Request By:
Rocky King, # 135379
George Sornberger, Esq.
Opinion
Opinion By: Jack Conway, Attorney General; James M. Herrick, Assistant Attorney General
Open Records Decision
This matter having been presented to the Attorney General in an open records appeal, and the Attorney General being sufficiently advised, we find that George Sornberger, a private attorney, is not bound by, and therefore did not violate, the Open Records Act in failing to respond to former client Rocky King's request for records related to his case. We believe that 07-ORD-210 and 04-ORD-215, copies of which are attached hereto and incorporated by reference, are controlling. Although private attorneys may be obligated under the Rules of Professional Conduct governing attorneys licensed to practice law in Kentucky to provide records from their clients' case files, 1 they are not obligated to do so under the Open Records Act.
A party aggrieved by this decision may appeal it by initiating action in the appropriate circuit court pursuant to KRS 61.880(5) and KRS 61.882. Pursuant to KRS 61.880(3), the Attorney General should be notified of any action in circuit court, but should not be named as a party in that action or in any subsequent proceeding.
Footnotes
Footnotes
1 See SCR 3.130(1.16)(d), which provides: "Upon termination of representation, a lawyer shall take steps to the extent reasonably practicable to protect a client's interests, such as giving reasonable notice to the client, allowing time for employment of other counsel, surrendering papers and property to which the client is entitled and refunding any advance payment of fee or expense that has not been earned or incurred. The lawyer may retain papers relating to the client to the extent permitted by other law."