TO BE PUBLISHED
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2008-SC-000769-KB
KENTUCKY BAR ASSOCIATION
V. IN SUPREME COURT
DANA LEA B . QUESINBERRY RESPONDENT
OPINION AND ORDER
The Movant, Kentucky Bar Association (hereinafter KBA), moves
the Court, pursuant to the Respondent's, Dana Lea B. Quesinberry, KBA
Member No . 85504, whose bar roster address is P.O. Box 45'7, Morehead,
Kentucky 40351, default under SCR 3 .210, to impose a sanction of a one
(1) year suspension from the practice of law, for her violations of SCR
3 .130-3 .4(c) and SCR 3 .130-8 .1(b) as set forth in KBA file No. 15900. We
now adopt Movant's motion and impose such sanction for the reasons
set forth below .
Respondent was admitted to practice law in the Commonwealth of
Kentucky on October 21, 1994 . During the course of her representation
of a client in 2006, Respondent timely filed a Notice of Appeal with the
Kentucky Court of Appeals on behalf of Larry Arnett on July 26, 2006,
and the Court of Appeals assigned the Case Number 2006-CA-01542-
MR. Respondent timely filed the Pre-hearing Statement on August 16,
2006 . Respondent also filed a Motion to Amend Pre-hearin Statement
on November 17, 2006, and the C rt of Appeals granted this Motion on
December 14, 2006.
On July 9, 2007, the, Chief Deputy Clerk of the Court of Appeals
filed a Notice, which stated that Appellant's Brief was overdue, and the
Notice ordered. Respondent, as the Appellant's counsel of record, to file
within ten days either a Motion to Dismiss if the case was settled or
abandoned or a Motion for Additional Time . Respondent did not file any
response to this Notice .
On November 15, 2007, a panel of the Court of Appeals dismissed
the appeal of Respondent's client and ordered that Respondent be
reported to the Kentucky Bar Association for her inaction in the case .
On December 13, 2007, the Inquiry Commission filed a Complaint
against Respondent . Respondent was personally served with the
Complaint on January 2, 2008, but has not filed a response to it. The
Kentucky Bar Association mailed a reminder letter regarding the
Complaint to the Respondent on March 19, 2008 via certified mail,
return receipt requested . Respondent personally signed the return
receipt for the reminder letter, but did not file a response to the Inquiry
Commission's complaint .
On April 14, 2008, the Inquiry Commission issued a two (2) count
charge against Respondent alleging violations of SCR 3 .130-3.4(c) and
SCR 3.130-8 .1(b) . Respondent was served a copy of the Charge by
certified mail, return receipt requested, on May 6, 2008 . Again,
Respondent personally signed the return receipt.
Based on the above facts, Count I of the Commission's Charge
charged Respondent with a violation of SCR 8.130-3 .4(c), which provides,
"a lawyer shall not knowingly or intentionally disobey an obligation
under the rules of a tribunal except for an open refusal based on an
assertion that no valid obligation exists."
The same set of facts also supports Count II of the Commission's
Charge, which charged Respondent with a violation of SCR 3 .130-8 .1(b},
which provides in pertinent part, "a lawyer in connection with a . .
disciplinary matter, shall not . . . knowingly fail to respond to a lawful
demand for information from a . . . disciplinary authority."
As Respondent did not answer the above-described charges, she
was before the Board of Governors (" oard") of the KBA by default. The
Board, by a vote of 15-0, found by a preponderance of the evidence that
Respondent failed to respond to the Notice requiring Respondent to file
either a Motion to Dismiss or a Motion for Additional Time to file
Appellant's Brief. The Board, by a vote of 1421, also found by a
preponderance of the evidence that Respondent did not respond to a
demand for information from a disciplinary authority by failing to
respond to the Bar Complaint .
After the Board found Respondent guilty, they considered an
appropriate discipline. The Board reviewed Respondent's previous
discipline, which consisted of the following :
3
1) A December 28, 2005, private admonition for Respondent's
failure to return closing documents to the Small Business Administration
after conducting a Small Business Administration loan closing.
2) An October 19, 2006, public reprimand and thirty day
suspension probated for one year conditioned on Respondent attending
four hours of remedial ethics training for Respondent's failure to file an
appellate brief. By order dated April 24, 2008, this Court imposed the
thirty day suspension because Respondent failed to attend the four
hours of remedial training.
3) A February 21, 2008, 61-day suspension, which required
Respondent to notify clients and the courts in which she practices, for
Respondent's failure to perform the work related to an adoption
proceeding and failure to respond to the client's requests for information
about the status of the matter.
4) An April 24, 2008, 181-day suspension for Respondent's failure
to perform the required work in a dissolution of marriage action, failure,
to respond to the client's requests for information about the status of the
matter, and failure to return the unearned fee .
5) An August 21, 2008, 181-day suspension (concurrent with the
above-noted 181-day suspension) for Respondent's failure to tender the
final divorce decree in a dissolution of marriage action.
6} Lastly, On January 31, 2008, Respondent was suspended by
Order of the Supreme Court for failing to pay KBA dues .
At the penalty phase of the Board's deliberations, the Board
recommended a suspension of one year consecutive with Respondent's
previous suspensions. Also, the Board recommends the costs of this
proceeding should be assessed against and paid by Respondent as
required by SCR 3.450.
Accordingly, having reviewed the findings of facts, conclusions of
law, and the recommendations of the KBA Board of Governors, we now
accept the Board's recommendation and enter such an order reflecting
Respondent's one (1) year suspension from the practice of law to run
consecutively with Respondent's previous suspensions and ordering her
to pay all costs.
Thus, it is ORDERED that:
1. Dana Lea B. Quesinberry, KBA Member No. 85504, is
suspended from the practice of law for one (1) year to begin on the date
of the entry of this order.
2. In accordance with SCR 3 .450, Movant is directed to pay all
costs, in the amount of $224%99, associated with this proceeding for
which execution may issue from this Court upon finality of this order .
All sitting. All concur
ENTERED : December 18, 2008