JACKSONVILLE, FLA&Public records reveal an attorney admitted in correspondence to The Florida Bar that clients were overcharged by the Florida law firm FARAH, FARAH & ABBOTT, P.A.A/k/a The Law Offices of Eddie Farah.
Attorney Jeffrey R. Hill says the firm employed him in 2004 when he discovered it was regularly overcharging its personal injury clients. Hill says, "The firm was frequently 'padding' costs charged to clients by $300 or more per case and had been doing so for several years.
Hill reported his concerns over the firm's illicit overcharging practices in September by letter to Donald M. Spangler, Esq., Chief Branch Discipline Counsel for The Florida Bar. To Hill's surprise, a full year went by with no contact from any representatives of The Florida Bar to investigate his allegations of wide scale fraud and misappropriation of clients' funds.
Hill followed up with the Florida Bar in September and October.By email dated Oct. 27, Spangler succinctly responded, "The file to which you refer was closed. The grievance committee considered the matter after investigation and an audit by the bar staff auditor, and found there was no probable cause to pursue disciplinary proceedings. They did elect to send a letter of advice to the firm."
Questioning the thoroughness the grievance committee's investigation as well as the audit by the Bar Staff Auditor. Hill followed up with Spangler requesting a copy of The Florida Bar's complete file.By email dated October 28, Spangler responded, "Your request will be treated as a public records request and you will be informed by the appropriate individual regarding the cost of the documents you are requesting."
On 12/7/05, Hill finally received a response from the Bar to his public records request but says the records produced are obviously incomplete. With the exception of nine pages, the records produced were limited to documents Hill says he personally sent to The Florida Bar. Most noticeably absent from the records are the Grievance Committee's file and the results from the audit of FARAH, FARAH & ABBOTT, P.A.'s trust account that Hill says the records show was scheduled for 3/2/05.
Attorney John A. Weiss, Esq. Of Tallahassee represented the firm's principals, attorneys and brothers Eddie and Chuck Farah, before The Florida Bar. Hill says it appears a Bar audit took place since Weiss stated in a 9/22/05 letter to the Bar, "As an aside, I would advise you that the firm has refunded in excess of $120,000.00..., including both principal and interest, to those clients who were inadvertantly overcharged for costs. Approximately $10,000.00 remains undisbursed because the firm, and the private investigator it subsequently hired, could not find the individuals."
Weiss' letter and examples of the firm's overcharging practices are available on Hill's personal web page called "Hill's Peek" at (link deleted - see below)
Hill observes, "That certainly sounds like quite a bit of money to be 'inadvertantly overcharged'. It would take overcharging 400 clients by $300 each to reach $120,000.00." Hill says he will continue to follow up on his request to obtain the remainder of The Florida Bar's file pursuant to the Public Records Act, Chapter 119 of the Florida Statutes.
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