TO BE PUBLISHED
Supreme Court of Kentucky
2020-SC-0503-KB
KENTUCKY BAR ASSOCIATION MOVANT
V. IN SUPREME COURT
CHARLES EDWIN JOHNSON RESPONDENT
OPINION AND ORDER
The Kentucky Bar Association (KBA) moves this Court to indefinitely
suspend Charles Edwin Johnson from the practice of law pursuant to Supreme
Court Rule (SCR) 3.380(2) for failure to answer KBA charges. Johnson’s KBA
membership number is 94240. He has been licensed to practice law in the
Commonwealth of Kentucky since October 21, 2011. After review, we hereby
indefinitely suspend Johnson pursuant to SCR 3.380(2).
BACKGROUND
The KBA’s motion for suspension arises out of three separate cases. We
will discuss each in turn.
A. KBA File 19-DIS-0239
On July 15, 2014, William C. Adams signed a representation agreement
with The Law Offices of Johnson Crump for representation “regarding an
Estate Probate Dispute and the attempt to make contact with entities regarding
the VA benefits of client’s father.” Adams agreed to pay Johnson one-third of
any judgment or settlement.
In October 2015, Johnson entered his appearance in Estate of Hiram
Adams, et al. v. JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., et al., Fayette Circuit Court Case
Number 15-CI-03176, as co-counsel with his now former law partner, Crump.
On May 2, 2016, Johnson entered his appearance in Estate of Hiram W.
Adams, Fayette District Court, Probate Division, Case Number 12-P-00308. In
May 2016, Johnson and Crump dissolved their firm. Adams continued with
Johnson as his attorney, but the communication between the two began to
break down.
In both March and July 2016, Adams sent certified letters to Johnson
from his home address in Ellijay, Georgia. Adams again sent a certified letter to
Johnson in September 2018 requesting an update on the case. Johnson signed
the return receipt for the letter on or around September 15, 2018, but did not
contact Adams. In November 2018, Adams sent another certified letter to
Johnson. Johnson personally signed the return receipt on November 15, 2018,
but again did not contact Adams.
On February 6, 2019, the Fayette Circuit Court filed a CR1 77.02(2)
Notice to Dismiss for Lack of Prosecution in the case in that court. JPMorgan
Chase Bank filed a combined response to the Notice and a Motion to Dismiss
on March 15, 2019. The response noted that the plaintiffs had not taken any
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action on their claim in sixteen months. Johnson did not inform Adams of
these filings or file a response on behalf of Adams. On April 1, 2019, the
Fayette Circuit Court entered an Order Dismissing for Lack of Prosecution.
On July 29, 2019, Johnson filed a Motion to Withdraw in the probate
case in Fayette District Court. The motion stated that Johnson had not been
able to contact Adams for over ten months, that he was not involved in the
probate proceedings, and that he had no files or paperwork related to the
probate matter. The motion also stated that the circuit court case had been
dismissed due to no contact from Adams. The certificate of service in the
motion included Adams’s former address in Cumming, Georgia, despite
Johnson being on notice of Adams’s correct address in Ellijay, Georgia for
almost three years. The Fayette District Court granted the motion on August
23, 2019. During the representation, Adams had provided Johnson with
multiple boxes of original documents that Johnson did not return after
withdrawing from the case.
Based on this conduct, KBA’s Inquiry Commission issued a charge
against Johnson for violations of SCR2 3.130(1.4)(a)(3) for failing to keep Adams
reasonably informed, SCR 3.130(1.4)(a)(4) for failing to promptly comply with
requests for information, SCR 3.130(1.16)(d) for failing to return file materials
and to notify Adams of his withdrawal, SCR 3.130(3.3)(a)(1) for knowingly
making a false statement of fact to a tribunal, and SCR 3.130(8.1)(b) for failing
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to respond to the Bar Complaint. Johnson was personally served with the Bar
Complaint by the Scott County Sheriff’s Office on January 14, 2020. He was
personally served with the Charge by the Scott County Sheriff’s Office on
September 9, 2020. Johnson failed to respond to either notice.
B. KBA File 20-DIS-0033
On July 3, 2017, Judith Clarke, in her capacity as executrix of her
mother’s estate, hired Johnson to assist with probate. She paid him $2,200.
On July 6, 2017, Johnson filed initial documents and appeared in Estate of
Virginia Raynor Clarke, Fayette District Court, Probate Division, Case Number
17-P-00856. On September 7, 2017, the district court issued a Notice of
Failure to File Inventory, but Johnson took no action in response to the notice.
Clarke met with Johnson in early 2018 after selling her mother’s home.
She asked him to prepare a contract concerning a debt between beneficiaries.
During the meeting, Johnson assured Clarke that there was no need to close
the estate and that it could remain open indefinitely. Johnson did not prepare
the requested contract, and Clarke was unable to contact him after that
meeting.
Clarke attempted to contact Johnson by telephone, text message,
Facebook message, and by leaving notes at his office. She left voicemail
messages but eventually received an automated response that the phone could
no longer accept messages. Clarke eventually obtained a new address for
Johnson, and in October 2018 sent a certified letter to him. The letter was
returned, unclaimed, in February 2019.
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On July 9, 2019, the Fayette District Court issued a second Notice of
Failure to File Inventory, followed by a final Notice on August 12, 2019.
