TALLAHASSEE — Pembroke Pines attorney Donovan Lloyd Parker faces a public reprimand over his alleged mishandling of an eviction case, according to a recent announcement by the Florida Bar.
"Parker was hired to handle an eviction matter," the Bar said of the Florida Supreme Court's Aug. 23 order. "Although he did take some action, he failed to appear at a mediation and did not take meaningful steps to reset the mediation or otherwise solve the issue. The eviction case was dismissed because of his failure to appear at the mediation."
Parker agreed to the public reprimand by publication in the Southern Reporter, according to the consent judgment filed with the court. The consent judgment also includes Parker's conditional guilty plea.
Parker also agreed to return his former client's $1,000 fee, according to the consent judgment.
Florida court orders are not final until time to file a rehearing motion expires. Filing such a motion does not alter the effective date of Parker's reprimand.
Parker was admitted to the bar in Florida on Sept. 23, 2002, according to his profile at the state bar website. No prior discipline before the state bar is listed on Parker's state bar profile.
Allegations against Parker arose from his representation of a couple in an eviction matter, in which he did file some court documents, according to the consent judgment.
"Notice of mediation was e-mailed with very short notice and [Parker] did not attend," the consent judgment said. "[Parker]'s explanations concerning the timing of receipt of the mediation notice were unclear. Despite the short notice, [Parker] should have appeared at mediation."
Parker also "did not take meaningful steps to reset the mediation" and the case was dismissed due to his failure to appear, the consent judgment said.