What began as a business for sale in Orange Park has evolved in the past 14 months into two lawsuits filed in the 4th Judicial Circuit, another filed in the U.S. District Court Middle District of Florida and a Chapter 11 filing in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court Middle District of Florida.
According to court documents, Susan Carter, owner of Susan Carter CPA in Orange Park, advertised her practice for sale in August 2018.
Greg Homesley, a CPA in Lubbock, Texas, responded to the offer and within a few weeks, executed a letter of intent to purchase Carter’s business and take over the firm’s business and client records, office space and staff as well as Susan Carter CPA's telephone number, web page and social media accounts, according to Homesley's lawsuit filed against Carter May 23 in the 4th Circuit Court in Clay County.
Homesley is represented by the Murphy & Anderson law firm in Jacksonville; Carter is represented by the Jacksonville law firms Lindell & Farson and Driver, McAfee, Hawthorne & Diebenow.
Homesley’s complaint states that he agreed that Carter would continue to provide accounting services to certain family members and personal friends, but would refrain from competing with him within 50 miles of his new Orange Park office.
The purchase and sale closed Oct. 29 with a mutually-agreed-upon transition period for the orderly transfer of the business until April 15, according to the lawsuit.
Homesley contends that immediately prior to the closing, Carter cleaned out her office, including office supplies and toilet tissue and also removed office equipment including a computer, monitor and printer – all of which he understood was part of the purchase agreement.
Homesley also claims Carter directed her staff to “hide” more than 100 clients in Carter CPA’s client tracking software, representing more than $100,000 in annual revenue.
The complaint further contends that Carter disabled his access to the firm’s accounting software a month before the end of the transition period and then refused to transfer client records or grant access to the administration rights to Susan Carter CPA's website and social media accounts.
Homesley also says Carter opened an accounting business in Fleming Island, six miles from the office he purchased.
Homesley charges in the lawsuit that Carter misrepresented her business, hindered the orderly transition of the business, failed to transfer to him all the clients' information and records, website and social media accounts agreed to in the purchase and breached the noncompete agreement.
On Sept. 9. Greg Homesley CPA PC Inc. filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, represented by the Law Offices of Mickler & Mickler.
Susan Carter CPA on Oct. 2 filed a complaint in federal court in Jacksonville against Greg Homesley, his wife, Cody Homesley, and Kim Homesley, identified in the lawsuit as their son-in-law. The complaint alleges theft of trade secrets, fraud, misrepresentation and unauthorized access to servers and computers.
The lawsuit charges that the Homesleys misappropriated Carter's trade secrets, such as passwords and logins, as well as confidential client and financial information, and that they secured unlawful access to and use of Carter's computers and servers and that they misappropriated Carter’s email, web domain and software accounts.
According to the complaint, during the week of May 20, the defendants secretly acquired the access credentials to Carter's email accounts and domain name.
The Homesleys allegedly used the access to reset passwords and login credentials on Carter's emails and software accounts.
Also Oct. 2, Carter filed a complaint in Circuit Court in Duval County against Bluefin Technology Group and its owners, Dawn and Erick Wilson. Bluefin is the third-party IT services provider used by Carter and Homesley.
Carter says in the complaint that Bluefin was contracted by her to manage and protect Susan Carter CPA's computer network and software, and trade secrets such as business records and the company email account and web domain.
The complaint further contends that when Bluefin learned that Carter was switching to another IT provider, Bluefin locked her out of her accounts and then provided the logins, passwords and other credentials for Carter's trade secrets to the Homesleys, who then used the credentials to change the passwords and logins and deny Carter access to intellectual property related to her business.
Carter asks the court to order the defendants to cease using her information and trade secrets and to award compensation for damages.
The Wilsons are represented by JB Roth of the Roth Law Firm.
He said via email that his clients deny any wrongdoing and that the allegations are “half-truths, misinformation and outright lies.”
The three civil lawsuits and the bankruptcy case remain open in the state and federal courts.