Steve Thornton

The Kentucky Supreme Court denied a motion to set aside the indefinite suspension of attorney Steve Thornton’s law license.

In a ruling issued April 27, the court found no good cause was shown to set aside the suspension, which the court handed down in February.

Six of the seven sitting justices voted against Thornton’s motion, with Justice Kelly Thompson recusing himself.

The suspension had been recommended by the Kentucky State Bar Association, which fielded a complaint from a couple, William and Rosemary Malinowski, who Thornton represented in a foreclosure case.

The couple had been served with a foreclosure complaint in 2020 that resulted in a default judgment against them in 2021.

According to the supreme court’s prior ruling suspending Thornton’s license, Thornton had not filed an answer to the foreclosure complaint after the Malinowskis paid him $5,000 and produced several documents he requested.

“Throughout the pendency of the foreclosure action, Thornton filed no responsive pleadings, failed to respond to repeated communications from the Malinowskis and failed to discuss with them what steps were being taken on their behalf,” the state supreme court’s ruling suspending Thornton’s license said.

The couple filed a complaint with the state bar association after Thornton did not respond to a request from them for a refund.

Prior to his suspension, Thornton did not formally respond to the bar association complaint and did not participate in the proceedings that led ultimately to his suspension by the state supreme court in February.

Thornton subsequently filed a motion to set aside the indefinite suspension, filing an answer to the bar complaint in which he said that he met with the Malinowskis over the phone and twice in his office to discuss the case.

Thornton said in his filing that the Malinowskis claimed they had not been served with foreclosure-related paperwork by a process server, a step required for Thornton to a file a formal court response in the foreclosure case.

He also said he refunded the Malinowskis the full $5,000 retainer and provided a copy of the check as evidence.

Reached Thursday, Thornton said he was looking at further options to regain his license, saying that additional action would have to be taken up by the state bar association.

“I’m exploring that right now, but I don’t really have a definitive answer,” Thornton said. “I don’t know how long that’s going to take, but I’m afraid that won’t be a quick process.”