Northern Kentucky Lawyer Eric "Bull Dog" Deters Faces A Serious "Butt Whipping" From Federal Judge Danny Reeves.
Eric Deters facing sanction next week
Written by Jim Hannah
Kentucky Supreme Court Chief Justice John Minton Jr. and the state bar association want lawyer and radio personality Eric Deters to reimburse them about $23,000 it cost to defend a lawsuit he filed against them.
U.S. District Judge Danny Reeves will hold a hearing Wednesday at the federal courthouse in Frankfort to determine the appropriate sanction for filing the suit. The judge has accused Deters of misrepresenting the law in the suit which was later withdrawn.
Deters filed the suit against Minton and various other officials from the Supreme Court and bar association in January to stop a trial commissioner for releasing disciplinary recommendations against him. Reeves declined to issue an injunction blocking the release of a recommendation that Deters be suspended from the practice of law for 181 days.
The $23,000 includes $18,620 the law firm Stites and Harbison billed the bar association. That amount represented a reduced charged by the law firm in consideration of the public service nature of the work, Chief Bar Counsel Linda Gosnell wrote in a court filing.
The firm Gess Mattingly & Atchison billed Minton and Supreme Court Clerk Susan Clary $4,524.23 to defend them against the suit.
Another $155.50 was spent by the bar association copying 622 documents for the lawyers.
While Deters initially apologized in court filings asking that he not be sanctioned, he then released a YouTube video where he said he refused to let Reeves paint a picture that he was "some kind of sloppy incompetent attorney."
Deters' attorney, former gubernatorial candidate Larry Forgy, accused Reeves had joined the "parade" of people out to get his client. In court filings, Forgy has said there is a "cabal" forming in Northern Kentucky of lawyers jealous of Deters' popularity.
Reeves, who has a reputation for handing down harsh sentences in criminal proceedings, was equally critical of Deters in court and in written orders. Reeves' biggest complaint against Deters appears to be his lack of legal research before filing lawsuits.
During a hearing in January, Reeves looked at Deters and said a "first-year law student could have done better legal research" than what appeared to have done into the suit against the chief justice and bar association. Deters later said the judge had given him a "butt whipping."
In a written order filed in June, Reeves wrote that Deters has a "Ready, Fire, Aim" approach to litigation.
"Deters appears to believe that he can file any suit against any person, and only later conduct the required research and, if necessary, amend to bring his claims in compliance with the law," Reeves wrote.
Deters wrote in a court filing had he known his suit would have been transferred from the federal courthouse in Covington to Frankfort, where Reeves is based, he might not have filed it.
While Deters withdrew the initial suit, he filed a second suit against the bar association in June - and it was assigned to Reeves. While Deters said the new suit makes different legal claims than the initial suit, the underlying theme is the same.
Deters said the trial commissioner who recommended the suspension had a conflict of interest and should have recused himself. One of the bar association's ethics charges against Deters is that he charged an excessive $1,500 fee for filing a suit. But Deters claims the trial commissioner's law partner took the case after Deters was no longer in it and took a $25,000 fee.
Written by Jim Hannah
Kentucky Supreme Court Chief Justice John Minton Jr. and the state bar association want lawyer and radio personality Eric Deters to reimburse them about $23,000 it cost to defend a lawsuit he filed against them.
U.S. District Judge Danny Reeves will hold a hearing Wednesday at the federal courthouse in Frankfort to determine the appropriate sanction for filing the suit. The judge has accused Deters of misrepresenting the law in the suit which was later withdrawn.
Deters filed the suit against Minton and various other officials from the Supreme Court and bar association in January to stop a trial commissioner for releasing disciplinary recommendations against him. Reeves declined to issue an injunction blocking the release of a recommendation that Deters be suspended from the practice of law for 181 days.
The $23,000 includes $18,620 the law firm Stites and Harbison billed the bar association. That amount represented a reduced charged by the law firm in consideration of the public service nature of the work, Chief Bar Counsel Linda Gosnell wrote in a court filing.
The firm Gess Mattingly & Atchison billed Minton and Supreme Court Clerk Susan Clary $4,524.23 to defend them against the suit.
Another $155.50 was spent by the bar association copying 622 documents for the lawyers.
While Deters initially apologized in court filings asking that he not be sanctioned, he then released a YouTube video where he said he refused to let Reeves paint a picture that he was "some kind of sloppy incompetent attorney."
Deters' attorney, former gubernatorial candidate Larry Forgy, accused Reeves had joined the "parade" of people out to get his client. In court filings, Forgy has said there is a "cabal" forming in Northern Kentucky of lawyers jealous of Deters' popularity.
Reeves, who has a reputation for handing down harsh sentences in criminal proceedings, was equally critical of Deters in court and in written orders. Reeves' biggest complaint against Deters appears to be his lack of legal research before filing lawsuits.
During a hearing in January, Reeves looked at Deters and said a "first-year law student could have done better legal research" than what appeared to have done into the suit against the chief justice and bar association. Deters later said the judge had given him a "butt whipping."
In a written order filed in June, Reeves wrote that Deters has a "Ready, Fire, Aim" approach to litigation.
"Deters appears to believe that he can file any suit against any person, and only later conduct the required research and, if necessary, amend to bring his claims in compliance with the law," Reeves wrote.
Deters wrote in a court filing had he known his suit would have been transferred from the federal courthouse in Covington to Frankfort, where Reeves is based, he might not have filed it.
While Deters withdrew the initial suit, he filed a second suit against the bar association in June - and it was assigned to Reeves. While Deters said the new suit makes different legal claims than the initial suit, the underlying theme is the same.
Deters said the trial commissioner who recommended the suspension had a conflict of interest and should have recused himself. One of the bar association's ethics charges against Deters is that he charged an excessive $1,500 fee for filing a suit. But Deters claims the trial commissioner's law partner took the case after Deters was no longer in it and took a $25,000 fee.
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posted by KYJurisDoctor at 1:27 PM
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