ethics
Florida attorney dismissed for a maintenance dispute that resulted in a prison sentence
November 4, 2021, 3:26 p.m. CDT
The Florida Supreme Court has ruled out over $ 88,000 in missed maintenance payments from an attorney who “dodged discovery requests” in a lawsuit with his ex-wife.
The Florida Supreme Court ruled Karl O. Koepke in an October 28 order published by Legal Profession Blog and Law.com.
Koepke divorced in 1990. After Koepke defaulted on alimony payments, his ex-wife’s attorney, who heard one of Koepke’s personal injury cases, may have been settled. The ex-wife’s attorney asked for documents to be settled and filed a compulsory motion when Koepke refused.
Koepke provided a copy of the fee agreement but did not provide any documents related to the September 2016 settlement that would pay him a $ 400,000 success fee.
He said there were no documents responding to the request, “there is no agreement”.
When a judge ordered Koepke to retrieve the customer file, Koepke followed suit and the settlement was uncovered. The ex-wife’s lawyer requested evidence of why Koepke should not be despised.
“Mr. Koepke has steadfastly made a number of even more momentous decisions,” said the Florida Supreme Court.
Koepke transferred his $ 400,000 fee to an irrevocable trust that he had set up for his benefit and his grandchildren.
Koepke then offered to settle the lawsuit with his ex-wife for a payment of $ 100,000 – in case the disregard and other motions were dismissed and the ex-wife relinquished all past, present, and future claims for alimony and legal fees. The ex-wife refused.
Koepke was found guilty of indirect criminal contempt and sentenced to 30 days in prison. He served 20 days.
A referee had recommended a one-year ban. The Florida Supreme Court dismissed the sentence as too light and imposed a ban.
Koepke had “abused the legal process in a way that has seriously disrupted his maintenance process,” said the Florida Supreme Court. Koepke “evaded inquiries” and “refused to answer questions truthfully,” said the country’s Supreme Court. In addition, he “rashly” signed a trust agreement to take the contingency fees out of reach.
“This was a fraudulent abuse of the process by someone who knew better,” said the Florida Supreme Court.
The trial judge had estimated that Koepke’s lawsuits would take “100 or more hours of legal time and hours and hours of court time to find a solution”.
“In concluding that Mr. Koepke must be expelled, we recognize that divorce proceedings can bring out the worst in people,” said the Florida Supreme Court. “But even in the worst case scenario, we expect an attorney’s oath to mean something. In fact, we expect the oath to mean something just then. “
Koepke did not immediately respond to an email request from the ABA Journal for comment.
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