Florida Bar News

October 1, 2016 Disciplinary Actions

The Florida Supreme Court in recent court orders disciplined 26 attorneys — disbarring four, revoking the licenses of four, suspending 12, and publicly reprimanding six. Four attorneys received more than one form of discipline; three were placed on probation and one was ordered to pay restitution.

Marcy Elizabeth Abitz, 12227 S.W. 52nd St., Cooper City, suspended until further order, effective immediately, following an August 9 court order. (Admitted to practice: 2002) According to a petition for emergency suspension order, Abitz appeared to be causing great public harm. A Bar investigation found that she misappropriated more than $8,900 in funds that were sent to her in error and should have been immediately returned to the sender. (Case No. SC16-1358)

Robert D. Adams, P.O. Box 173228,  Tampa, permanently disbarred, following an August 25 court order. (Admitted to practice: 1996) Adams and two lawyer colleagues intentionally targeted and caused the wrongful arrest of an opposing counsel in a high-profile case for the benefit of themselves and their client. Adams concealed evidence and lied about his conduct. (Case No. SC14-1054)

Brett Michael Anthony, 1151 Virginia Ave., Altamonte Springs, suspended for 10 days, effective 30 days from an August 11 court order. (Admitted to practice: 2012) Upon reinstatement, Anthony is further placed on probation for three years, following an August 11 court order. Anthony failed to notify the Bar of several criminal cases and the determination of guilt and/or convictions against him, as required.  (Case No. SC16-482)

Nicholas Michael Athanason, 1236 66th St. N., St. Petersburg, to be publicly reprimanded following a July 7 court order. (Admitted to practice: 1989) Athanason is further placed on probation for one year. A Bar audit revealed that Athanason failed to properly monitor and supervise trust accounting practices and procedures for his firm’s trust account. The audit also found seven instances in which Athanason disbursed approximately $1,000 belonging to clients and third parties who could not be located by his firm. (SC16-995)

Mark Carmel, 301 Clematis St., Suite 3000, West Palm Beach, to be publicly reprimanded following a July 28 court order. Carmel is a licensed New York attorney practicing immigration law in Florida and is subject to the jurisdiction and disciplinary rules of the Supreme Court of Florida. Carmel was hired to help obtain a visa for a client. When the client changed his mind, he requested a refund. Carmel had done some work on the case, and mistakenly deposited the refund check into his law office account. (Case No. SC16-57)

Sunilda E. Casilla, 12905 S.W. 42nd St., Suite 217, Miami. The Supreme Court granted Casilla’s request for a disciplinary revocation, with leave to seek readmission after five years, effective 30 days from a July 14 court order. (Admitted to practice: 2006) Disciplinary revocation is tantamount to disbarment.  Disciplinary charges pending against Casilla involved several real estate transactions. (Case No. SC16-827)

Curtis Marlow Elmore, 408 W. University Ave., Apt. 9D, Gainesville. The Supreme Court granted Elmore’s request for a disciplinary revocation, with leave to seek readmission after five years, effective 30 days from a June 23 court order. (Admitted to practice: 2001) Disciplinary revocation is tantamount to disbarment. Disciplinary charges pending against Elmore involved a foreclosure action against clients. (Case No. SC16-804)

Bruce Charles Fehr, 430 Stanford Drive, Flintstone, Ga., suspended until further order, following a July 6 court order. (Admitted to practice: 1995) Fehr pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Georgia to one count of possession of child pornography. He was sentenced to three years in federal prison. (Case No. SC16-1173)

David A. Fernandez, 1023 Manatee Ave., W. Fl. 7, Bradenton,   to be publicly reprimanded following a June 23 court order. (Admitted to practice: 2010) Further, Fernandez shall undergo an office procedures and recordkeeping analysis under the direction of the Diversion/Discipline Consultation Service. He shall also complete The Florida Bar’s ethics school. Fernandez did not act diligently in representing several clients. In some instances, he did not adequately communicate and he failed to file necessary paperwork with the courts. (Case No. SC16-980)

Adam Robert Filthaut, P.O. Box 173228,  Tampa, permanently disbarred, following an August 25 court order. (Admitted to practice: 2000) Filthaut and two lawyer colleagues intentionally targeted and caused the wrongful arrest of an opposing counsel in a high-profile case for the benefit of themselves and their client. Filthaut concealed evidence and lied about his conduct. (Case No. SC14-1054)

Patrick John Hammergren, 114 E. Gregory St., Pensacola. The Supreme Court granted Hammergren’s request for a disciplinary revocation, with leave to seek readmission after five years, effective 30 days from a July 21, 2016, court order. (Admitted to practice: 2003) Hammergren must also pay restitution of $4,500 to three former clients. Disciplinary revocation is tantamount to disbarment.  Disciplinary charges against Hammergren included noncompliance with Rule 3-5.1(h) affidavit, practicing law while suspended, client neglect, and misrepresentation. (Case No. SC16-831

Paul Aaron Herman, 4801 Linton Blvd., Suite 11A-560, Delray Beach, to be publicly reprimanded following a July 14 court order. (Admitted to practice: 1984) After being hired, Herman failed to pursue the objectives of the representation and failed to keep the client reasonably informed about the status of the matter. (SC16-1048)

Samuel Harker Lanier, 3791 A1A S., Suite B, St. Augustine, suspended until further order, effective 30 days from an August 1 court order. (Admitted to practice: 1980) Lanier pleaded no contest to several charges including possession of cocaine, a felony; driving while license canceled, suspended, or revoked, a misdemeanor; and possession of drug paraphernalia, a misdemeanor. Lanier was sentenced to drug offender probation for 24 months for the felony charge and 12 months of probation for the possession of drug paraphernalia charge to be supervised by the Department of Corrections. He failed to notify the Bar, as required, of his felony charge and judgment of guilt. (Case No. SC16-1352)

