Disbarment Recommended for Lawyer Stephen Rakusin Over 'Baseless' Lawsuit
The Florida Supreme Court will weigh in on a court-appointed referee's recommendation that Fort Lauderdale attorney Stephen Rakusin be disbarred for his role in a 'baseless lawsuit' disputing attorneys fees.
September 19, 2018 at 10:09 AM
4 minute read
The Florida Bar. Photo: wikimedia.
Stephen Rakusin of the Rakusin Law Firm in Fort Lauderdale could lose his law license after court-appointed referee Palm Beach County Court Judge Paul Damico found him guilty of filing a sham pleading.
Rakusin filed the pleading on behalf of his client and former Broward Circuit Judge Laura Watson in May 2009.
Watson attempted to sue the Florida Bar lawyers and Judicial Qualifications Commission members who had a hand in her disbarment, but the case was later dismissed. She was removed from the bench in 2015 over ethical complaints and permanently disbarred in 2017 for her role in negotiating an undisclosed settlement during her time as an insurance litigator at Watson & Lenter.
Related: Former Broward Judge Laura Watson Disbarred; Five Attorneys Suspended
Former Broward Circuit Judge Laura Watson during her opening of the JQC case against her. Photo: Melanie Bell/ALM.According to the referee's report, claims made in that case stemmed from a prior case in which Rakusin and Watson sued attorneys at Stewart Tilghman Fox Bianchi & Cain in Miami over the distribution of attorney's fees in a settlement agreement.
Watson “does nothing to show that the JQC investigative panel members' functions were not similar to the role of prosecutors, or that the defendants stepped outside their roles such that absolute immunity would not attach to that action,” U.S. District Judge Marcia Cooke wrote at the time.
Damico's investigation of Rakusin's actions in the Watson case spanned two months and began with a Florida Bar complaint on Apr. 12.
Click here to read the Florida Bar's complaint against Stephen Rakusin.
Reiterating the findings of the trial court, the complaint said that allegations made in the Watson case “were palpably and demonstrably false and untrue.”
Damico agreed that “litigation did not involve simple zealous advocacy or a good faith effort to assert Ms. Watson's rights. Rather, the lawsuit was comprised of baseless claims which were completely devoid of merit, either legally or factually, and which were prosecuted in bad faith.”
In response, the trial court awarded attorney fees of $42,250 against Rakusin and his firm, and another $42,250 against Watson.
Centennial Bank has since filed a suit against Rakusin's firm over unpaid rent.
Rakusin represented himself for the majority of proceedings and hired Kevin P. Tynan of Richardson & Tynan in Tamarac as co-counsel. Neither responded to requests for comment before deadline.
Rakusin claimed he acted in good faith, and that his actions in the case were ethical and proper. He also claimed the Florida Bar's evidence didn't meet the burden of clear and convincing, and asserted that the statute of limitations had expired.
Rakusin was admitted to the bar Oct. 25, 1974, and specializes in construction law.
Linda I. Gonzalez represented the Florida Bar and did not wish to comment on the case.
Read Judge Paul Damico's full report
Related stories:
Lawyers Who Struck Secret Fee Deal Can't Shield Their Income
Court Rules Ousted Broward Judge Can't Sue JQC Members, Bar Prosecutors
Court Finds Former Broward Judge, Attorney Subject to Fees Over Frivolous Suit
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