promissory note, King was to pay interest of 3.5% per annum and pay the loan off in full within a year. King also signed_ the title of a bass boat over to. Jett as collater~. After King failed to make any payments on the loan, Jett attempted to transfer the title to the boa~ into his name as partial payment for ·the debt. However, King had fraudulently applied for a lost title and used. the copy to sell the boat to another .individual. King apparently used the funds to 3 purchase another boat. King gave the new boat to Jett_ as partial repayment; . ' but Jett had to _pay a balance on the boat, as King could not pay the difference. As of the time this ca.se was filed, King still owed Jett approximately $30,000, ,. with interest continuing to accrue. Based on these actions, the McCracken County Grand Jury indicted King of three felonies: defrauding a secured creditor, entering fals~ information to produce a title document, and theft by deception. The Inquiry Commission has not issued a formal charge related to this ., KBA file, as it placed the case in abeyance pending the outcome of the underlying criminal charges. C. KBA File l 7-DIS-0067 Randall and Holley ReaViis hired King to represent them in a car wreck case. The Reavises also granted King a limited power of attorney. King signed an agreement on behalf of Holley, settling her case for $33,000 and releasing all clai~s. However, in spite of this settlement, King continued to advise the c Reavise_s that their case was still ongoing. Holley finally contacted the insurance carrier, and was. advised her claim had been settled and a check had been issued. Holley also learned that Randall's claim had ·been settled for I $60,000 and that his check had also been issued. Both checks were mailed to King's office and both had cl<?ared. Based upon these facts, King was charged with two counts of theft by failure to make required disposition of property-~ Just as with the previous file, ' t_he Inquiry Commission has yet to issue a for~al charge. '\. 4 / .... ( D. KBA File 17-DIS-0051 Ron Brisbon hired King _in 2011 to represent him in a personal injury claim against Allstate. Insurance. Since hiring Kir~.g, Brisbon has been contactedby medical providers and bill collectprs regarding unpaid'medical .J r . . bills. King consistently told Brisbon that his claivi had yet to settle-even as recently as December 2016. However, when Brisbon contacted All~tate, Allstate informed Brisbon his claim had s~ttled in 2012 and provided Brisbon a copy of the check. The Inquiry Commission has yet tO issue a formal charge -in this file. E. KBA File 17-DIS-0155 ' ) King agreed to represent a close friend, Robert Fell, in apersonal injury_ . . action in .2013. In 2014, Fell was issued a check for approximately $12,000, but King told him these funds were only for his vehicle-and that his doctor's visits were not covered. When Fell heard of King's arrest for stealing clients' funds, he called the insurance company. Fell discovered that the case had ·actually been settleq for:$50,000~ and the check had been made payable to , I ' both Fell and King's law gffice. The Inquiry Commission has yet to issue a forrrial charge. F. KBA File 17-DIS-0166 Ira Littrell paid King a $1250 retainerron April 17, 2017, to i::epresent him i:h a fraud case. King deposited the check iri his bank account that day. King was arrested on April 28, 2017, and (as: of the date the motions in the current . ' case were filed) has remained incarcerated. Littrell filed this complaint after he 5 ' ' <:\. , realized King would not be able to represent him in the matter or refund his money. The Inquiry Commission has yet to issue a formal charge related to this file. II. DISCIPLINE King acknowledges that the conduct leading to the disciplinary and criminal charges d~scribed in the. KB!\ fil~s would be sufficient to permanently disbar him from the pr~ctice of law in the Commonwealth of Kentucky. He ' agrees that the conduct described in these files fails to comply with SCR 3.130- \ ' 8.4(b), -8.4(c), -.1.3, and -l.15(a). He also agrees that there are sufficient facts " to justify the issuance of charges in the files on which he has 1yet to be charged. King asks that this Court terminate all KBA proceedings against him by granting his motion to resign under terms of permanent disbarm.ent pursuant to S~R 3.480(3). King understands that this decision is unconditiona:J., final, and frrevocable and that he will never be reinstated to the practice of_ law in the · Commonwealth of Kentllcky. We agree that King's motion to withdraw his membership is appropriate pursuant to SCR 3.480(3). ·Therefore, it is hereby ORDERED that: 1. James Grant King is permanently disbarred from the practice of law; and 2. The Kentucky Bar Association's Petition for Temporary Suspension (in· case number 2017-~C-000142-KB) pursuant to SCR 3.165 is hereby · denied as moo~; and 6 '- 3. In ~ccordance with'.°SCR 3.4SO, King shall pay all costs associated with these proceedings, said sum being $182.45, for which <:;xe~ution, may issue from this Court upon finality of this Opinion and Order; ·. ·and 4. Ptirsuant to .SCR 3.390, King shall, within ten (10) days from the entry of this O/pinion and Order, notify all clients, in writing, of hi_s . inability to represent them; notify, iin 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 Office of Bar Counsel. Furthermore, to the extent possible, King shall immediately cancel __J and cease any advertising activities in which he is engaged. All sitting .. All concur. ENTERED: September 28, 2017. 7