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IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF MARYLAND Misc. Docket AG No. 11 September Term, 2003

ATTORNEY GRIEVANCE COMMISSION OF MARYLAND v. CARO LINE P. A YRES -FOUN TAIN

Bell, C.J. *Eldridge Raker Wilner Cathell Harrell Battaglia JJ.

Opinion by Bell, C.J.

File: December 22, 2003 *Eldridge, J. now retired, p articipated in the hearing and conference of this case while an active membe r of this Court; after being recalled pursuant to the Constitution, Article IV, Section 3A, he also participated in the decision and adoptio n of this opinio n.

The Supreme Court of Delaware, in an unreported, per curiam opinion, dated July 8, 2002, "ha[ving] considered this matter seriously ...[and] find[ing] the Board [on Professional Responsibility]'s recommendation ... to be appropriate in light of the presence of the following aggravatin g factors: a su bstantial prior d isciplinary record; a pattern of misconduct; multiple violations; an d engagin g in decep tive practices d uring the dis ciplinary proce ss," accepted that recommendation and the Board's rep ort supporting the recommendation and ordered Caroline Patricia Ayres-Fountain, the respondent, a member of the Delaware, Maryland, District of Columbia and Virginia Bars, suspended from the practice o f law in Delaw are for a period of three years, fro m the d ate of th e court' s opinio n. The Board's Report and Recommendation,1 attached to the court's opinion, explicated the charges and the reasons for the recommendation, as follows: " I. ADMITTED VIOLATIONS AS SET FORTH IN THE STIPULATION "A. Board Case No. 12 "For the years 1996-2000, Respondent admits that statements she made on her Certificates of Compliance filed with the Delaware Supreme Court falsely represented that

In preparing its Report and Recommendation, the Board on Professional Responsibility accepted a Stipulation of Admitted Facts and Violations and a Joint Recommendation of Sanctions (the "stipulation"), entered into by the respondent and the Office of D isciplinary Counsel ("OD C"), pursuant to wh ich Petition for Discipline Bo ard Case Nos. 12, 17, 38, 39 and 55, 2001 would be resolved. That resolution included the ODC's agreement to dismiss Counts 9, 15, 18, 20, 22 and 26 of the petition. The stipulation is quite detailed, consisting of 26 pages and 128 paragraphs with respect to the counts as to which the respondent was to be disciplined. In addition, it covered the 6 counts to b e dismissed and detailed the aggrav ating and m itigating facto rs considere d in arriving at the stipulation an d to be take n into acco unt in fashio ning the ap propriate sanction.

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Respondent had time ly filed and pa id all federal, state and local payroll, gross receipts and income taxe s. Re spon dent, how ever , had not timel y filed and paid various taxes at the time the Certificates of Compliance were filed. The specific tax filings and unpaid or late taxes are set forth in paragraphs 5-11 of the Stipulation. They include federal income taxes, unemployment tax assessments, City of Wilmington net profit taxes and federal employment taxes. For the four year period from 1996-2000, the total amount of taxes tha t were no t timely paid is approximately $82,000. At the hearing, the Responden t testified that she has now made all the necessary tax filings and is in the process of negotiating payment plans with respec t to any tax es still ow ed. ...
[2]

"In 2001, Respondent filed a Certificate of Compliance in which she acknowledged for the first time that timely filing and payment of taxes had not been made. Stipulation 1J19. The 2001 Certificate of Compliance did not, however, disclose that on March 9, 2000, the Division of Unemployment filed a Certificate of Employer's Indebtedness with the Superior Court. Id. Thus, the 2001 Certificate was also inaccurate. "In addition, du ring the cou rse of her d ealings w ith the ODC in connection with a private admo nition iss ued on Octob er 11, 20 00, Respondent conc ealed her f ailure to file and/or pay vario us city, state and fe deral tax es from the OD C and its audito r. Tr. 15- 17.

In a footno te, the Board stated: " The Stipulation also recites that Respondent has filed returns and that she had paid a substantial portion of the outstanding taxes and assessm ents. Stip ulation

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