TALLAHASSEE — Tallahassee attorney John Edward Eagen faces a 30-day suspension following a Nov. 8 Florida Supreme Court order over an unpaid previous restitution order and practicing while ineligible, according to a recent announcement by the Florida Bar.
"Eagen failed to timely pay restitution ordered in a previous disciplinary matter," the state bar said in its Nov. 30 announcement of the discipline and the Supreme Court's order. "On Jan. 23, 2017, he failed to appear in court for a scheduled hearing. Instead, Eagen contacted the judicial assistant and requested a continuance. After learning that he was ineligible to practice law, the judge asked several times if he needed to inform the court about anything, and Eagen declined each time. He only admitted his ineligible status after being directly asked by the judge."
In its two-page order, the high court approved the uncontested referee's report filed in the matter before ordering Eagen's suspension and that he pay a little more than $1,351 in costs. Eagen's suspension will be effective 30 days from the date of the court's order to allow him time to close out his practice and protect his existing clients' interests, according to the high court's order.
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 Eagen's suspension.
Eagen was admitted to the bar in Florida on May 22, 1990, according to his profile at the state bar website.
Eagen's suspension stems from a previous discipline handed down more than two years ago, according to the consent judgment filed with the court. The consent judgment also includes Eagen's conditional guilty plea.
Eagen was publicly reprimanded following a June 2016 Supreme Court order and required to pay $2,500 in restitution.
"Despite an extension of time granted by the Supreme Court, [Eagen] became delinquent," the consent judgment said. The delinquency rendered Eagen ineligible to practice law in Florida.
In January of last year, while representing a client before Volusia County Circuit Court's Judge James R. Clayton, Eagen eventually admitted to the judge that his license was "temporarily postponed" and that he intended to inform the judge about it "if necessary," the consent judgment said.