Politics

New delay on teen's $8.5M: her lawyer

He helped Minouche Noel, 19, seek money from lawmakers. Now he wants a bigger slice.

By STEVE BOUSQUET, Times Tallahassee Bureau Chief
Published July 20, 2007

Minouche Noel, a paraplegic as a result of medical malpractice in a state-run clinic in Fort Lauderdale, received an $8.5-million award from a jury in 1999.
	[Times photo: Willie J. Allen, Jr.]

ADVERTISEMENT [Times photo: Willie J. Allen, Jr.] Noel, now 19, lives in Palm Bay with her parents, both Haitian immigrants, and attends Brevard Community College full time. She lives in a house that is not wheelchair-accessible, and she has no health insurance to pay for physical therapy, a specially equipped van and other needs.

TALLAHASSEE -- After years of delays, the Legislature this year awarded $8.5-million to a woman who was paralyzed as an infant by a public health clinic's negligence in 1988.

But the long-awaited award to Minouche Noel is stalled once again, for a very different reason: Her lawyer wants a bigger share for his fees and costs than lawmakers approved in the legislation.

Noel's attorney, Sheldon Schlesinger, froze payment to his client by filing a lien with the state seeking up to $677,000 more than the $1-million lawmakers specified in the bill.

The charging lien says the firm has not been paid for "agreed upon contingent and statutory fees and costs."

A legal document was signed by Noel and her parents on July 9. Family members could not be reached for comment Thursday.

Outraged legislative leaders urged Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink to file a lawsuit contesting the lien, and the senator who sponsored the bill compensating Noel called Schlesinger's move "outrageous."

Senate President Ken Pruitt and House Speaker Marco Rubio jointly signed a letter to Sink that said, in part: "The lawyers put their own interests ahead of that of their clients, and seek to flout both the letter and the spirit of the law. If they succeed, they will significantly diminish the Noels' ability to provide adequately for Ms. Noel."

Sink said her staff is "aggressively moving forward to protect the Noels." A spokeswoman said Sink is weighing a request that she ask a judge to appoint an independent attorney to represent the family.

For several years, the Noel case has underscored the frustrations faced by families victimized by the state or its agencies.

Schlesinger has been highly critical of legislators for delaying justice to his client.

Minouche Noel, a paraplegic as a result of medical malpractice in a state-run clinic in Fort Lauderdale, received an $8.5-million award from a jury in 1999. But under the doctrine of sovereign immunity, state law limits claims of negligence against government entities to $200,000 without legislative approval.

It took seven years for her case to win support in Tallahassee, and then only on the condition that attorneys' fees and costs be limited.

The legislation HB 593 states that attorneys' fees and costs cannot exceed $1,074,667, and fees to a lobbying firm hired by Schlesinger cannot exceed $85,000.

That's less than the maximum allowed by state law in such cases: 25 percent for legal fees and 6 percent for lobbying fees.

"I personally never agreed to anything," Schlesinger said. "We seek nothing but what we are legally entitled to, and we don't see anything abusive by that."

Schlesinger said he took Noel's case on a contingency-fee basis, meaning his firm absorbed all legal costs with no guarantee of payment.

"We stayed with it. Not many firms would do that," said Schlesinger, 77, who has long been one of the most prominent personal injury lawyers in the state.

Attorney Hayden Dempsey of the law firm Greenberg Traurig, which was hired by Schlesinger to lobby for passage of the bill, said the firm was satisfied with its fee and had no role in the filing of the lien.

"We have not been involved in the matter of how much her attorneys are entitled to," Dempsey said Thursday.

Noel, now 19, lives in Palm Bay with her parents, both Haitian immigrants, and attends Brevard Community College full time. She lives in a house that is not wheelchair-accessible, and she has no health insurance to pay for physical therapy, a specially equipped van and other needs.

Last spring, lawmakers were shown photos of Noel's knuckles with the skin rubbed raw because she must crawl on her hands every time she uses the bathroom.

Sen. Nan Rich, D-Weston, who filed the bill to compensate Noel, said she was shocked to learn of her lawyer's action.

Rich said it was clear that the claim would not have been approved without the limit on fees for lawyers and lobbyists.

"It's just outrageous. It borders on dishonesty, as far as I'm concerned," Rich said. "Nobody said a word to me and nobody complained to me, and now, to go around to the back door to try to get more money, is outrageous.'

Gov. Charlie Crist, who ceremonially signed the settlement in May in Hollywood, Fla., said he did not want to comment until he knew the details, but added: "She has a right to get her money."

Times staff writers Stephanie Garry and Alex Leary and researcher Angie Drobnic Holan contributed to this report. Steve Bousquet can be reached at bousquet@sptimes.com or (850) 224-7263.

[Last modified July 19, 2007, 23:09:24]