11th Circuit Court

Ex-Rothstein Partner Will Pay Up to $500K to Settle Clawback Suit re Alleged Excess Compensation

A former partner of the now-defunct Rothstein Rosenfeldt Adler law firm has agreed to pay up to $500,000 to settle a bankruptcy trustee’s claim that he received excess compensation while he was still working there. Russell Adler, who also agreed that he can’t file for personal bankruptcy to avoid the…

Feb 28, 2011 8:55 PM CST

Lawyers in Fla. and Nev. Charged in Mortgage Fraud Cases

Lawyers in Florida and Nevada have been indicted for alleged participation in unrelated mortgage frauds. John Evans III, 31, was suspended from practice on an emergency basis last year reports the Naples Daily News. However, attorney Stanley Walton, 52, is still actively licensed, although his listed office phone has been…

Feb 18, 2011 2:09 AM CST

Feds Raid Health Care Facilities, Arrest Over 100 Professionals in 9 Cities in Record Medicare Bust

Federal authorities have arrested 111 doctors, nurses and other professionals in nine cities in what is being billed as the biggest Medicare fraud bust ever. It allegedly involved fraudulent billing of the government for health care services that weren’t provided, according to ABC News and the Associated Press. The raids…

Feb 17, 2011 6:49 PM CST

As Bankruptcy Debtors Tend to Try to Hide Assets, Sometimes Ineptly, Prosecutions are On the Rise

Debtors who file for bankruptcy are supposed to disclose their assets. But many don’t, and as bankruptcies rise nailing those who violate the rules is becoming an increasing priority for prosecutors, according to the St. Petersburg Times. Discovering hidden assets, of course, can be a challenge. However, sometimes debtors make…

Feb 16, 2011 7:11 PM CST

Former DA Convicted of Civil Rights Violations Will Have to Register as Sex Offender

A former Alabama district attorney will have to register as a sex offender when he is released from prison because his conviction for civil rights violations stems from fondling allegations that he failed to contest, according to a federal appeals court. Former Franklin County DA John Pilati will be released…

Feb 15, 2011 4:26 PM CST

Activist Attorney Gets $20K Over Arrest at Podium of Public Hearing

An attorney and community activist arrested and handcuffed after she tried to speak on behalf of clients at a public hearing in Florida more than three years ago has won a $20,000 settlement from the Broward County commission. The county has admitted no wrongdoing in the incident, which occurred after…

Feb 9, 2011 9:39 PM CST

FDIC Sues Law Firm for $6M, Says Partner Closing Loans for Bank Concealed Critical Info

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. has sued a Georgia law firm for malpractice, contending that a partner of the firm, simultaneously representing Neighborhood Community Bank and a developer client while closing loans, concealed from the bank material secret changes in the authorized terms of the loans. In a complaint (PDF)…

Feb 9, 2011 5:18 PM CST

Imprisoned Ex-Lawyer Lifts Weights, Learns to Type, Is Fired and Rehired as Cook, E-Mails Friends

Once a prominent forensic accountant and attorney known for his natty attire and expertise concerning receiverships, Lew Freeman is now serving a federal prison term of more than eight years in South Florida for stealing millions while working as a court-appointed fiduciary. But although his expensive suits and technicolor socks…

Feb 1, 2011 10:02 PM CST

Federal Judge Strikes Health Care Reform Act, Calls Insurance-Purchase Mandate Unconstitutional

Finding that an unconstitutional provision requiring most individuals to purchase insurance is central to the entire Health Care Reform Act championed by the Obama administration, a federal judge in Florida struck down the entire statute today. “Because the individual mandate is unconstitutional and not severable, the entire act must be…

Jan 31, 2011 8:58 PM CST

Asbestos Law Firm Seeks Chapter 11 Shield from $4.2M, or Maybe $35M, Claim of Partner’s Widow

Faced with a $4.2 million claim by a deceased name partner’s widow, a Florida-based asbestos law firm has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy seeking respite. Kelley & Ferraro filed in Miami this week, as Lynn Kelley was pursuing a Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas case against the firm in…

Jan 28, 2011 11:20 PM CST

$37.7M RICO Suit Against Bank Rothstein Used in $1.2B Ponzi Scheme Gets Green Light

A federal judge has given a green light to a lawsuit against a bank utilized by then-attorney Scott Rothstein in the $1.2 billion Ponzi scheme he ran from his South Florida law office. TD Bank said in a motion to dismiss that its officials knew nothing about the now-convicted Rothstein’s…

Jan 24, 2011 6:06 PM CST

Neighboring Fla. Jurists Move Chambers After Death of Colleague, Citing Mold Concern

Concerning that a 52-year-old Florida jurist’s death from lung cancer last month may have been linked to courthouse mold, three of Judge Cheryl Aleman’s colleagues on the ninth floor have moved their chambers out of the Broward County Courthouse and are seeking environmental testing. “There were issues with a serious…

Jan 11, 2011 7:07 PM CST

Partner of Bankrupt Rothstein Law Firm Faces Pay Clawback Trial Next Month

Russell Adler and his lawyers say he did nothing wrong and never even saw a financial statement for his now-shuttered former firm, Rothstein Rosenfeldt Adler. But Adler, who apparently wasn’t a partner there, even though he was listed in the firm’s name and served as RRA’s vice president, is facing…

Jan 5, 2011 5:45 PM CST

11th Circuit Upholds $387K Sanction of Small Firm for Persisting in Case After Bad Client Depo

A divided federal appeals court panel has upheld a sanction of $387,738 against two South Florida attorneys. After their client contradicted herself repeatedly during an eight-day deposition in a sexual harassment case, Bill and Karen Amlong should have ended the litigation, held the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel…

Jan 3, 2011 7:20 PM CST

Jailed for Wearing Headscarf at Courthouse, Muslim Woman Sues; Others Object to Airport Searches

Arrested, cited for contempt and jailed after she tried to wear a headscarf into a Douglasville, Ga., court two years ago, a Muslim woman filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against the city earlier this month. The litigation is one of a number of pending suits in which Muslims not…

Dec 23, 2010 6:53 PM CST