TALLAHASSEE — Tampa attorney Byron John Nenos Jr was voluntarily disbarred following an April 26 Florida Supreme Court ruling, according to a recent announcement by The Florida Bar.
Specifically, the state Supreme Court granted Nenos' uncontested petition for a disciplinary revocation, tantamount to disbarment, without leave to seek readmission. Nenos was suspended last fall, which is why his disbarment was effective immediately, according to the court's two-page order, which also directed Nenos to pay a little more than $2,613 in costs.
"Disciplinary matters pending against Nenos included misappropriation of client funds and failure to diligently pursue a client's case," the state bar said in its May 29 announcement of the discipline and the Supreme Court's order.
Justice Jorge Labarga
| Florida Supreme Court
In Florida, court orders are not final until after the period for filing a rehearing motion expires. However, the bar said filing such a motion would not alter the effective date of the Nenos's disbarment.
Nenos was admitted to the bar in Florida on Sept. 20, 1990, according to his profile on the state bar's website.
Nenos, who was 56 when he filed his petition for a disciplinary revocation in March, described in that petition the two client matters over which disciplinary matters are pending against him. In one client matter, Nenos had been retained to represent a client in personal injury case and allegedly "misappropriated at least $66,497.09, and has failed to remit any of the $100,000" settlement due his client.
"[Nenos] has failed to provide the bar with any documentation related to his client trust' account," the petition said.
In the other client matter, Nenos is alleged to have failed to diligently pursue a client's divorce matter, failed to communicate with his client and "failed to respond or provide anything to the bar related to this matter," the petition said.
The petition also referred to an admonishment Nenos received in April 2006 "for failing to competently and diligently handle a negligence lawsuit and failing to adequately communicate with his client."
Nenos was suspended in October after the state Supreme Court found him in contempt for failing to respond to an official Florida Bar Association inquiry into complaints filed against him.