The Florida Bar has asked the state high court to suspend Scott R. Dinin of the Dinin Law Group in Miami for 18 months after the attorney pleaded guilty to filing frivolous lawsuits under the Americans With Disabilities Act, splitting fees with a client, inflating his billable hours and exaggerating his legal experience.

The bar's petition revealed that Dinin admitted breaking seven bar rules, which govern misconduct, competence, fees and fee sharing, meritorious claims and candor toward a tribunal.

In agreeing to the suspension and an administrative fine of $1,250, Dinin's unconditional guilty plea expressed remorse and signaled efforts to change his ways.

The plea said Dinin has retained the bar's Diversion/Discipline Consultation Service and contracted with Bianca Moreiras & Associates in Fort Lauderdale, which will act as a law firm management consultant to coach him on professionalism and management skills for 18 months.

Dinin has also completed 75 hours of Continuing Legal Education, adopted new technology to improve accounting and management practices, and hired a lawyer with 16 years of experience as his managing partner, according to his plea.

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'Selfish'

Dinin's plea admits that he split fees with Alexander Johnson, a Broward man with a hearing impairment, who's filed dozens of lawsuits against companies in Miami and Broward. Among them: 26 federal lawsuits against South Florida gas stations over their lack of closed captioning on the television screens next to gas pumps.

U.S. District Judge Paul C. Huck in the Southern District of Florida found at least two of those lawsuits to be frivolous in August 2019 when he penned a scathing sanctions order calling the litigation "completely selfish."

The lawsuits alleged Johnson's civil rights were violated because he couldn't hear the news and commercials while filling his tank, but Huck found the pair hadn't exhausted their administrative remedies and that their real motive was to "dishonestly line their pockets with attorney fees from hapless defendants under the sanctimonious guise of serving the interests of the disabled community."

Huck ordered Dinin to pay a $59,000 penalty — later reduced to $23,000, according to the bar's petition — to the clerk of court or the Disability Independence Group Inc. in Miami, and to complete 50 hours of community service per year for three years for the Disability Independence Group.

Huck also found Dinin misrepresented his legal experience to justify higher billing rates. Dinin was admitted to the bar in 1996 but didn't begin practicing until 2008 and had his first ADA case in 2012, according to his plea.

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Dig deeper: Judge Sanctions Miami ADA Lawyer, Client Over 'Completely Selfish' Frivolous Lawsuits

Dinin's guilty plea says he'll no longer practice in the ADA field, and that he has cut ties with Johnson after settling or voluntarily withdrawing all of his lawsuits.

In mitigation, the plea stresses that Dinin has never been disciplined before, and that he was remorseful, cooperated with investigators, made a good-faith effort to rectify his misconduct and agreed to interim rehabilitation.

Dinin's attorneys Kevin Tynan and Herman J. Russomanno III said they "believe the joint petition for consent judgment is a fair and just resolution for Mr. Dinin, and that we are hopeful that the Supreme Court will approve the same."

The Florida Supreme Court has the final word on attorney discipline and has yet to rule.

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Read the Florida Bar's petition:

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