BTG Files Florida Legal Malpractice Lawsuit for Missed Deadlines

Once an attorney agrees to represent a client, the attorney is obligated to perform legal services with the diligence, competence, and care appropriate to the case. When attorneys fail to perform their duties, and their client suffers damages, legal action might be a proper next step.

Recently, the Business Trial Group (“BTG”) filed a legal malpractice lawsuit against Orlando, Florida law firm Bogin, Munns & Munns and attorney James A. Scott, claiming that they were professionally negligent and caused financial harm to their client.

In 2012, BTG’s client hired Bogin, Munns & Munns to represent it in a lawsuit against JY II Business Center Condominium Association, Inc. and Parsec International Corporation. The lawsuit was in response to the Association allowing owners of the building to make alterations to their units and common areas, which violated the terms of unit ownership.

The lawsuit against Bogin, Munns & Munns states that the attorneys “abandoned their role as attorneys and committed malpractice” when they compromised their client’s claim by not adding all the necessary defendants to the case and by ignoring orders from the Court which led to the exclusion of important experts.

The complaint against Bogin, Munns & Munns asserts that the law firm was negligent when they did not add two defendants to the case. Bogin, Munns & Munns included the Association and Parsec in the lawsuit, but there were two other potential defendants, Open Light LLC, and Prosilver LLC, that were allegedly also necessary parties. The Complaint explains that those potential defendants were never added to the case despite Bogin, Munns & Munns telling the client that they would add them. Bogin, Munns & Munns’ failure to include two defendants, despite knowing that the defendants were necessary, led to the Association and Parsec asking to have the entire action dismissed.

Like all attorneys, Bogin, Munns & Munns had a duty to protect the financial interests of their clients. BTG’s lawsuit claims that Bogin, Munns & Munns essentially disregarded their client’s financial interests when they opted to ignore the Court’s requirements and delay disclosing their expert.

Bogin, Munns & Munns stated to the Court that “my client will not be able to prove the damages aspect of his case without his experts, and we will lose the case.” Because of the late disclosure, the Court did not allow Bogin, Munns & Munns’s expert. The Complaint alleges that without telling their client that the judge excluded the expert, Bogin, Munns & Munns advised their client to voluntarily dismiss the case to avoid paying attorneys’ fees to the defendants, claiming that if they dismissed the claim voluntarily, the judge would lose the authority to enter an attorney’s fee award against the Plaintiff.

The lawsuit states that Bogin, Munns & Munns’s advice was “simply wrong,” Their client asserts that it suffered significant financial losses from being ordered to pay the defendants’ attorneys’ fees after following Bogin, Munns & Munn’s advice and voluntarily dismissing the case. The BTG was hired to recoup the client’s alleged losses from Bogin, Munns & Munns and its professional liability insurer.

The BTG handles Florida legal malpractice claims exclusively on a contingency-fee basis, doing the hard work up front and only receiving payment once successful.

If you or someone you know had counsel who committed legal malpractice, contact us today for a free, no-risk case evaluation.