| ► Attorney Timothy A. Patrick of Tampa, FL; greedy loser, repeater |
 |
 |
|
Attorney Timothy A. Patrick of Tamps, FL; greedy loser, repeater  
The state of Florida presented Timothy Allen Patrick with a law license in 1991 after he graduated from Stetson University College of Law.
The Florida Supreme Court recently found Timmy guilty of t he following misconduct:
Timmy represented Dr. Newman who was owed $48 on two claims from Progressive under the Florida PIP (Personal Injury Protection) laws for services provided to Reem Riley. At mediation, Progressive offered $2500 to settle the claim. The mediation referee found that “Newman could not have gained or benefited any more than the offer made at mediation.” However, if Newman accepted the offer, Timmy would have been paid $2,450 for the 60 hours of work he claimed, which means he would have received $40 an hour.
Timmy advised Newman to reject the $2,500 mediation offer, telling him he’d be awarded more money at trial. The judge that presided over the non-jury trial awarded Dr. Newman $24 in damage and Timmy $120,772 in attorney fees on his claim he worked 235.5 hours.
Progressive subsequently appealed and Court of Appeals reversed Timmy’s $120,772 fee award and awarded Progressive $9,000 in attorney fees and $1,200 in costs. To assure that he wouldn’t have to pay the $10,200 to Progressive, Timmy falsely claimed that he never advised Dr. Newman to reject Progressive’s $2,500 mediation offer. The Commission found that Dr. Newman was telling the truth and that Timmy was merely placing his interest ahead of his client’s.
Timmy was previously disciplined by the Surpeme Court of Florida.
In 2007 the Florida Bar found Timmy guilty of engaging in the same type of misconduct when he again placed his own financial interest above those of his clients. In that case, the Florida Supreme Court issued Timmy a complimentary reprimand and directed him to pay $13,000 in restitution to his clients.
In another disciplinary case, Timmy was found guilty of failing to inform his client that the insurance company had received a summary judgment against her. Timmy pursued an appeal without tell the client which he lost. The insurance company obtained a judgment against his client for $1 5,300 in attorney’s fees and costs.
As a consequence of his third bite at the Attorney Misfit Apple Tree, the apologists for unethical attorneys sitting on the Supreme Court punished Timmy by gifting him with a complimentary one-year suspension of his law license.
As we speak (ca. (April 2012), Timmy’s one-year suspension ends in June 2012, meaning he’ll be able to prey on even more unsuspecting Floridians.
|
