4 South Florida Attorneys Disbarred, Others Disciplined
Allegations include ignoring incarcerated clients and misappropriating trust funds.
December 28, 2018 at 03:50 PM
3 minute read
The Florida Supreme Court disbarred four South Florida attorneys, granted a Hollywood lawyer's petition for disciplinary revocation and ordered a public reprimand for a Miami litigator.
Here's a roundup of the high court's latest disciplinary orders in ethics cases against South Florida attorneys.
Miami criminal defense attorney Kenneth Joseph Kukec, who's been on the hot seat in the past for failing to comply with a suspension order, this time did not respond to Florida Bar inquiries or appear for his disciplinary case. The bar claimed Kukec did not answer phone calls or messages from a client with a post-conviction appeal.
The Supreme Court also disbarred Peter Milan Predrag Vujin, a Miami lawyer who the bar claimed engaged in frivolous, bad faith, annoying and abusive litigation tactics while representing himself in two civil cases. He used the same tactics during the ethics case, according to court documents.
The high court disbarred Coral Gables attorney Aldo Guillermo Busot Jr., who was found in contempt for noncompliance with an April 19 suspension order. It was the latest punishment for Busot after he failed to inform clients, opposing counsel and tribunals of a three-year suspension and provide a sworn affidavit listing his notifications.
A fourth lawyer saw his career derailed after moving into a client's home during a foreclosure case. Peter Dale Fellows moved into the Pembroke Pines property with his legal assistant, who was also his lover, according to court records. His firm was representing Phillip Thompson as a defendant in a foreclosure suit by Deutsche Bank.
The Florida Bar claimed Fellows and his assistant, Sherine Wright, offered help with a short sale but instead used a power of attorney to take over the property and take up residence.
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Read more: Miami Foreclosure Lawyer Disbarred After He and Lover Move Into Client's House
Also disciplined was Gregory Eric Schwartz of Hollywood, who was accused of misappropriating funds belonging to a third party. “Schwartz failed to confirm the purpose for which the funds were deposited into his trust account and his authority to disburse the money,” according to information from the state Supreme Court. He petitioned the high court for a disciplinary revocation, which is tantamount to disbarment, with leave to seek readmission after five years.
A fifth South Florida lawyer, personal injury attorney Robert Reza Dixon of Miami, will be publicly reprimanded after a contempt charge for failure to comply with a court order to turn over about three years' worth of trust records.
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