Florida Supreme Court disbars Lakewood Ranch attorney
The Florida Supreme Court has disbarred a Lakewood Ranch attorney and suspended a Sarasota attorney.
Lakewood Ranch attorney Mark Payne’s disbarment takes effect in the first week of January, pending the outcome of any possible motions to rehear the case. Payne would be able to reapply for his license in five years after disbarment.
According to the high court’s ruling, Payne is the owner of Real Estate Services Group Inc. The court said Payne purchased a home out of foreclosure and then contacted the previous homeowners offering to represent them against their mortgage lender. The court ruled it was a conflict of interest, but the motives were unclear.
“Payne did not enter into a written agreement with the homeowner clients, nor explain or seek their consent for his simultaneous ownership interest in and legal representation of Real Estate Services Group,” the ruling states. “In addition to the conflict of interest, Payne failed to make the necessary and proper disclosures to the lender and made misrepresentations to all parties.”
Sarasota attorney Carmen Diana Lubbecke was suspended by the court for one year. Any attorney suspended for more than 91 days must undergo a rigorous process to regain their law license.
The court found that Lubbecke represented a husband and wife in a foreclosure defense case, at which time she entered into an agreement with the husband to receive proceeds from the sale of the house that she agreed to purchase out of foreclosure and then sell.
However, the court states Lubbecke entered into the legal agreement to purchase the home out of foreclosure while representing them in the foreclosure defense case, and ultimately did not follow through with the agreement. The court states that Lubbecke furthermore should have advised her clients to seek independent council when agreeing to enter into their arrangement, which included filing a lawsuit against the wife to have her name removed from the property.
The disciplinary measures were announced Tuesday.
This story was originally published December 30, 2020 at 10:20 AM.