11th Circuit Court

DOJ Sues 18 Lawyers, Says $300M PCBs Pact in 2003 Didn’t Include Medicare Reimbursement

The Department of Justice has sued 18 lawyers, as well as law firms, manufacturers and insurers, contending that a $300 million settlement agreed to in 2003 in an Alabama environmental case wasn’t properly allocated to include reimbursement of Medicare costs for 907 of the 3,500 plaintiffs. It isn’t clear exactly…

Mar 1, 2010 11:51 PM CST

Judge to Compel 2 Rothstein Firm Lawyers to Turn Over Computer Passwords

A judge overseeing the bankruptcy of the dissolving South Florida law firm at the center of a claimed $7 billion Ponzi scheme says he will order two former partners to turn over their passwords to a secure offsite e-mail storage system. Granting a request by trustee Herbert Stettin, U.S. Bankruptcy…

Feb 24, 2010 7:58 PM CST

Student Discipline Over ‘Worst Teacher’ Facebook Page Teaches School a Lesson

A federal magistrate judge in Florida has given the green light to a former high school student’s lawsuit against her principal, not only ruling against Peter Bayer’s motion to dismiss but saying that Katherine Evans had a First Amendment right to make the Facebook comments for which she was disciplined.…

Feb 16, 2010 6:02 PM CST

As Jury Deliberates, Federal Judge Dismisses All Charges in Stanford Document-Shredding Case

In the latest blow to U.S. Department of Justice prosecutors pursuing high-profile charges, a federal judge today dismissed the obstruction and conspiracy case against two men accused of ordering the destruction of documents related to R. Allen Stanford’s alleged $7 billion Ponzi scheme. Citing a lack of intent as he…

Feb 12, 2010 10:32 PM CST

Trustee Seeks Law Firm Records to ID Any Other Attorneys in $1.2B Rothstein Scheme

Updated: In an effort to identify others who may have been involved in ex-attorney Scott Rothstein’s reported $1.2 billion Ponzi scheme, a bankruptcy trustee overseeing the dissolution of Rothstein Rosenfeldt Adler has asked a federal judge to order a California technology company to produce records of confidential electronic conversations between…

Feb 11, 2010 7:24 PM CST

Judge’s order vacates up to $312K in bad-faith sanctions at parties’ request

Updated: After a federal district judge’s opinion blasting a law firm and its corporate client over what he describes as their bad-faith litigation tactics, a federal magistrate judge made a sanctions recommendation and later vacated it. U.S. Magistrate Judge Walter Johnson said in a Jan. 29, 2010, report two lawyers…

Feb 10, 2010 7:03 PM CST

B- and C-Words in the Workplace Can Be Sex Harassment, 11th Circuit Rules

A federal appeals court has ruled that gender-specific profanity in the workplace can create a hostile work environment, even if the vulgar words aren’t directed at a specific person. The Fulton County Daily Report calls the en banc opinion (PDF) by the Atlanta-based 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals a…

Jan 22, 2010 5:48 PM CST

Will Others Be Charged in Alleged $1.2B Scheme By Founder of Fla. Law Firm?

After news of a planned guilty plea in an alleged $1.2 billion fraud by the founder and former managing partner of Rothstein Rosenfeldt Adler, observers are wondering whether others are going to be charged in the case. In a filing yesterday concerning a conflict-of-interest argument being made over now-disbarred defendant…

Jan 8, 2010 6:39 PM CST

Ex-Attorney Mulls Plea in Alleged $1.2B Scheme as Trustee Sues Firm Partner for $4M

Formerly high-flying Florida attorney Scott Rothstein is negotiating a guilty plea, his lawyer says, concerning the federal criminal charges he faces over an alleged $1.2 billion Ponzi scheme he is accused of operating while making use of the credibility conferred by his role as the managing partner of a Fort…

Jan 6, 2010 12:50 AM CST

Federal Judge Sanctions ‘Obsessed’ Lawyer $110K Over Recusal Claims

A federal judge has imposed nearly $110,000 in sanctions on a Florida lawyer and has suspended him from practice in the Southern District of Florida for 42 months over his efforts to persuade the judge to step down from overseeing three employment cases. “Obsessed” with his desire to win the…

Jan 4, 2010 9:22 PM CST

Filing: Rothstein Made $35M in 2008; Name Partner: I Wasn’t Paid $6M

Observers wondered how a South Florida attorney who nobody had heard of a few years ago could have millions to spend on a lavish lifestyle and high-profile charitable donations during a recession. But, without specific evidence of wrongdoing, no one picked up the phone and called police or bar authorities…

Dec 7, 2009 6:27 PM CST

Mickey Mouse Trademark Suit is Filed Against Donald Duck

Apparently lacking legitimate legal work, a prankster with the fictitious “Abogado & Abogado” law firm in Miami has filed a federal trademark infringement suit in the Southern District of Florida on behalf of Mickey Mouse. The defendant is Donald Duck, and, the one-page complaint (PDF) alleges, “the defendant is a…

Nov 19, 2009 7:04 PM CST

‘Sonic Boom’: Rothstein Churned $250M in Trust Funds Last Month, Lawyer Says

Attorney Scott Rothstein allegedly wired $18 million to Morocco last month and churned some $250 million that flowed through his trust accounts in October, as he apparently prepared for a possible relocation to the African country, according to news reports. “Those are enormous figures,” attorney Bill Scherer, who represents investors…

Nov 17, 2009 8:55 PM CST

FBI: Rothstein Scheme Could Top $1B; Filing: Firm Spent $1.4M in Escrow Funds

In an apparent death blow for Rothstein Rosenfeld Adler’s reported plan to reconfigure its law practice without co-founding partner and accused Ponzi scheme operator Scott Rothstein, a Chapter 11 bankruptcy petition filed by several investors claims that the law firm improperly transferred $1.4 million of client funds from an escrow…

Nov 12, 2009 10:49 PM CST

Investors Sue to Force Rothstein Law Firm Into Involuntary Bankruptcy

Three investors who say they lost a total of more than $850,000 in a claimed Ponzi scheme allegedly operated by attorney Scott Rothstein filed a petition today to force his South Florida law firm into involuntary bankruptcy. Their federal court filing, which was made by attorney Jeffrey Sonn, seeks to…

Nov 10, 2009 11:32 PM CST