By William Rabb
A former attorney with one of Florida’s top insurance defense firms
has been disbarred after the Bar said she engaged in repeated acts of
neglect, deception and forgery.
Erika Lynn Muller, until recently a partner with the Cole, Scott
& Kissane firm, based in Fort Lauderdale, can no longer practice in
the state, the Florida Supreme Court said in an order last week. The
court agreed with the Bar’s complaint and a referee’s recommendation
that she be disbarred, following months of disciplinary proceedings.
The Bar’s complaint
lists several issues, including lack of truthfulness, misconduct and
lack of communication, and details one case in particular that unfolded
in 2020 and 2021. In a slip-and-fall claim against Rooms To Go furniture
company in Miami, Muller offered to settle the claim for $325,000, even
though she was not authorized to do so, the Bar said.
She then sent the plaintiff’s attorney a photocopy of a check that
she had allegedly fabricated. The plaintiff’s lawyer filed motions to
enforce the settlement, which resulted in a court judgment in March 2021
of $425,000, the complaint explains.
Despite garnishment actions against the law firm, the money never
materialized. Muller then agreed to send $550,000 to stop the
garnishments. She allegedly sent a photocopy of another fabricated
cashier’s check, then said she would hand-deliver the check.
But on the day of the planned transfer, she falsely said she was in an automobile accident, the bar said.
Meanwhile, Muller told the furniture company and an adjuster for the
insurance company that the case was still in mediation, the Bar said.
On April 7, 2021, Muller informed Cole, Scott & Kissane attorneys that she was resigning.
In an affidavit, “respondent acknowledged that she made
misrepresentations to multiple parties and presented altered documents
to plaintiff’s counsel,” the Bar’s complaint reads. “In her affidavit,
respondent further stated that she was suffering from a mental health
crisis during the time of the misconduct.”
Muller later failed to respond to any of the Bar’s inquiries into the
matter. The Rooms To Go litigation, brought by an independent
contractor who was injured at an RTG parking lot, was dismissed in June
2021.
A referee judge who reviewed the case against Muller agreed with the disbarment action.
“It is imperative that a clear and unmistakable message be sent that
callous disregard for clients, the Florida Bar, and the attorney
disciplinary process are serious infractions which may not be committed
with impunity,” Judge James Martz II wrote in April of this year.
The state Supreme Court, which in recent years has often disagreed
with referees’ recommendations, accepted it in this case and said the
disbarment will be effective Sept. 25. Muller must also pay $1,315 to
cover the Bar’s costs in investigating the case.
The case made headlines
in Florida in 2021 and raised eyebrows around the legal community.
Court records show that Muller was listed as an attorney on four cases
before Florida’s 3rd District Court of Appeals, including an insurance claim appeal that is still pending.
Muller is a graduate of the University of Miami School of Law and was
a member of the Florida bar since 2008. The Cole, Scott & Kissane
website notes that she focused on bad-faith litigation, personal injury
defense, premises liability and insurance defense litigation. She and
the law firm’s leadership could not be reached for comment Wednesday
evening and Thursday morning.
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