THE FLORIDA BAR, COMPLAINANT,
v.
RITA G. HAWKINS, RESPONDENT
AI-generated. These summaries, headnotes, and key points are machine-generated and may contain errors or omissions. Always verify against the full opinion text below. Not legal advice.
The Florida Bar sought to hold attorney Rita G. Hawkins in contempt for violating the terms of her disciplinary resignation order, including failure to notify clients, distribute trust account funds, and pay assessed costs. The Florida Supreme Court held Hawkins in contempt and disbarred her for five years because she failed to comply with the resignation order and avoided service of process.
Hawkins is held in contempt of court and disbarred for five years, nunc pro tunc to September 23, 1993, because she violated the resignation order and avoided service of process. She is ordered to comply with all terms of the referee's report, including notifying clients, turning over client files and trust monies, and paying the $2,325.20 in costs.
[1] A lawyer who resigns from the bar under disciplinary proceedings and fails to comply with the terms of the resignation order may be held in contempt.
[2] A lawyer's failure to respond to an order to show cause and avoidance of service may result in the allegations of the petition being accepted as true.
Previewing 2 of 5 headnotes on this case. FLexlaw’s editorially structured points of law — every proposition, pinpointed — are reserved for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“Because Hawkins has refused to accept service in this action and has not responded to the order to show cause, we accept the Bar's allegation as true.”
Establishes the procedural consequence of Hawkins' refusal to respond and accept service, allowing the Court to treat the Bar's allegations as admitted.
Previewing 1 of 3 key quotes on this case — the court’s exact language, pinpointed for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceOn September 23, 1993, the Court approved Hawkins' resignation from The Florida Bar following findings of professional misconduct, subject to complian…
The full statement of facts, procedural history, and disposition for this case are member content.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence© FLexlaw, Inc. — AI-generated enrichments are proprietary. All rights reserved.
Explore caselaw by topic → Browse Failure To Comply With Court Orders cases and more on FLexlaw
PER CURIAM.
We have before us the motion of The Florida Bar asking that we hold Rita G. Hawkins in contempt for violating the terms of her disciplinary resignation. We have jurisdiction pursuant to article V, section 15, of the Florida Constitution.
On September 23, 1993, this Court approved a referee’s report recommending that Hawkins be found guilty of professional misconduct and be allowed to resign from The Florida Bar. She was ordered to comply with all the terms and conditions of the consent judgment that was adopted by the referee. On February 14, 1994, the Bar filed a petition for an order to show cause why Hawkins should not be held in contempt for failing to comply with several of the terms of her disciplinary resignation and for failing to pay costs that had been assessed against her. Specifically, the Bar alleges that Hawkins failed to 1) submit an affidavit swearing that she has provided each of her clients with a copy of the order of her resignation, as required by Rule Regulating The Florida Bar 3 — 5.1(g); 2) notify her clients where to pick up their files; 3) determine which clients were owed trust monies being held in her trust account that she shared with her former partner and to submit an affidavit stating that she had directed her former partner to distribute the monies; and 4) pay costs in the amount of $2,325.20.
An order to show cause was entered on February 15, 1994. Hawkins has not responded to the order which was sent to her record Bar address and to her last known address. The Bar has unsuccessfully attempted to locate and serve Hawkins with the order to show cause. The Bar now asks that we hold Hawkins in contempt and disbar her for failing to comply with this Court’s disciplinary order and for avoiding service of the order to show cause and the Bar’s petition.
Because Hawkins has refused to accept service in this action and has not responded to the order to show cause, we accept the Bar’s allegation as true. The Florida Bar v. Brown, 635 So. 2d 13 (Fla.1994). In light of Hawkins’ clear violation of our order allowing her to resign from the Bar and her apparent attempt to avoid service in this matter, we agree that disbarment is warranted. See Brown; Florida Standards for Imposing Lawyer Sanctions 8.1(a).
Accordingly, we hold Rita G. Hawkins in contempt of this Court and disbar her for a period of five years, nunc pro tune to September 23, 1993. Hawkins is again ordered to comply with all the terms and conditions set forth in the referee’s report, upon penalty of fine, imprisonment, or both. Specifically, she shall see to it that client files and all monies held in trust on behalf of any client are turned over to the respective client in the manner provided in the referee’s report. She also is ordered to comply with the procedure for notifying clients set forth in Rule 3-5.1(g) and to file affidavits as provided in the referee’s report. Finally, Hawkins is ordered to pay the Bar costs in the amount of $2,325.20 for which judgment was entered in the prior proceeding.
It is so ordered.
GRIMES, C.J., and OVERTON, SHAW, KOGAN, HARDING, WELLS and ANSTEAD, JJ., concur.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Cited By
-
THE Florida BAR v. Alec Joseph Ross, 732 So. 2d 1037 (Fla. 1998)…y orders. See, e.g., Florida Bar v. Neely, 675 So. 2d 592, 593 (Fla.1996) (permanently disbarring already disbarred attorney for “violating this Court’s disbarment order” by continuing to practice law after he was disbarred); Florida Bar v. Hawkins, 643 So. 2d 1074, 1075 (Fla.1994) (holding in contempt and disbarring attorney for violating the terms of her disciplinary resignation by failing to, among other things, submit an affidavit swearing that she had provided each of her clients a copy of the resignation…
Authorities Cited
- THE Florida BAR v. Brown, 635 So. 2d 13 (Fla. 1994)