A recent article in the Miami Herald details how a Fort Lauderdale personal injury attorney “kept a combined $89,000 of clients’ settlement money, abandoned other clients’ cases and ignored The Florida Bar after the clients filed grievances with it.”

According to the Herald, “all of that earned [him] disbarment by the state Supreme Court last week, prohibiting him from practicing law in Florida.”

The article notes that the attorney “owes $50,000 plus interest in settlement funds to Rebecca Liland, and another $39,300 plus interest to Jennifer McGonigal, after each filed civil lawsuits against him in Broward County and received default judgments when [he] didn’t answer.” Both women had hired him after being injured in car accidents.

The Herald continues:

“He had his clients’ settlement funds deposited into his trust account, as is standard, then never turned over the money to his clients. Tuesday, McGonigal filed a civil theft suit … seeking damages tripling the $39,300.”

Another client, Luis Perez, told the Florida Bar in 2024 the attorney “kept all of his $10,000 settlement.”

The Herald also reports why the attorney “didn’t give Liland her settlement money in 2021, give McGonigal her settlement money in 2022 and began abandoning cases in 2022 remains a mystery.”

He “didn’t answer any of the grievances filed against him or participate in any phase of The Florida Bar discipline process, which was why he has been suspended since October 2023.”

While Florida has made progress in lowering costs for consumers by enacting lawsuit abuse reform legislation, this story highlights how exploitative practices still persist. This incident is not just a story about one lawyer’s misconduct—it’s an example of a system that has lost its focus on getting justice for victims.