Office of Lawyer Regulation v. James T. Runyon

2015 WI 95, 870 N.W.2d 228, 365 Wis. 2d 32, 2015 Wisc. LEXIS 602
CourtWisconsin Supreme Court
DecidedOctober 8, 2015
Docket2015AP000578-D
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 2015 WI 95 (Office of Lawyer Regulation v. James T. Runyon) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Wisconsin Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Office of Lawyer Regulation v. James T. Runyon, 2015 WI 95, 870 N.W.2d 228, 365 Wis. 2d 32, 2015 Wisc. LEXIS 602 (Wis. 2015).

Opinions

[33]*33PER CURIAM.

¶ 1. We review a stipulation filed pursuant to Supreme Court Rule (SCR) 22.121 by the Office of Lawyer Regulation (OLR) and Attorney James T. Runyon. In the stipulation, Attorney Runyon admits that he engaged in misconduct consisting primarily of a number of trust account violations. The [34]*34parties jointly request that this court impose a 60-day suspension of Attorney Runyon's license to practice law in Wisconsin as discipline for his admitted misconduct.

¶ 2. We approve the stipulation and suspend Attorney Runyon's license to practice law in this state for a period of 60 days. Because this matter was resolved with a stipulation under SCR 22.12, we do not require Attorney Runyon to pay the costs of this proceeding. There is no request for restitution.

¶ 3. Attorney Runyon was admitted to the practice of law in Wisconsin in 1978. He practices law in the Tomahawk area. In 1984, Attorney Runyon's law license was suspended for one year for conduct involving moral turpitude, dishonesty, fraud, or deceit and for providing false testimony, violations of former SCRs 11.01, 20.04(3) and (4), 22.28(4)(b), and 40.13. In re Disciplinary Proceedings Against Runyon, 121 Wis. 2d 37, 357 N.W.2d 545 (1984). In 2006, Attorney Runyon received a private reprimand for misconduct involving dishonesty, fraud, deceit, or misrepresentation, in violation of SCR 20:8.4(c). Private Reprimand No. 2006-11.

¶ 4. On March 23, 2015, the OLR filed a complaint alleging six counts of misconduct relating to trust account violations that occurred over a period of several months in 2013 and early 2014. On May 12, 2015, the parties executed a stipulation pursuant to SCR 22.12.

¶ 5. Attorney Runyon maintained an IOLTA trust account at First Merit Bank in Kaukauna, Wisconsin. Between September and October 2013, a series of overdrafts occurred. At the OLR's request, Attorney Runyon provided the OLR with his transaction register, client ledger, and bank statements. [35]*35Attorney Runyon's transaction register consisted of handwritten check stubs, which did not show a consistent, accurate running balance, did not include the source and client matter for all deposits, and did not include the purpose for all disbursements. Attorney Runyon did not perform complete and accurate monthly account reconciliations. For example, Attorney Runyon's handwritten check stubs indicate that the balance in his trust account as of June 27, 2013, should have been $134,924.09. However, bank records show that Attorney Runyon's actual trust account balance on June 27, 2013, was only $5,944.86.

¶ 6. Because the OLR was unable to determine the cause of the overdrafts based solely upon records provided by Attorney Runyon, the OLR obtained Attorney Runyon's bank statements, checks, and deposit records for 2013 directly from the bank and conducted an audit.

¶ 7. The OLR's reconstructed records indicate that Attorney Runyon's trust account first became overdrawn (on the books, as opposed to the bank balance) by a total of $16,651.33 at the end of the day on September 16, 2013. On September 19, 2013, the largest overdraft occurred, in the amount of $24,151.33.

¶ 8. On November 4, 2013, in the wake of these overdrafts, Attorney Runyon opened a new trust account at River Valley Bank and made an initial deposit of $20,000.

¶ 9. On November 12 and 14, 2013, River Valley Bank charged Attorney Runyon miscellaneous fees associated with opening the new account. Attorney Runyon did not account for such fees and did not keep any firm funds designated to cover account fees and charges in the trust account.

[36]*36¶ 10. On December 2, 2013, Attorney Runyon closed the First Merit Bank trust account, withdrew its remaining balance of $8,072.60, and deposited it into his River Valley Bank trust account. The $8,072.62 belonged to Attorney Runyon either as earned fees or as personal funds.

¶ 11. On December 31, 2013, there was an overdraft in the amount of $1,518.75 on Attorney Runyon's River Valley Bank trust account. A trust account check in the amount of $2,500 was presented and returned unpaid.

¶ 12. In response to the December 31, 2013 overdraft, Attorney Runyon provided copies of various records requested by the OLR, including his transaction register, bank statements, images of the canceled checks, deposit slips, and copies of the client ledgers at issue. A number of the canceled checks did not include the client matter and purpose of the check on the memo line. In addition, a number of the original deposit slips that were submitted to the bank by Attorney Runyon did not include client information. Attorney Runyon stipulated to his commission of the misconduct charged as follows:

¶ 13. By failing to hold in trust and account for at least $19,053.61 and as much as $86,850.68 in client and third-party funds between June 27, 2013, and October 1, 2013, Attorney Runyon violated SCR 20:1.15(b)(1)2 (Count One).

[37]*37¶ 14. By failing to hold in trust and account for at least $19,053.61 and as much as $86,850.68 in client and third-party funds between June 27, 2013, and October 1, 2013, and, on numerous occasions, by converting funds from client matters in order to cover checks he issued in other client matters for which there was not sufficient funds on deposit in the trust account, Attorney Runyon violated SCR 20:8.4(c)3 (Count Two).

¶ 15. By depositing eight checks into his trust account totaling $18,550 that were drawn upon his business account, Attorney Runyon violated SCR 20:1.15(b)(3)4 (Count Three).

¶ 16. By failing to maintain a transaction register that accurately reflected the activity in his trust account and that included the balance after each transaction, the source and client matter for all deposits, and the purpose for all disbursements, Attorney Runyon violated SCR 20:1.15(f)(l)a.5 Further, by fail[38]*38ing to maintain client ledgers that accurately reflected the activity in his trust account, and by making disbursements of funds from his trust account that created final total negative balances of $53,772.73 in 14 client ledgers as of October 1, 2013, and by allowing five client ledgers to become overdrawn temporarily in July and August 2013 by a total amount of $6,759.36, Attorney Runyon violated SCR 20:1.15(f)(l)b.6 (Count Four).

¶ 17. By depositing $8,072.60 of personal funds into his River Valley Bank trust account on December 2, 2013, Attorney Runyon violated SCR 20:1.15(b)(3) (Count Five).

¶ 18. By failing to identify the client matter on his trust account deposit slips submitted to the bank, Attorney Runyon violated 20:1.15(f)(l)d.7 Further, by issuing checks from his River Valley Bank trust [39]*39account without including the client matter and purpose on the memo lines of such checks, Attorney Runyon violated 20:1.15(f)(l)e.l.8 Lastly, by failing to obtain, and maintain with his trust account records, imaged checks or copies of the canceled checks issued from his trust account, Attorney Runyon violated 20:1.15(f)(l)e.2.9 (Count Six).

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Bluebook (online)
2015 WI 95, 870 N.W.2d 228, 365 Wis. 2d 32, 2015 Wisc. LEXIS 602, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/office-of-lawyer-regulation-v-james-t-runyon-wis-2015.