Dead men make no settlements<\/p>\n
Both guilty pleas said David Poschmann \u201cwas a \u2018tester\u2019 in hundreds of ADA cases and had been represented by [Levitt and Sarkin] in many lawsuits<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n One of those cases, in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida, cast Ormond Beach\u2019s Oceanside 99 Condo Association in the defendant role. As settlement negotiations progressed, Poschmann died on Nov. 12, 2021. Both sides filed a joint notice of settlement on Nov. 17, 2021.<\/p>\n \u201cThe next day, unable to reach Poschmann, [Levitt and Sarkin] signed Poschmann\u2019s name to the settlement agreement with an ink signature,\u201d the guilty pleas say. \u201cThe settlement proceeds were paid into respondent\u2019s trust account, per the settlement agreement.\u201d<\/p>\n Almost a month later, Dec. 16, 2021, Levitt and Sarkin learned their client had died 29 days earlier. They didn\u2019t share this information with the Oceanside folks, who didn\u2019t find out about Poschmann\u2019s death until \u201capproximately a year and a half later.\u201d<\/p>\n So informed, Oceanside argued the settlement should be vacated.<\/p>\n \u201cThe court found that because the settlement was reached after Poschmann\u2019s death, [Sarkin and Levitt] no longer had authority to act on Poschmann\u2019s behalf, thus the settlement was unauthorized, and that their conduct constituted a fraud on the court,\u201d the guilty pleas said.<\/p>\n In addition to owing Oceanside a $11,287 fee award, each lawyer received a nine-month suspension from appearing in the Middle District of Florida federal courts.<\/p>\n Around the time of the Oceanside settlement discussions, another 2021 Poschmann lawsuit in the Middle District of Florida federal court, against Linda Young Reffitt Revocable Trust, reached the settlement discussion stage.<\/p>\n \u201cDespite Poschmann\u2019s death on Nov. 12, 2021, [Sarkin and Levitt] reached a settlement agreement with the defendants on Dec. 7, 2021,\u201d the guilty pleas said. \u201cOn Dec. 15, 2021, [Sarkin and Levitt] circulated a settlement agreement that included a handwritten signature for Poschmann, dated Dec. 9, 2021. The defendants paid the agreed settlement amount and the case was dismissed.\u201d<\/p>\n Almost 17 months later, on May 3, 2023, the Linda Young Reffitt Trust attorneys found out when Poschmann had died and what happened in the case against Oceanside.<\/p>\n Levitt and Sarkin returned the settlement money on May 8, 2023.<\/p>\n