Supreme Court Disbars, Suspends Attorneys
Please note: Opinion summaries are prepared by the Office of Public Information for the general public and news media. Opinion summaries are not prepared for every opinion released by the Court, but only for those cases considered noteworthy or of great public interest. Opinion summaries are not to be considered as official headnotes or syllabi of Court opinions. The full text of this and other Court opinions from 1992 to the present are available online from the Reporter of Decisions. In the Full Text search box, enter the eight-digit case number at the top of this summary and click "Submit."
In separate disciplinary actions announced today, the Supreme Court of Ohio permanently disbarred Centerville attorney Charles E. Bursey II and suspended the license of attorney David N. Patterson of Willoughby.
2009-1255. Disciplinary Counsel v. Bursey, Slip Opinion No. 2009-Ohio-6180.
On Certified Report by the Board of Commissioners on Grievances and Discipline, Nos. 08-053 and 08-054. Charles Edward Bursey II, Attorney Registration No. 0073962, is permanently disbarred from the practice of law in Ohio.
Moyer, C.J., and Pfeifer, Lundberg Stratton, O'Connor, O'Donnell, Lanzinger, and Cupp, JJ., concur.
Opinion: http://www.supremecourt.ohio.gov/rod/docs/pdf/0/2009/2009-Ohio-6180.pdf 
(Dec. 2, 2009) The Supreme Court of Ohio today permanently revoked the license of attorney Charles E. Bursey II of Centerville based on findings that Bursey misappropriated money held in trust for clients, forged clients’ signatures, commingled client funds with his own and committed numerous other acts of professional misconduct.
In a 7-0 per curiam opinion, the Court agreed with findings by the Board of Commissioners on Grievances & Discipline that in his dealings with 11 different clients Bursey committed multiple violations of, among others, the state attorney discipline rules that prohibit conduct involving dishonesty, fraud, deceit, or misrepresentation and conduct that adversely reflects on an attorney’s fitness to practice. The Court also found violations of the rules that require attorneys to keep funds held for clients in a dedicated account separate from the lawyer’s own funds, to make a full and accurate accounting to clients of moneys held on their behalf, and to promptly deliver funds or property in an attorney’s possession that a client is entitled to receive.
In imposing its ultimate sanction of disbarment, the Court noted that Bursey, whose license has been under an interim suspension since September 2008, engaged in a pattern of dishonest conduct that caused harm to multiple clients, and also failed to respond to the complaints filed against him by the Office of Disciplinary Counsel and the Dayton Bar Association or to otherwise cooperate with disciplinary authorities during the investigation and prosecution of his misconduct.
Contacts
Jonathan E. Coughlan, 614.461.0256, for the Office of Disciplinary Counsel.
No current contact information available for Charles E. Bursey.
2009-1509. Geauga Cty. Bar Assn. v. Patterson, Slip Opinion No. 2009-Ohio-6166.
On Certified Report by the Board of Commissioners on Grievances and Discipline, No. 09-018. David N. Patterson, Attorney Registration No. 0015280, is suspended from the practice of law in Ohio for 18 months, with six months stayed on condition.
Moyer, C.J., and Pfeifer, Lundberg Stratton, O'Connor, O'Donnell, Lanzinger, and Cupp, JJ., concur.
Opinion: http://www.supremecourt.ohio.gov/rod/docs/pdf/0/2009/2009-Ohio-6166.pdf
(Dec. 2, 2009) The law license of Willoughby attorney David N. Patterson has been suspended for 18 months, with the final six months of that term stayed on conditions, for mishandling a decedent’s estate and committing other misconduct by disregarding his duty to exercise independent professional judgment on behalf of clients who were facing foreclosure on their homes.
The Court adopted findings by the Board of Commissioners on Grievances & Discipline that Patterson neglected to secure trust assets that were part of the estate of a client for whom he had been named executor, resulting in improper distribution of assets from the estate by his co-trustee without the permission of the probate court.
The Court also found that Patterson violated multiple provisions of the Rules of Professional Conduct by entering into a business arrangement with a purported “foreclosure rescue” service in which Patterson received fees directly from the service to “represent” its customers in mortgage foreclosure actions without meeting with the clients, determining their individual objectives or financial situations or exercising independent judgment to determine what legal action was in each client’s best interest.
Contacts
Joseph H. Weiss Jr., 440.729.7278, for the Geauga County Bar Association.
Richard S. Koblentz, 216.621.3012, for David Patterson.