Title: The Florida Bar v. York

State: florida

Issuer: Florida Supreme Court

Document:

689 So. 2d 1037 (1996)
THE FLORIDA BAR, Complainant,
v.
Ronald J. YORK, Sr., etc., Respondent.
No. 85606.

Supreme Court of Florida.
September 26, 1996.
Rehearing Denied March 13, 1997.
*1038 John A. DeVault, III, President, Jacksonville; John W. Frost, II, President-elect, Bartow; John F. Harkness, Jr., Executive Director; and John T. Berry, Staff Counsel and Mary Ellen Bateman, Unlicensed Practice of Law Counsel, Tallahassee; Martin J. Sperry, Chair, Standing Committee on Unlicensed Practice of Law, Ft. Lauderdale; and Loretta O'Keeffe, Unlicensed Practice of Law Branch Counsel, Tampa, for Complainant.
Ronald York, Sr., Tampa, pro se.
Scott K. Tozian of Smith and Tozian, P.A., Tampa, for Respondent.
PER CURIAM.
We have for review the complaint of The Florida Bar (the Bar) and the referee's report regarding the unlicensed practice of law by Ronald J. York, Sr. We have jurisdiction. Art. V, § 15, Fla. Const. We approve the report.
The referee made a number of findings of fact in his report, including the following:
Based on these and other findings of fact, the referee reached the following conclusions of law:
Our review of the record shows that competent substantial evidence supports the referee's findings of fact and conclusions of law. We adopt those findings and conclusions. See, e.g., Florida Bar v. MacMillan, 600 So. 2d 457, 459 (Fla.1992) ("If findings of the referee are supported by competent, substantial evidence, this Court is precluded from reweighing the evidence and substituting its judgment for that of the referee.").
The referee recommended that the following action be taken against York:
We find the referee's recommended action appropriate. See generally Florida Bar v. Schramek, 616 So. 2d 979 (Fla.1993). Ronald J. York, Sr., individually and doing business as Advanced Legal Services, is hereby permanently enjoined from the unauthorized practice of law through the Accident Victim Assistance Program or any other similar program by any other name.[1]
It is so ordered.
KOGAN, C.J., and OVERTON, SHAW, GRIMES, HARDING, WELLS and ANSTEAD, JJ., concur.
[1]  The referee amended his report to strike the recommendation that costs be taxed against York.