from The Florida Bar News
The Florida Bar announced that the Florida Supreme Court in recent court orders disciplined 10 attorneys, disbarring one and suspending six. Some attorneys received more than one form of discipline. Three attorneys were publicly reprimanded.
According to the Bar, three attorneys from Jacksonville were disciplined. John David Todd was suspended for three years, and Gary Arthur Benson and James Reginald Flynn were publicly reprimanded.
As an official arm of the Florida Supreme Court, The Florida Bar and its Department of Lawyer Regulation are charged with administering a statewide disciplinary system to enforce Supreme Court rules of professional conduct for the 90,000-plus lawyers admitted to practice law in Florida.
Since Aug. 1, 2007, case files have been posted to attorneys’ individual Florida Bar profiles and may be reviewed at and/or downloaded from The Florida Bar’s website, www.floridabar.org.
Court orders are not final until time expires to file a rehearing motion and, if filed, determined. The filing of such a motion does not alter the effective date of the discipline.
Disbarred lawyers may not re-apply for admission for five years. They are required to go through an extensive process that rejects many who apply. It includes a rigorous background check and retaking the bar exam. Historically, fewer than five percent of disbarred lawyers seek readmission.
Here is a summary of orders issued Oct. 5 – Dec. 1, 2010:
• Gabrielle Alexis, 4613 N. University Drive, No. 558, Coral Springs, suspended until further order, effective immediately, following a Nov. 15 court order. (Admitted to practice: 1996) Alexis was found in contempt of court. On multiple occasions, she failed to respond to investigative inquiry letters from the Bar regarding a client’s complaint. (Case No. SC10-1665)
• James Joseph Egan, c/o the Mailbox No. 5705, P.O. Box 523882, Miami, permanently disbarred effective 30 days from a Nov. 22 court order. (Admitted to practice: 1985) Further, Egan shall pay restitution totaling more than $5,800 to four separate clients. In several instances, Egan was paid to represent clients and he failed to communicate, failed to process paperwork, made misrepresentations about the status of the cases, and was deceitful about arranged contract agreements. He has also failed to appear without good cause and without obtaining an order of withdrawal in some cases. (Case No. SC10-80)
• Ninette S. Fletcher, 156 S. Charles Richard Beall Blvd., Suite 2, Debary, suspended until further order, following an Oct. 29 court order. (Admitted to practice: 2003) According to a petition for emergency suspension, Fletcher appeared to be causing great public harm. A Bar audit indicated that Fletcher misappropriated funds from her trust account and used the money for personal and business expenses. (Case No. SC10-2026)
• Willie Jones, 1300 N.W. 17th Ave., Suite 261, Delray Beach, (Admitted to practice: 1993), suspended for three years effective 30 days from a Nov. 15 court order. Further, as a condition of reinstatement, Jones was ordered to pay restitution to the wrongful death claimants who were his clients. Jones settled a wrongful death case and made false representations to his clients about his own claims to the settlement proceeds and he was deceitful about the status of the litigation. He also failed to communicate with his client during the representation. (Case Nos. SC08-1234 & SC09-246)
• Kurt D. Mitchell, P.O. Box 1055, Palmetto, suspended for 10 days, effective 30 days from an Oct. 5 court order. (Admitted to practice: 2005) Mitchell engaged in a series of e-mail exchanges with rival counsel that were disparaging, humiliating and discriminatory, and later engaged in a hostile confrontation with the same rival counsel at a deposition. In a separate instance, Mitchell made disparaging, humiliating and discriminatory remarks about his former landlord in the course of litigation between them. Mitchell also made a false statement of fact in response to a court reporter’s complaint regarding his failure to pay for a deposition transcript he had ordered. (Case Nos. SC10-637, SC10-639 & SC10-1583)
• Nicholas Francis Mooney, 201 E. Kennedy Blvd., Suite 500, Tampa, to be publicly reprimanded following a Nov. 16 court order. (Admitted to practice: 1985) Mooney was found guilty of unlawful misconduct directed at opposing counsel. He engaged in a series of e-mail exchanges with rival counsel that were disparaging, humiliating, and discriminatory. Mooney also engaged in hostile confrontation with the same rival counsel at a deposition. (Case Nos. SC10-640 & SC10-1584)
• Adam Ira Skolnik, P.O. Box 670583, Coral Springs, suspended for 90 days, effective Oct. 30, following an Oct. 6 court order. (Admitted to practice: 2004) Further, Skolnik shall pay restitution of nearly $5,000 to two clients. In one case, Skolnik entered into a business transaction with a client that presented a conflict of interest. In another case, Skolnik failed to provide competent representation to clients who, as a result, failed to receive a settlement in lawsuit. (Case No. SC09-960)
• John David Todd, P.O. Box 551563, Jacksonville, suspended for three years effective 30 days from a Dec. 1 court order. (Admitted to practice: 1991) Further, Todd shall pay restitution of nearly $3,400 to clients in three separate cases. Todd failed to adequately represent the clients after being retained. In some instances, he failed to appear in court, he failed to communicate and he failed to refund client fees. (Case No. SC10-960)
The following lawyers received public reprimands at The Florida Bar’s Board of Governor’s meeting on Dec. 10:
• Gary Arthur Benson, 2955 Hartley Road, Suite 101, Jacksonville, publicly reprimanded on Dec. 10, as a result of a Jan. 7 court order. (Admitted to practice: 1975) Benson represented a client who owned real property and leased the property to another. The client sold that property to a third party and executed a title warranty deed and an affidavit of ownership. The affidavit stated that the client had clear title, that no other person claimed possession of the property, and there were no tenants, leases or occupancies affecting the property. The representations were false since the property was, in fact, occupied by the tenant. Benson as the attorney, negligently permitted his client to make that misrepresentation of fact. (Case No. SC09-2319)
• James Reginald Flynn, 1401 Riverplace Blvd., Apt. 2709, Jacksonville, publicly reprimanded on Dec. 10 as a result of an Aug. 31 court order. (Admitted to practice: 1977) Flynn was hired by a client to transfer the title of certain real estate to the client and her sister. During the representation, Flynn failed to answer or return most of his client’s phone calls. When he did speak with the client, Flynn promised to mail her a package, but failed to do so and then failed to communicate with her at all for the next four months. In another matter, Flynn was hired by a client in a child custody case. Flynn was ordered by a Judge to prepare an order for contempt regarding the case and he failed to do so. (Case No. SC10-517)