A law practice tied to Bonnie Sweeten, the Bucks County mother who faked her own abduction in May, is being sued for malpractice by a former client.
Theodore Klein of Warminster claims he never received a $100,000 insurance settlement check he has been owed since September.
Klein's lawsuit, filed yesterday in Bucks County Court, says that attorney Debbie Carlitz never told him about the check until June - nine months after someone cashed or deposited it.
The lawsuit also says that Carlitz never told Klein her license was being suspended, and accuses her of failing to properly monitor her employees.
Among those employees was Sweeten, 38, Carlitz's longtime paralegal and office manager. She was charged with identity theft and filing false reports in May after staging an elaborate abduction hoax. Her trial is scheduled for next week.
On May 26, Sweeten had placed a 911 call saying she and her 9-year-old daughter had been carjacked in Southampton. She then assumed a false identity and flew with the girl to Walt Disney World, where authorities located them the next day.
Federal authorities are also investigating allegations of forgery and theft involving Carlitz's law office. No charges have been filed.
Carlitz, 48, maintained an office in Feasterville until last year, when she was suspended from practicing in Pennsylvania. She was disciplined for practicing without proper credentials, having failed to keep up with the state's continuing legal education requirements.
Klein's lawsuit says that he hired Carlitz in December 2007 to represent him for injuries he suffered in an auto accident.
At the time, Carlitz's license was on inactive status, and she was suspended in March 2008. Klein contends that she never informed him of the disciplinary matters.
The lawsuit does not mention Sweeten by name, but says that Carlitz is liable for any employees involved in "the absconding or misappropriation of" his settlement money.
Lawyers for Carlitz and Klein could not be reached immediately for comment.
Contact staff writer Larry King at 215-345-0446 or lking@phillynews.com.
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