On Wednesday, October 30, 2024, the Supreme Court of Florida issued an order requiring attorney Susan Rachel Torres to show cause why she should not be held in contempt for failing to respond to a disciplinary complaint.
The case is entitled “The Florida Bar v. Susan Rachel Torres,” with case no. SC2024-1558.
The order stemmed from a Finding of Non-Compliance and Failure to Respond to Official Bar Inquiry and Contempt issued by the Grievance Committee on October 29, 2024. According to the Committee’s finding, The Florida Bar filed a complaint against Respondent Torres on January 16, 2024. Torres originally failed to respond to The Florida Bar’s inquiries regarding the complaint by the requested January 31, 2024 deadline.
Over the following months, Torres repeatedly failed to meet deadlines for responding set by letters and emails from The Florida Bar on February 7, 2024, February 28, 2024, March 18, 2024, and April 3, 2024. Torres occasionally communicated that she needed extensions or was working on a response but did not follow through with the new deadlines. This included statements on February 7, 2024, that she would respond within two days, on March 30, 2024, that her response would be submitted by the following Monday, and on May 10, 2024, requesting an extension to the next day.
At its September 17, 2024 hearing, Grievance Committee 11F found that Torres had failed to show good cause for not responding to the Bar’s inquiries and that her non-compliance was willful. The Committee then found Torres in contempt and requested The Florida Bar file a petition with the Supreme Court.
In response, the Supreme Court issued its October 30, 2024 order giving Torres until November 14, 2024, to show cause why she should not be held in contempt of court or face other discipline. The Bar was given until November 25, 2024 to file a reply.
According to avvo.com, Ms. Torres is an immigration attorney in Miami, Florida. She acquired her law license in Florida in 2011.
A copy of the original filing can be found here.