Johnson did not respond to these notices or contact Clarke. On September 13,
2019, the district court issued a show cause summons to both Clarke and
Johnson to appear in Court on October 10, 2019.
Clarke hired another attorney who entered the case and appeared before
the court for her in October 2019. Johnson also appeared in court and stated
that he had been trying to contact Clarke without success. Clarke’s new
counsel closed the estate in January 2020, and Clarke filed a bar complaint
thereafter.
Based on this conduct, the Inquiry Commission issued a charge against
Johnson for violations of SCR 3.130(1.3) for failing to act with diligence, SCR
3.130(1.4)(a)(4) for failing to promptly comply with requests for information,
SCR 3.130(1.16)(d) for failing to complete the representation and return the
unearned fee, and SCR 3.130(8.1)(b) for failing to respond to the Bar
Complaint. Johnson was personally served with the Bar Complaint by the Scott
County Sheriff’s Office on March 16, 2020. He was personally served with the
Charge by the Scott County Sheriff’s Office on September 9, 2020. He did not
respond to either.
C. KBA File 20-DIS-0041
In May 2019, Ronald Lasher hired Johnson to assist with estate
planning, including drafting a First-Party Special Needs Trust for the benefit of
his daughter. Lasher paid Johnson a total of $3,000. Throughout June, July,
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August, and September 2019 Lasher had contact with Johnson. This contact
was primarily through text message.
Lasher scheduled an appointment to meet with Johnson on October 11,
2019, to get the documents Johnson had prepared. Johnson cancelled this
appointment due to illness and rescheduled for October 15, 2019. On that
date, Johnson sent a text message to Lasher cancelling the appointment due to
an emergency. Johnson told Lasher he had notarized the documents, “had
witnesses” on them, and would mail them to Lasher. Lasher contacted Johnson
when the documents did not arrive. On October 21, 2019, Johnson told Lasher
the documents had been returned to him because he had used the wrong zip
code and that he would mail them again. When the documents again did not
arrive, Lasher contacted Johnson. Johnson told Lasher he was in trial but
would drop the documents off at Lasher’s home if Lasher had not received
them by October 26.
Lasher contacted Johnson on October 26. Johnson told Lasher that he
was moving his parents into an apartment but would try to deliver the
documents. On October 27, Lasher asked Johnson if he could pick up the
documents at Lasher’s office the following day. Johnson told Lasher he would
send Lasher a text message when he arrived at his office the next day around
2:00 p.m. The next day, at 12:44 p.m., Johnson sent Lasher a text message
that he left the documents in a mailbox outside of his office but that he could
not meet with Lasher because his son had been in an accident and was in
intensive care.
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When Lasher reviewed the documents Johnson had prepared, he found
several errors. He found spelling errors, as well as incorrect information. The
documents named a minor as executor, named a person Lasher did not know
in the will, and referred to a joint trust when the trust was not joint.
Additionally, Johnson drafted a Third-Party Special Needs Trust instead of the
First-Party Special Needs Trust Lasher had requested. Johnson signed at least
one of the documents as a witness and notarized the documents without
Lasher’s signature. Because of the numerous errors, Lasher could not use the
documents. Lasher subsequently filed a Bar Complaint against Johnson.
Based on this conduct, the Inquiry Commission issued a charge against
Johnson for violations of SCR 3.130(1.1) for failing to provide competent
representation, SCR 3.130(1.3) for filing to act with diligence, SCR
3.130(1.4)(a)(2) for failing to reasonably consult with Lasher, SCR 3.130(1.5)(a)
for collecting an unreasonable fee, and SCR 3.130(8.1)(b) for failing to respond
to the Bar Complaint. Johnson was personally served with the Bar Complaint
by the Scott County Sheriff’s Office on March 16, 2020. He was personally
served with the Charge by the Scott County Sheriff’s Office on September 9,
2020. He did not respond to either.
Johnson has failed to respond in each of the three above-discussed
cases, warranting indefinite suspension under SCR 3.380(2).
For the foregoing reasons, it is hereby ORDERED:
1. Pursuant to SCR 3.380(2), Charles Edwin Johnson is hereby suspended
indefinitely from the practice of law in the Commonwealth of Kentucky.
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2. As required by SCR 3.390, Johnson shall, within ten (10) days after the
issuance of this order of suspension, notify, by letter duly placed with the
United States Postal Service, all courts or other tribunals in which he
has matters pending of his suspension. Further, he will inform all of his
clients, by mail, of his inability to represent them and of the necessity
and urgency of promptly retaining new counsel. Johnson shall
simultaneously provide a copy of all such letters of notification to the
Office of Bar Counsel. Johnson shall immediately cancel any pending
advertisements, to the extent possible, and shall terminate any
advertising activity for the duration of the term of suspension.
3. As stated in SCR 3.390(a), this order shall take effect on the tenth day
following its entry. Johnson is instructed to promptly take all reasonable
steps to protect the interests of his clients. He shall not during the term
of suspension accept new clients or collect unearned fees and shall
comply with the provisions of SCR 3.130-7.50(5).
All sitting. All concur.
ENTERED: December 17, 2020.
______________________________________
CHIEF JUSTICE MINTON
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