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Winters, Yonker Verdict Over Civil Theft Upheld
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Published: July 12, 2008
Updated: 07/12/2008 12:14 am
TAMPA - Lawyers William Winters and Marc Yonker - famous locally for ads on billboards, phone books and Web sites - must pay their former employer more than $1.7 million for stealing his clients, a judge ruled Friday.
The ruling backs up, but reduces, a jury's verdict last month.
On June 30, a jury determined that Winters and Yonker removed client files from Mulholland & Associates without permission, had a former secretary copy them, then returned the files. The two men also had the former secretary hack into the law office computer and change phone numbers and addresses of clients so firm owner Richard Mulholland could not contact the clients and ask them to stay with his firm.
The jury awarded Mulholland nearly $1 million in damages. Because the allegations involved civil theft, the damages were to be tripled to $3 million.
Winters and Yonker asked Circuit Judge Richard Nielsen to declare a mistrial or set aside the jury's verdict. Nielsen declined to do so but did reduce the jury's verdict from $1 million to about $575,000. Then, per the law, he tripled those damages to $1.7 million.
"The main thing about this case," Mulholland said Friday, "it has never been primarily a matter of money. It is about principle. These two employees were my most trusted employees of many years. I trusted them with everything, otherwise it could not have happened."
Winters and Yonker did not return a call seeking comment.
Mulholland's lawsuit said that Winters started working for him in 1985; Yonker in 1995.
Secretary Testified Against Duo
In 1996, Mulholland hired Elizabeth Chapa. During her employment, she worked as a legal secretary for Winters and a paralegal for Yonker.
Chapa, who helped Winters and Yonker copy files, agreed to testify against the two in exchange for immunity from liability.
In court documents, Chapa said she had an extramarital affair with Winters. Mulholland had warned Chapa to end the relationship but she did not, according to court documents. At Mulholland's request, Winters fired Chapa in April 2001.
About 30 minutes after firing her, Winters called Chapa to say he wanted to come to her house and discuss the situation. There, he told Chapa he was going to open his own firm in a few months and she could join him. Beginning in May 2001, the lawsuit said, Winters began renting a room in Chapa's home to use as an office.
Over the following several months, Winters and Yonker removed case files from the Mulholland office without authorization. They met Chapa at the University of Tampa. She made copies of the files and they were returned to Mulholland's office, according to court documents.
Yonker spoke to several clients and told them he and Winters were leaving Mulholland's firm. He also told them that he and Winters had performed the majority of the work on their cases.
On several occasions in May and June 2001, Chapa logged on to the Mulholland & Associates computer system under another employee's name and changed at least 16 phone numbers and addresses, the suit said. With the incorrect numbers and addresses, Mulholland would be prevented from any quick attempt at preventing his clients from leaving, the lawsuit said.
Chapa's affair with Winters ended in 2002 when she became pregnant with her husband, she said in court documents.
As Mulholland's lawsuit progressed in the courts, the FBI contacted Chapa about her actions, Mulholland said.
"The FBI has been very active in this case," he said. "Of course, they don't tell you what they do over there."
No criminal charges have been filed.
Mulholland had asked for $4 million in damages, claiming civil theft and conspiracy to commit civil theft.
After six days of trial, the jury returned, saying Winters and Yonker did not conspire to commit theft. They did, however, commit theft, the jury determined.
The jury determined Winters was liable for nearly $750,000 in damages; Yonker for nearly $190,000.
Now that the judge has reduced the damages, Winters' liability is $383,105 in damages - tripled to about $1.15 million. He also must pay Mulholland $122,500 in legal fees.
Yonker is liable for about $189,000 in damages - tripled to about $567,000. He does not owe legal fees.
Mulholland said he hopes the Florida Bar will investigate Winters and Yonker.
"Every lawyer in town is talking about the possibility," he said.
Bar Aware Of Verdict
Officials with the Florida Bar said last week that they are aware of the jury's June 30 verdict and were waiting to study the judge's final judgment before deciding whether to proceed with an investigation. That final judgment came Friday.
Previously, Winters has had three complaints filed with the Bar. Yonker has had none.
In a 2004 complaint, a woman wrote that Winters helped her win a personal injury case against Wal-Mart years earlier but did not follow up after a jury verdict. She wrote that she had problems figuring out how much money was hers and what she owed her doctors.
Winters responded that the woman had accused him of "selling her out" at trial but said he advised her that her case would not produce a large verdict.
The Bar dropped the investigation because the statute of limitations had passed.
In 2004, Winters received an admonishment from the Bar after he was found to have committed "minor misconduct."
A report from the Bar states that Winters failed to resolve medical bills for a client after a settlement.
Last year, a former client complained that Winters worked on his case while suspended from the Bar. After review, the Bar determined that Winters was suspended because he had not filed the required forms that said he completed his continuing legal training. Winters had completed the training but had failed to report it to the Bar. The complaint was dismissed.
Reporter Thomas W. Krause can be reached at (813) 259-7698 or tkrause@tampatrib.com.
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