On Friday, August 29, 2025, The Florida Bar filed a complaint in the state’s Supreme Court against attorney Ronald Andersen Hurst Jr., alleging multiple violations of the Rules Regulating The Florida Bar. The complaint, stemming from incidents in Palm Beach County, alleges that Hurst filed bankruptcy cases for improper purposes and made untruthful statements to the court.
The case is entitled “In the Matter of Ronald Andersen Hurst Jr.,” with case numbers 2023-50,126(15E), 2023-50,304(15E), 2023-50,500(15E).
The Florida Bar’s filing cites two primary instances of misconduct. The first involves a foreclosure case concerning Rafael and Mayra Abigail Davila. According to the complaint, Hurst initiated a Chapter 13 bankruptcy case on behalf of Rafael Davila in October 2018, which temporarily halted a scheduled foreclosure sale. This case was later dismissed with prejudice, barring refiling for a period of 180 days.
Subsequently, with the refiling restriction still in effect, Hurst filed another Chapter 13 bankruptcy petition, this time on behalf of Mayra Abigail Davila, to again stop the foreclosure sale. However, The Florida Bar alleges that Mayra Abigail Davila had died four months prior to the filing of the bankruptcy petition in June 2019. The complaint states that Hurst acknowledged he hadn’t communicated with his client for at least seven months before the filing.
Despite Mayra’s death, Hurst also submitted a request for a temporary waiver of credit counseling requirements, falsely stating that his client had attempted to obtain credit counseling. The Florida Bar asserts that Hurst did not verify that Mayra received the bankruptcy documents or authorize the filing, violating local rules. The Bar contends that Hurst filed the bankruptcy petition for an improper purpose: to impose an automatic stay and delay the foreclosure proceedings. It is also alleged that Hurst failed to maintain the originally signed bankruptcy petition as required.
Furthermore, the complaint accuses Hurst of improperly using the filing credentials of Bernard Fernandez, another attorney, in the foreclosure case. The Florida Bar states that Hurst held the Healthcare Surrogate Power of Attorney for Fernandez, who was allegedly incapacitated and no longer practicing law.
In August 2022, Hurst entered into a Stipulation and Order Imposing Sanctions with the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Florida, admitting to violations of Federal Rule of Bankruptcy Procedure 9011 and Local Rule 9011-1. As a result, he agreed to a five-year suspension from practicing law before that court and was required to self-report the suspension to The Florida Bar.
The second count in the complaint relates to Hurst’s conduct in two criminal cases, State of Florida vs. Terry McQueen. The Florida Bar alleges that after being appointed counsel for McQueen in December 2022, Hurst failed to appear at a scheduled docket call in January 2023 and did not arrange for coverage. When ordered to show cause for his absence, Hurst allegedly made misrepresentations to the court regarding his schedule. Although the initial Order to Show Cause was dismissed, Hurst again failed to appear at a rescheduled docket call in February 2023.
The Florida Bar asserts that Hurst’s actions violated numerous Rules Regulating The Florida Bar, including those concerning misconduct, informing clients, meritorious claims, expediting litigation, candor toward the tribunal, fairness to opposing parties, respect for the rights of third persons, and conduct prejudicial to the administration of justice. The Bar is seeking appropriate disciplinary action from the Supreme Court of Florida.
According to Avvo, Mr. Hurst is a litigation lawyer in Greenacres, Florida. He acquired his law license in Florida in 2003.
A copy of the original filing can be found here.
