The court accepted the Board of Commissioners on Grievances and Discipline’s report that Hunt’s “pattern of neglect and incompetence” lasted four years and resulted in the dismissal of his clients’ case.
A panel for the Board of Commissioners found that Hunt took on a case “that he was not competent to handle, proceeded without adequate preparation, neglected the matter, intentionally failed to pursue the clients’ lawful objectives, and led the clients to believe that their case remained pending, when, in fact, summary judgment had been granted to the defendants.”
Hunt represented Jennifer and Matthew Pond and their daughter Sarah in a personal injury matter in August 2002. Mrs. Pond and her daughter were injured when a vehicle was hit and pushed across the center line into the Ponds’ vehicle.
Documents show Hunt filed a complaint against the vehicle’s driver whose car was hit and the first vehicle driver’s father. Hunt did not file the suit against the driver who caused the accident because he was under the mistaken belief that the driver could not be held legally responsible for the injuries caused because she was a minor. That was followed by other mistakes and negligence by Hunt until 2006.
Hunt later had his license suspended on a different matter due to neglecting two clients in a medical malpractice suit in which he failed to obtain an expert witness, respond to discovery, or respond to separate motions for summary judgment.
The court agreed with the Board of Commissioners that Hunt engaged in conduct involving dishonesty, fraud, deceit or misrepresentation, that he handled a legal matter he was not competent to handle without assistance, that he neglected an entrusted legal matter and that he intentionally failed to seek the lawful objectives of his client.
Hunt graduated from the University of Dayton, passed the bar in 2001 and worked at his father’s law firm, Richard M. Hunt Co., from 2002 to 2010. According to court documents, Hunt has not kept up with his continuing education since his original suspension and is not currently registered as an attorney.
The records show Hunt has taken a job with General Dynamics as a contract administrator and “has no desire to return to the practice of law at the present time, but he does not want to lose his law license altogether.”
About the Author