Founder of collapsed law firm to give up license
Updated: The founder and CEO of one of the largest mortgage foreclosure firms in Florida prior to its collapse last year has agreed to give up his state law license.
In a petition (PDF) he filed with the Florida Supreme Court, Robert Hill Hosch, 54, acknowledged that he is accused in an attorney disciplinary case of failing to file timely withdrawal motions in as many as 60,000 cases reportedly left in limbo when Butler & Hosch went out of business due to a lack of financing, according to a copy of the filing provided to the ABA Journal by his attorney and an Orlando Sentinel (sub. req.) article.
The petition says it is Hosch’s understand that giving up his law license “shall serve to dismiss all pending disciplinary cases,” and he agreed to pay the Florida Bar’s costs for the matter and allow law firm accounts to be audited.
Hosch said in the petition that he is not currently practicing law; however, the filing indicates that he may later be eligible for reinstatement.
In a written statement provided to the ABA Journal and Housing Wire, Hosch was upbeat.
“Resigning from the Florida Bar is not an admission of guilt,” he wrote. “An expensive proceeding relating to my Florida Bar membership makes no sense for anyone. I’m now focused on new opportunities and want to conserve my resources to pursue them.”
A federal lawsuit is ongoing in Fort Lauderdale by former workers at the Butler & Hosch law firm, which had some 700 employees at its peak but reportedly could not meet payroll in its final days. The suit seeks damages for claimed noncompliance with WARN laws requiring notice to workers of upcoming layoffs, the Sentinel notes. Hosch himself was dismissed as a defendant in the case.
In a Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing last year, Morris Schneider Wittstadt pointed the finger at Butler & Hosch concerning a sale of Morris Schneider Wittstadt’s foreclosure, bankruptcy and eviction operations to Butler & Hosch, as the Housing Wire article details.
Only a few months later, Butler & Hosch failed, but Hosch said, through his attorney, that he did nothing wrong and blamed “unforeseen problems created by third parties” while Butler & Hosch was experiencing substantial growth for the firm’s demise.
Related coverage:
ABAJournal.com: “Failed foreclosure firm that ‘grew way too fast’ leaves some 700 unpaid employees scrambling”
See also:
ABAJournal.com: “Once-mighty real estate boutique files for bankruptcy, a year after claimed $30M embezzlement”
Updated on March 11 to include new information from petition and substitute corrected information from corrected Orlando Sentinel story.
