Patrick Megaro’s license was suspended in 2021 for, among other things, bilking two intellectually disabled men out of unearned fees. He appealed the case to the Court of Appeals as a pro se litigant. The Bar’s Disciplinary Hearing Commission’s decision was affirmed in 2022, and, among other things, Megaro was ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $250,000 to his victims.
Meanwhile, his erstwhile partner, Jaime T. Halscott, was busy filing a frivolous lawsuit in Florida state court to try to secure back pay from the victims and to seek money from various guardians ad litem who had been appointed by courts to help the men Megaro had swindled.
The $75 million judgment secured by the lawyers who replaced Halscott Megaro was probably a pretty big factor in Halscott’s calculations about whether to try his luck. (The judgment has since been reduced to about $63 million.)
The case did not stay in Florida state court. It was removed to federal court, and then transferred to the Eastern District of North Carolina, where federal district Judge Terrence Boyle made quick work, dismissing it on a Rule 12(b)(6) motion.
Undeterred, young Halscott – his former partner Megaro having been suspended and busy writing courts around the country alerting them to his disabled status – appealed the matter to the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals, which, once again, made quick work of the matter.
And now the chickens have come home to roost: In July 2024, the North Carolina State Bar filed another complaint against Megaro and, this time, has included Jaime Halscott.
The complaint alleges, among other misconduct, that Halscott filed a frivolous lawsuit in State court, failed to notify his former clients before filing the lawsuit, filed a baseless Motion to Recuse against Judge Boyle, and asserted issues that were in fact barred by collateral estoppel.
Good luck to both boys, as they approach nearly a decade of their lives living out this dream.
