On Thursday, September 18, 2025, The Florida Bar filed a complaint with the state’s Supreme Court against attorney Bonita M. Riggens. The complaint alleges misconduct and violations of the Rules Regulating The Florida Bar.
The case is entitled “The Florida Bar v. Bonita M. Riggens,” with case no. 2023-10,606(6E).
According to the complaint, Riggens is accused of failing to adequately communicate with a client and diligently represent her interests in a discrimination case. The Sixth Judicial Circuit Grievance Committee “E” found probable cause to file the complaint.
The Florida Bar states it began investigating Riggens’ conduct in 2023 and attempted to resolve the matter with her. However, communication ceased, leading to the filing of the formal complaint.
Between November 2021 and June 2023, the complaint alleges a pattern of inadequate communication, causing significant delays and ultimately the closure of the client’s case. Specifically, the complaint outlines that after filing a Complaint and Demand for Jury Trial on behalf of the client on November 7, 2018, and achieving a resolution at mediation in September 2021, Riggens allegedly failed to finalize a settlement agreement promptly.
The client provided feedback on a draft agreement in early November 2021, but follow-up emails from the client in November 2021, January 2022, February, March, and April 2022 requesting updates allegedly went unanswered.
The Florida Bar’s Attorney/Consumer Assistance Program intervened in April 2022, directing Riggens to contact the client, but the complaint states she failed to do so initially. While Riggens eventually replied to the client in late April 2022, promising revisions to the settlement agreement, further communication lapses allegedly occurred in May 2022, prompting a second intervention from the Florida Bar.
Despite sporadic communication in November and December 2022, the settlement agreement was never finalized, and Riggens allegedly ceased communication with the client after December 2, 2022. The client made multiple attempts to contact Riggens in early 2023 without success, ultimately leading to the filing of a complaint with The Florida Bar in June 2023.
The Florida Bar alleges that Riggens failed to properly withdraw from representation, simply ceasing work on the client’s case. The docket allegedly reflects the client’s case as closed. The complaint asserts that Riggens’ conduct violated Rules 4-1.3 (Diligence), 4-1.4 (Communication), 4-1.16 (Declining or Terminating Representation), and 4-8.4 (Misconduct).
The complaint states:
“The Florida Bar respectfully requests that this Court appropriately discipline respondent under the Rules Regulating The Florida Bar.”
According to Avvo.com, Ms. Riggens is a contracts and agreements attorney in Saint Petersburg, Florida. She attended the University of Miami School of Law, graduating in 1984. She acquired her law license in Florida in the same year.
A copy of the original filing can be found here.
