TALLAHASSEE (Florida Record) – Coral Gables attorney Aldo Guillermo Busot Jr. will be suspended for three years following an April 19 Florida Supreme Court order regarding allegations he neglected a client, The Florida Bar said in a recent announcement.
"Busot filed a complaint on a client's behalf in September 2011 and set the case for trial in March 2013," the state bar said in its May 29 announcement of the discipline and the Supreme Court's order. "Thereafter, Busot neglected the client matter, delayed the case and failed to comply with deadlines in the pretrial scheduling orders."
The client hired Busot to a file suit to collect on a promissory note, according to the consent judgment filed with the court. The consent judgment also includes Busot's unconditional guilty plea.
Busot, without his client's knowledge or consent, ultimately filed a notice of voluntary dismissal of her case in July 2015. "Throughout this time period, (Busot) failed to keep his client reasonably informed of the status of the litigation and was unresponsive to her many efforts to reach him," the consent judgment said. "Similarly, (Busot) never discussed the court mandated pretrial stipulations with his client, nor did he communicate to her his intend to move for voluntary dismissal."
The client ultimately learned from a friend that her case had been voluntarily dismissed. "When confronted with this information, (Busot) informed the bar that it was a 'judgment call' on his part to prevent a 'possible worse result.'"
Busot also told the court he "was experiencing a number of personal problems, which had impacted his representation of his client," the consent judgment said. "(Busot) admitted to being overwhelmed with his personal circumstances and conceded that it led him to neglect his client's lawsuit."
Busot's suspension will be effective 60 days from the date of the court's two-page order to allow him time to close out his practice and protect his existing clients' interests, according to the high court's order. Busot also was ordered to pay $1,250 in costs.
Busot was admitted to the bar in Florida on May 15, 1987, according to his profile at the state bar website. No prior discipline before the state bar is listed on Busot's state bar profile.