Cory Matthew Meltzer, 5499 N. Federal Highway, Suite J, Boca Raton, permanently disbarred on consent effective retroactive to May 12, following a June 16 court order. (Admitted to practice: 2007) Meltzer was the subject of several pending disciplinary matters. Meltzer was charged with patient brokering, a felony, and one count of attempted solicitation of motor vehicle accident victims, a misdemeanor. Meltzer entered a plea to a charge of attempted patient brokering, a misdemeanor. (Case No. SC16-910)

David Barry Newman, 7 Times Square, New York, N.Y., to be publicly reprimanded following a June 23 court order. (Admitted to practice: 2010) Newman had a conflict of interest in representing several clients in trademark matters before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. One client was not aware of the conflict. (Case No. SC16-47)

Stephen Michael Newman, 7108 Fairway Drive, Suite 125, Palm Beach Gardens. The Supreme Court granted Newman’s request for a disciplinary revocation, with leave to seek readmission after five years, effective immediately, following a June 23 court order. (Admitted to practice: 1976) Disciplinary revocation is tantamount to disbarment. Disciplinary charges pending against Newman involved a guilty plea to grand larceny, a felony, in the state of New York, where he was also admitted to practice law. (Case No. SC16-647)

Michael Olshefski, 3925 S. Nova Road, Suite 4, Port Orange, suspended until further order, effective 30 days from a July 6 court order. (Admitted to practice: 2006) Olshefski was found in contempt for noncompliance. He failed to respond to an official Bar inquiry regarding a complaint. (Case No. SC16-656)

Jean M. Picon, P.O. Box 410004, Melbourne, suspended effective 30 days from a June 30 court order. (Admitted to practice: 2003) Picon was suspended until further order pending the outcome of the appeal of an underlying disciplinary matter.  (Case No. SC15-385)

David S. Rothenberg, 1 E. Broward Blvd., Suite 1200, Ft. Lauderdale, suspended until further order, effective 30 days from a June 28 court order. (Admitted to practice: 2006) Rothenberg pleaded and was adjudicated guilty in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, to one count of possession of child pornography, a felony. (Case No. SC16-1127)

Aubrey George Rudd, 1250 S.W. 27th Ave., Suite 306, Miami, suspended for three years, effective April 1, following a June 23 court order. (Admitted to practice: 1991) Rudd was the settlement agent for two real estate transactions that he mishandled. He or his law firm prepared settlement statements that contained numerous misrepresentations. In each instance, documents indicated that the borrower provided hundreds of thousands of dollars to close a transaction; however, bank records did not reflect that the borrower provided any funds to close the transaction. (Case No. SC15-1506)

James L. Schmidt II, 4771 Bayou Blvd., #191, Pensacola, suspended until further order, effective 30 days from a July 14 court order. (Admitted to practice: 1982) Schmidt was found guilty by a jury in the U.S. District Court in Brooklyn, N.Y., of one count of felony money laundering. According to the indictment, Schmidt was involved in an illegal scheme to sell counterfeit securities with no monetary value to unwitting investors. (Case No. SC16-1240)

Marlon Alphanso Smikle, 708 Secret Harbor Lane, Unit 307, Lake Mary, suspended effective immediately, following a June 2 court order. (Admitted to practice: 2014) Smikle pleaded no contest in circuit court to practicing law without a license, a felony. He had been suspended previously in October 2015 for three years.  (Case No. SC16-949)

James C. Stewart, Jr., 3811 Airport Pulling Road N., Suite 205, Naples, disbarred effective immediately, following a June 23 court order. (Admitted to practice: 1984) Stewart became a delinquent member of The Florida Bar on October 1, 2013. Three days later, he prepared a deed and other documents for transferring a condominium from a client to the client’s daughter. After receiving the executed documents and checks for fees and recording costs, Stewart failed to record the documents and failed to communicate with the client or the primary counsel. (Case No. SC15-1670)

Philip Stillman, 3352 W. Mallory Blvd., Jupiter, to be publicly reprimanded by publication in the Southern Reporter  following a June 16 court order. (Admitted to practice: 1990) Stillman violated Bar rules regarding responsibility for nonlawyer employees. Respondent admitted to routinely accepting several referrals each month from a nonemployee who, unbeknownst to him, was improperly soliciting clients for the firm. (Case No. SC16-905)

Jeffery Toney, P.O. Box 579, Crestview, suspended for 90 days, effective 30 days from a July 7 court order. (Admitted to practice: 1994) Further, upon reinstatement, Toney is placed on probation for two years. While working at an immigration center, Toney engaged in misrepresentation with clients, federal immigration agencies, and the court. He also engaged in the unlicensed practice of law by leaving his signature stamp at the immigration center to be used by a nonlawyer employee who had previously been disbarred. (Case No. SC15-1347)

Anne Leah Weintraub, 15 Paradise Plaza, #347, Sarasota, suspended for six months, effective 30 days from a May 5 court order. (Admitted to practice: 2004) Weintraub failed to read loan documents in her personal real estate transactions that contained inaccurate information before signing them. She was also the account holder of a firm trust account that generated two insufficient funds notices in transactions handled by another attorney in the firm. (Case No. SC15-1343)

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, less than 5 percent of disbarred lawyers seek readmission.