Maya Kowalski, the woman at the center of the Netflix documentary “Take Care of Maya” has filed a sworn declaration in court proceedings accusing former family attorney Greg Anderson of inappropriate comments and interactions while he represented her, explosive allegations that could reshape the already turbulent next phase of the long-running case arising from her treatment at Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital in St. Petersburg.
Multiple efforts to contact Anderson were unsuccessful but Anderson’s wife and law partner, Jennifer, told the Trident he vehemently denies the allegations.
“I’m aware of the circumstances, and obviously Greg is. It’s inaccurate. We’re going to clear this up in front of the court,” Jennifer Anderson said.
The Anderson family was on spring break vacation. Jennifer Anderson said a response would be filed sometime next week.
The document reads as a breakdown of trust between a young client and the lawyer who had become one of the public faces of the case.
The March 18 filing is a two-page declaration signed by Kowalski under penalties of perjury. In it, she says Anderson communicated with her privately after she turned 18, engaged in conduct that made her uncomfortable, encouraged her to be sexually promiscuous, and failed to fully explain fee provisions and litigation-funding issues.
The Kowalski case stems from a 2016 dispute between the Kowalski family and Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital, where doctors suspected child abuse related to her treatment for a rare pain condition and reported the family to state authorities, triggering a court-ordered separation.
ALSO READ: Appeals court reverses over $200M judgment against All Children's Hospital in 'Maya' case
The family later sued the hospital and others alleging false imprisonment, battery, and related claims, winning a $261 million jury verdict in 2023 that a judge later reduced to $208 million. An October 2025 appellate court ruling reversed most of that judgment, finding key legal errors and broad immunity protections under state law and ordered a limited retrial.
Kowalski’s court declaration alleges that in early 2024 Anderson arranged and paid for a hotel room for her and her friends and stayed in a separate room.
The declaration alleges that Anderson invited Kowalski to his room. When she arrived, “it was apparent to me that he had been drinking,” she alleged.
While in Anderson’s room, Kowalski was asked to sign a new fee agreement because she had turned 18 in December 2023. She signed the agreement but says Anderson did not explain that the arrangement might not comply with Florida Bar rules and did not agree to any fee greater than that permitted under those rules.
Kowalski claims Anderson sent two bottles of wine to her room after she returned to her room. Both Kowalski and her friends were under 21. The declaration also says Anderson later went to her room.
Additionally, the declaration also says Anderson made comments about her sexuality, relationships and “social positioning,” suggested that she date older men, suggested that dating older men who would make her more attractive in social and professional circles and become connected to influential people. Kowalski also said Anderson gave unsolicited advice about contraception and not getting pregnant.
She further alleges that Anderson encouraged her to pursue a relationship with his 28-year-old nephew when she was 18, encouraged her to drink on several occasions, and commented on her behavior and what she wore when meeting his friends.
Kowalski’s declaration alleges that over the course of Anderson’s representation, he “frequently communicated” with her privately by text, email and phone without her father’s knowledge. She says she became increasingly uncomfortable with the tone and content of many of those communications and adds she has copies of the messages. The declaration is unclear whether those communications occurred before Kowalski turned 18, after she became an adult, or spanned both timeframes.
In the declaration, Kowalski says she did not immediately understand how inappropriate the conduct was but came to see it differently after speaking with other trusted adults and as she matured.
The filing also reaches directly into the legal team’s internal split. Kowalski states that in July 2024, Anderson told her she was no longer permitted to communicate with attorney Nick Whitney, whom she understood to be part of her legal team and someone she trusted. Whitney had been one of the trial attorneys representing the Kowalskis while working at the Anderson law firm.
In July 2024, Whitney said he had been terminated after raising concerns about Greg Anderson’s refusal to provide a closing statement and notifications about settlement and financing proceeds, according to a court filing. A separate court filing included an email from Jennifer Anderson indicating they believed Whitney was quitting.
Days later, Whitney filed a complaint with the Florida Bar alleging, among other things, financial impropriety by Greg Anderson in his handling of a loan tied to the judgment recovered in the case.
ALSO READ: What role did 'Take Care of Maya' play in a jury siding with the Kowalski family?
Around the same time, Kowalski says, Anderson asked her to sign an affidavit about Whitney that she believed contained inaccurate statements, and she refused. By fall 2024, she says, she no longer believed Anderson was acting in her best interests, did not trust him, and reached out to Whitney despite being told not to.
Those allegations are especially significant because Whitney later became counsel for the Kowalskis after the Anderson law firm was terminated in December 2024.
The declaration’s final section focuses on money and control. Kowalski says Anderson failed to explain the magnitude of costs, interest and repayment obligations tied to what she calls an “Advance Funding Loan,” failed to advise her to seek independent counsel before the loan closed, and failed to tell her that smaller or less expensive funding options might have been available.
The second page of the declaration goes further, alleging Anderson did not explain that the loan documents could restrict her ability to make independent decisions about whether to settle the lawsuit, retry the case, pursue an appeal or retain new counsel, or that lenders or others could influence those decisions.
What the declaration does not do is prove the allegations. The filing contains Kowalski’s account and her verification under penalty of perjury. She did not attach any of the communications she alleges were inappropriate to the declaration.
Still, as a post-appellate development, the declaration is explosive. It does not alter the narrowed hospital claims the appeals court said may be retried. But it does open a separate and potentially consequential fight over trust, ethics, money and control on the plaintiffs’ side of one of Florida’s most closely watched civil cases.
Michael Barfield is an award-winning investigative reporter who helps strengthen transparency and accountability across Florida. He assists reporters and the public with public records questions and requests, and he oversees and supports the organization’s litigation to enforce open government. He’s a frequent lecturer on Florida’s Public Records Act and Sunshine Law, serves on the governance committee of Investigative Reporters & Editors, and is a member of the Society of Professional Journalists. Barfield is a former President of the ACLU of Florida, a life member of the Florida Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, and has twice been named by Sarasota Magazine as one of the most influential people in Sarasota. He lives in Sarasota with his wife, Iru.
This article first appeared on Florida Trident and is republished here under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
