A legal battle is unfolding in Pinellas County, Florida, where a plaintiff has accused several attorneys and law firms of malpractice. Joan E. Benko filed a complaint on November 20, 2024, in the Circuit Court for the Sixth Judicial Circuit against Lee Segal, Esq., Christopher Hixson, Esq., Florida Foreclosure & Credit Defense Firm PL, Segal & Schuh Law Group PL, and Hixson Law Group. The lawsuit alleges negligence and misconduct in handling legal matters that have significantly impacted her life.
Joan E. Benko's complaint stems from events dating back to March 31, 2016, when she retained Lee Segal and his firm to represent her in a foreclosure case involving Green Tree Servicing LLC and George Weber as trustee of the Benko Family Land Trust. Benko claims that during a court hearing on that date, it was decided without her input that Segal would represent her to obtain a Consent for Waiver of Deficiency while George Weber would cover attorney fees. This arrangement left Benko feeling sidelined as decisions were made without her consent or knowledge.
Benko further alleges that she hired Segal again on April 13, 2016, to sue Bank of America over issues related to her property at 3697 Fremantle Dr., Palm Harbor. Despite this agreement, she accuses the defendants of failing to act with reasonable care and skill in prosecuting these cases. According to the complaint, unauthorized documents were filed without her consent or knowledge, and there was a lack of communication from Segal's office until October 31, 2022.
The situation worsened when Benko discovered on December 2, 2022, through an email from Christopher Hixson that numerous documents had been filed without her knowledge. She met with Hixson twice afterward but felt no progress was made toward resolving her case or regaining her property. The plaintiff expressed frustration over being kept out of the loop regarding crucial developments in her legal battles.
In addition to allegations of negligence and failure to prosecute cases effectively, Benko accuses the defendants of inflicting emotional distress by exploiting her vulnerabilities as a senior citizen with limited technological skills and personal support due to family circumstances. She also claims they engaged in abuse of process by willfully using judicial proceedings improperly for ulterior motives.
Benko seeks substantial damages totaling $18 million based on compensatory damages estimated at $1.8 million per year over eight-and-a-half years since March 30th - July 30th (totaling approximately $15 million), punitive damages under Florida Statute Section768 .72(2), recoverable losses under Section825 .103 due to financial exploitation as an elderly person or disabled adult three times actual damage sustained ($5 .4million) among other reliefs deemed proper by court including costs incurred bringing suit against defendants mentioned above.
The case is being handled by Joan E. Benko herself as indicated by contact information provided within filing document; however names associated with law firms involved include those representing defendant parties such as Lee Segal Esq., Christopher Hixon Esq., Florida Foreclosure & Credit Defense Firm PL ,Segal & Schuh Law Group PL ,Hixon Law Group respectively but specific attorneys representing each side remain unspecified alongside presiding judge overseeing matter currently identified only via Case ID number assigned:14-003235-CI