Lawyer Under Florida Bar Scrutiny Sued by Associate Accused of Practicing Law Without License
Broward-based Mehta Consulting is suing attorney Phillip Timothy Howard, a Tallahassee litigator embroiled in several legal battles, including an ethics investigation by the Florida Bar.
July 10, 2019 at 04:24 PM
3 minute read
Money changing hands. Photo: Bigstock
A Tallahassee attorney fending off several legal actions will now have to contend with another brought by a former business affiliate in Broward.
A June 16 complaint filed in Leon Circuit Court accused lawyer Phillip T. Howard of unjust enrichment and breach of contract.
The plaintiff, Pompano Beach-based Mehta Consulting LLC, is owned by Ankur Mehta. According to the lawsuit, the company repeatedly lent money to Howard and his firm, Howard & Associates. It also provided what the complaint describes as “office management services.”
Now, Howard's one-time business associate is seeking nearly $200,000 in damages, including interest plus $160,000 in loans and nearly $35,000 allegedly owed for services provided between June 8, 2017, and March 1, 2018.
Howard, who is listed in the court docket as representing himself, did not respond to requests for comment by press time.
The lawsuit is the latest in a series of legal troubles for Howard. A complaint brought against him by former co-counsel J.B. Harris accused the attorney of botching potentially lucrative Engel progeny cases by failing to finance the litigation as promised.
Howard has also been denied attorney fees in several cases he'd been involved with and is currently facing an investigation from the Florida Bar. In a complaint filed with the Florida Supreme Court, the attorney allegedly committed several ethics violations, including levying excessive fees, mishandling client funds and falsifying accounts.
Read Mehta's lawsuit against Howard:
A former attorney with Howard & Associates, Jaakan Williams, told the Daily Business Review Mehta ran the firm's Fort Lauderdale office and dictated the operations of the staff in its Tallahassee office.
“His title was director of litigation, and he's not an attorney,” said Williams, who practiced with Howard's law firm between March 2016 and January 2018.
Mehta's name does not return any results on the Florida Bar's website.
Kimberly Poling, a former administrative employee of Howard & Associates, filed a bar complaint alleging Mehta practiced law without a license. Her February 2018 complaint referred to him as Howard's “consigliere.”
The complaint alleged Mehta used his consulting business to cover the firm's expenses and was listed as an attorney on several cases, including litigation with Walmart. Poling also wrote Mehta solicited clients on behalf of Howard & Associates. She also claimed the firm repeatedly failed to compensate employees on time.
The bar closed its investigation against Mehta in June 2018 without pursuing sanctions against him. The report cited “insufficient information” as the reason for its conclusion.
Mehta declined to comment. His attorney, Daniel Hartman, did not respond to multiple requests for comment.
Related stories:
'Everything Went to Hell': Coral Gables Attorney Sues Former Co-Counsel Over Tobacco Cases
Florida Bar Accuses Lawyer of False Accounting, Misappropriation of Paraplegic Clients' Funds
South Florida Judge Orders Attorney Fees to Be Withheld from Litigator in Contract Dispute
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