Attorney’s action nearly cost two women their homes, report says. He’s been disbarred
Fraud is among a list of reasons St. Petersburg attorney Mark Stopa has been permanently disbarred, according to a Florida Bar discipline report.
The referee’s report on complaints that got Stopa disbarred includes this summary: His actions nearly caused two women to lose their homes.
Stopa was admitted to the Bar in 2002 and got a public reprimand in 2014 for, among other things, impugning a judge’s integrity in a filing. The University of Florida School of Law graduate dictated the motion, didn’t check it after it was typed and an associate signed it for him, according to records.
Just after that public reprimand, “loudly lecturing” Sarasota County Judge Nancy Donnellan and opposing counsel, “throwing his arms up” when Donnellan rules against him, arguing with Donnellan and other unprofessional behavior got Stopa ordered out of Donnellan’s court. Acting in a “disrespectful, disruptive and belligerent manner” during a hearing in front of Manatee County Judge Thomas Gallen got him tossed from that court and caused Gallen to remove himself from hearing Stopa’s cases.
The Tampa Bay Times reports that the Florida Department of Law Enforcement took computers and records out of Stopa’s office as they investigated accusations that he had defrauded clients out of property many times over the years.
Similar behavior fills the referee’s report that preceded Stopa’s disbarment by the state Supreme Court.
The Case of MGS
With Bank of America about to foreclose on her home in June 2012, a woman with the initials MGS retained Stopa. She paid three non-refundable yearly retainers of $1,575, $4,725 in total, to cover 2012, 2013 and 2014, according to the referee’s report.
And, the report said, she “communicated to [Stopa’s] firm that her goal was to remain in her home as long as possible.”
Jump forward to July 17, 2014, when the court ordered an answer from MGS in 10 days. Stopa didn’t file it. After Bank of America’s lawyers filed a motion for judicial default and Stopa filed an answer, the court scheduled a trial for Nov. 17, 2014. Stopa made MGS pony up another $3,500 to work the trial.
On Nov. 13, 2014, Bank of America filed for a continuance. Also, the bank’s attorneys told Stopa it was offering a $15,000 “cash for keys” settlement. In a letter dated Nov. 13, Bank of America proposed a loan modification that cut MGS’ loan from $508,824 to $299,500 and cut the interest rate from 2.965% to 2.0%. To take the loan modification, MGS would have to make three monthly trial payments, starting Dec. 1, 2014.
Stopa didn’t tell MGS about the modification offer. But he did tell her about the “cash for keys” offer, but began saying it was an $11,000 offer, according to the report.
Stopa “did not explain that he intended to retain a $4,000 fee from these funds despite Said’s recent payment of the $3,500 trial fee, a trial that would not occur if [MGS] accepted the offer,” the referee’s report notes. “Furthermore, [Stopa] did not communicate the “cash for keys” offer to [MGS] on the day it was made. Rather, [Stop[ waited until the afternoon of the last business day prior to trial.”
MGS asked for two hours to ponder the offer. Stopa gave her 30 minutes, the report said.
Without knowing about the loan modification offer, MGS took the “cash for keys” offer. The court entered a final foreclosure judgment on Nov. 17, 2014.
Stopa’s firm didn’t give MGS reasonable answers, the report said, when she asked about the settlement agreement. Before actual foreclosure sale on Jan. 20, 2015, MGS fired Stopa’s firm and started talking directly to Bank of America’s lawyers.
And she found out about the loan modification offer. Bank of America made another loan modification offer and motioned to vacate the foreclosure judgement. MGS is still in her home under that loan modification agreement.
Stopa testified his office didn’t tell MGS about the offer because she’d given the idea she wasn’t economically set enough for a modification.
The Case of RAC
While this was going on, client RAC retained Stopa when Wells Fargo started the foreclosure process on her house in August 2013. She paid $1,575 for the first year’s retainer.
RAC “believed that [Stopa’s] representation was to negotiate a loan modification on her behalf,” the referee’s report read. “However, [Stopa] did not attempt to negotiate a loan modification for [RAC].
“In fact, [Stopa] never met with nor spoke to [RAC] during the course of his representation, despite [RAC’s] repeated attempts to speak with him.”
In January 2015, RAC told Stopa’s firm she wanted to keep the property at issue. The referee’s report says Stopa’s firm called RAC at 4:45 p.m. on a Friday. The firm told her she needed to bring a $3,500 check to Stopa’s officer before Monday morning at 9 a.m. or Stopa wouldn’t represent her at trial.
“When [RAC] indicated that she could not obtain that much money that quickly, [Stopa’s] office told her that there is ‘no free lunch.’”
But Stopa was working on her case, just not necessarily on her behalf. He reached an agreement with Wells Fargo that included a “cash for keys” deal of $1,500. Attorney Christopher Hixson, guided by Stopa, told Wells Fargo attorneys to sent that payment to Stopa’s firm and not RAC, the report said.
Stopa never told RAC about that settlement, but he told Wells Fargo she’d agreed to it and was authorized to sign for her. She didn’t know about her Feb. 13, 2015 hearing until she got lucky — someone she knew saw her name on the court docket and called her. RAC called Stopa’s office.
Stopa’s “firm did not tell (RAC) the time or date of her foreclosure trial,” the referee’s report reads. “In fact, as was the practice of [Stopa], his office staff advised [RAC] not to appear at her foreclosure trial in spite of written court orders requiring that she must.”
RAC didn’t trust the advice and consulted a friend who was also a retired judge. He found out the date of the hearing.
When she went (Stopa didn’t show up), she found out about the unauthorized settlement and that she had 60 days to get out of her home. RAC quickly fired Stopa and reached a more favorable agreement with Wells Fargo.
Stopa’s “claim that he had oral authority from RAC to settle for ‘the best deal’ that he could is inconsistent with all credible evidence,” the referee’s report said.
This story was originally published November 5, 2019 at 1:29 PM.
