TAMPA – A Pinellas County woman filed a federal lawsuit against The Florida Bar and the Florida Board of Bar Examiners, alleging both deprived her of a “fair and impartial” review of her admissions application.
Plaintiff Jessica Bowling filed her lawsuit in U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida, Tampa Division. The named defendants include The Florida Bar, the Florida Board of Bar Examiners, Andrew H. McElroy III and Rolynda Lee McArthur Scott.
The action, Bowling claims in her six-page filing, stems from a series of events beginning in March 2025 involving her neighboring property, subsequent civil litigation, attorney grievance proceedings, and her application for admission to The Florida Bar.
“Plaintiff alleges that Defendants engaged in a coordinated course of conduct which deprived Plaintiff of a fair and impartial character and fitness determination and denied Plaintiff transparency regarding actual or potential conflicts of interest,” the complaint states.
“Plaintiff further alleges that Defendants exercised exclusive control over records, communications, and conflict determinations while simultaneously refusing to provide sufficient information to permit Plaintiff to determine whether conflicts of interest existed.”
The Florida Bar is responsible for regulating attorneys licensed to practice law in the state. The Board of Bar Examiners is responsible for investigating applicants seeking admission to practice law in the state.
McElroy served as assistant general counsel for the Florida Board of Bar Examiners at the time of the alleged events, while Scott is a licensed attorney who has represented the Bar in judicial proceedings.
At the crux of the lawsuit is the property neighboring Bowling’s, at 5430 16th Avenue North, St. Petersburg.
Bowling claims she began experiencing “substantial disturbances” originating from the residence, including excessive vehicle noise, accumulation of garbage and drug paraphernalia, overgrown vegetation, abandoned vehicles, and other code violations.
She contends she attempted to resolve the issues without litigation, by communicating with the individuals connected to the property.
Public records listed McArthur Properties LLC as the entity associated with the property, but the LLC was administratively dissolved in September 2023. No public tax and corporate records have been updated to reflect the correct ownership, Bowling claims.
Bowling alleges she later learned that Scott is the owner of the property and has allowed her adult son to reside at the property during the period in which the LLC remained dissolved and records were not corrected.
Public records reflect that property taxes for the home have been delinquent for “multiple” tax years and $20,000 remains unpaid, according to the complaint.
After discovering Scott appeared as counsel representing The Florida Bar in judicial proceedings, Bowling filed grievances with the Bar.
“I am not asking The Florida Bar to resolve a civil property dispute, tax matter, zoning issue, or criminal investigation,” Bowling wrote in a clarifying statement sent to The Bar in January. “I respectfully request review only of whether the conduct described above complies with the ethical duties imposed on Florida attorneys when controlling property through business entities and maintaining accurate public records upon which third parties rely.”
Bowling alleges her Bar admission remained pending while her civil litigation and attorney grievances were ongoing.
She claims she disclosed the existence of the litigation to the Board of Bar Examiners, as required, but later received an “adverse” recommendation regarding her admission.
“Plaintiff alleges that the sequence of events gave rise to reasonable concerns regarding the impartiality of the proceedings affecting her application,” her complaint states.
Bowling also alleges that McElroy, who served as assistant general counsel for the Board of Bar Examiners, “may have had a relationship with an individual identified as a defendant” in her pending civil litigation.
In an email sent to the board last month, Bowling requested that her grievances be reviewed by an individual “who has no actual or potential conflict of interest.”
“These facts require an immediate and independent conflict-of-interest review to determine whether any actual conflict, apparent conflict, or failure to implement appropriate conflict-screening procedures occurred during the handling of my application,” Bowling wrote the board June 29.
In the letter, she also demanded that all “potentially relevant” records be preserved.
The board, in a June 30 response, said it is not aware of any conflict of interest between McElroy and Scott.
“First, Lee McArthur Scott is not a member of the board or the board’s staff; therefore, she had no involvement in your bar application process,” wrote Michele Gavagni, executive director for the board.
“Additionally, your formal hearing was held on January 24, 2026. The Notice of Board Action advising you of the board’s decision was posted on your portal on January 29, 2026. You filed an amendment to your bar application on February 12, 2026, to disclose the pending lawsuit you filed against several individuals, including Lee McArthur Scott.
“This disclosure was made after your formal hearing and after the Notice of Board Action was posted to your portal. Accordingly, the board did not base its decision following the formal hearing on this lawsuit in any way.”
Gavagni noted that all documentation and information regarding Bowling’s file is preserved until an individual has been admitted to the Bar for one year.
Bowling contends in her July 1 filing that the defendants refuse to provide documentation to verify whether any conflict review had been conducted.
Their refusal to provide transparency, she alleges, “has prevented meaningful verification of their representations concerning conflicts of interest.”
Bowling asked the federal court for injunctive relief, requiring the “preservation and production” of records.
Discovery, she argues, will establish “the identity of every individual who reviewed, discussed, supervised, accessed, or otherwise participated” in her admissions proceedings.
She seeks production of conflict reports, recusal determinations, internal communications, access logs, emails, electronic records, supervisory communications, and any other documents.
Bowling is representing herself in the action.
