JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Chuck Farah, the Jacksonville attorney whose family name is on one of the region’s best-known personal injury firms, is barred from practicing law for 90 days after the Florida Supreme Court suspended him over his part in a long-running batch of tobacco lawsuits.
The court issued the order Oct. 1 and delayed the start by 30 days so his pending cases could be handed off, The Florida Bar said in its Oct. 30 announcement. The Bar listing gives his business address as 10 W. Adams St. in downtown Jacksonville.
The discipline traces to so-called Engle progeny suits, individual smoker claims filed after the state high court broke up a statewide class action in 2006. Farah served as co-counsel with lawyer Norwood Wilner in federal court in the Middle District of Florida. Federal judges later found more than 1,000 of those claims could not stand, including cases involving people who had never smoked. The federal court reprimanded Farah and ordered him to give up $2.16 million in fees.
The Bar found that Farah did not keep clients properly informed, did not represent them with enough diligence and did not get signed fee agreements. A circuit judge who reviewed the case as referee found no dishonest motive and no client complaints, and suggested 30 days. The justices chose a longer penalty. Wilner had earlier been suspended for 91 days.
Farah, 64, has practiced since 1990 with no prior discipline. His lawyer, Hank Coxe, said Farah accepts the ruling and acted honestly throughout. The firm, started by his older brother Eddie, has offices in Florida, Georgia and South Carolina.
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