4 South Florida Lawyers Disciplined by State Supreme Court
The Florida Supreme Court has suspended three South Florida attorneys and given another a permanent disciplinary revocation.
January 31, 2020 at 04:26 PM
3 minute read
The Florida Supreme Court has disciplined four South Florida lawyers since Dec. 26, handing out three suspensions and a permanent disciplinary revocation, according to information released Friday.
Fort Lauderdale attorney Jonathan Scott Gunn has received a permanent disciplinary revocation for allegedly continuing to handle trust funds after a 2018 disciplinary revocation. That discipline case arose from claims he misused trust funds in a personal injury case and for failing to respond to bar inquiries. The discipline was increased following a Florida Bar contempt petition.
Admitted to the bar in 1993, Gunn was also reprimanded in 2018 over illegal gambling activities, according to his petition for disciplinary revocation.
Prosecutor Colleen Marie Dunne of the Monroe State Attorney's Office was suspended for one year over allegations she witheld information from the court and opposing counsel about statements relevant to a defendant's case, made when he was arrested for attempted murder and burglary with a firearm. The statements were eventually given to the defense before trial, according to the Florida Bar.
Dunn was admitted to the bar in 2000, and has no prior disciplinary history.
Plantation attorney Roger Rathbun was suspended for three years over allegations he sent taunting and harassing emails to opposing counsel while a bar complaint was pending.
According to the referee's report, the emails pointed to one attorney's DUI arrest photo and included statements like, "Not your best photo," "I get to include all this in my response to the bar. You know I can as its public records," and "Sure you want to continue. Or resolve."
The bar alleged those emails were meant to intimidate opposing counsel, but Rathbun disputed that, claiming he was merely alerting them to what would be in his response to the grievance. He also stressed that all contents of the emails were public record. The Florida Supreme Court discarded a recommended one-year suspension for three years.
Insurance attorney Alka Sharma of the ARS Law Group in West Palm Beach was suspended for 18 months for allegedly lying about having filed a complaint for homeowners whose insurer had denied their claim. Sharma was accused of giving fake "updates" for three years, before telling the clients they'd won a final judgment. The clients reportedly found out the judgment was forged after Sharma said she was meeting with a company interested in buying their judgment at a reduced rate to avoid appellate issues.
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