11th Circuit Court

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

Federal Judge Calls Courtroom Tweets Banned Broadcasts Under Rule 53

A federal judge in Georgia has banned reporters from sending live-action tweets from his courtroom, saying that Twitter is a form of broadcasting and hence prohibited under Rule 53 of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure. But the ruling by U.S. District Judge Clay Land only extends as far as…

Nov 10, 2009 12:53 AM CST

Feds Seize Rothstein’s Ferrari, Boats in Ponzi Scheme Probe

Holed up in an undisclosed location with his legal counsel, attorney Scott Rothstein has been in an upbeat mood lately after his return from Morocco, despite accusations that he stole hundreds of millions of dollars from investors through his law firm, Rothstein Rosenfeldt Adler. But now federal authorities have filed…

Nov 9, 2009 11:27 PM CST

Law Prof Drops Privacy Suit Against Above the Law; Blog Offers Prof Guest Spot

A law professor at the University of Miami has seemingly changed his mind about the federal invasion of privacy suit he filed only last week against the publisher of Above the Law over a 2007 post on the self-described tabloid law blog. Plaintiff Donald Marvin Jones today voluntarily dismissed the…

Nov 4, 2009 10:20 PM CST

Law Prof Sues Above the Law, Claims ‘Racist Series of Rants’ About His Arrest

Updated: A University of Miami law professor arrested but never prosecuted on a charge of trying to solicit an undercover police officer has sued the Above the Law blog for its posts on his predicament. But, in a startling development only days later, Donald Marvin Jones then voluntarily dismissed the…

Nov 3, 2009 2:53 PM CST

Judge Reels Over Receiver’s $11M Bonus Request in Mutual Benefits Case

When Chief U.S. District Judge Federico Moreno first saw the bonus requested by the court-appointed receiver in charge of collecting assets for investors who lost some $837 million in the Mutual Benefits viaticals fraud, he thought it was just over $1 million. Then Moreno realized that he’d misread the figure.…

Oct 30, 2009 10:17 PM CDT

Prominent Lawyer Won’t Face Money Laundering Charge in Tainted Fees Case

A federal appeals court has upheld the dismissal of a key money laundering charge against a prominent Miami defense lawyer accused of laundering Colombian drug proceeds to pay legal fees. The Atlanta-based 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a federal judge’s decision to throw out the charge against lawyer…

Oct 28, 2009 12:35 PM CDT

Firm Run By Well-Known Lawyer Is in Receivership as Feds Look for $3.6M

A partnership operated by a well-known South Florida lawyer and forensic accountant has been placed in receivership as federal investigators attempt to track down $3.6 million from bank accounts overseen by attorney Lewis Freeman. The Miami Herald says Freeman told his staff today that Lewis B. Freeman & Partners is…

Oct 16, 2009 6:27 PM CDT

No Recession in Real Estate Litigation, South Florida Lawyers Find

In the midst of a dismal real estate market, a 46-year-old Florida lawyer has found a full-time occupation. He focuses his practice entirely on real estate matters, often helping formerly hot-to-trot buyers recover at least part of the hefty deposits they made on condominium units under construction. A federal law…

Oct 16, 2009 5:25 PM CDT

Contempt Isn’t a Felony, Says 11th Circuit, Eliminating Possible Draconian Sentences

A disbarred Florida lawyer caught representing a client in federal court after he lost his license to practice expected to plead guilty to criminal contempt. But what Lee Cohn didn’t expect was a ruling from U.S. District Judge William Zloch that the crime was a felony punishable by as much…

Oct 9, 2009 8:56 PM CDT

FBI Raids Offices of Well-Known Lawyer

The FBI reportedly has raided the offices of a well-known attorney and accountant who often as served as a court-appointed trustee or receiver in cases in South Florida. Relying on unidentified “legal community sources,” the Daily Business Review reports that the Miami and Plantation offices of Lewis B. Freeman &…

Oct 9, 2009 6:44 PM CDT

Embattled Lawyer Seeks Judge’s Recusal, Cites Possible ‘Whisper’ By AG Holder

Attorney Orly Taitz was already facing a threatened $10,000 sanction from an aggravated federal judge last month, after he told her never to pursue a “frivolous” suit again and she immediately filed a motion for reconsideration the next day in the same case. It concerned contentions by Army Capt. Rhodes…

Oct 5, 2009 7:35 PM CDT

Mass Tort Case Contends Denture Cream Can Be Dangerous

Complaints by 25 individuals from at least 11 states that their denture cream is unduly dangerous are being consolidated into a mass tort case before a federal judge in Miami. The plaintiffs contend that the zinc-containing false tooth adhesive is defective, that they weren’t adequately warned of the risks that…

Sep 18, 2009 9:40 PM CDT

Billionaire’s Secret Sex Case Plea Deal Shows What a Good Defense Can Do

A Florida billionaire’s secret non-prosecution deal with the feds in an investigation of conduct that eventually resulted in his plea to state-court prostitution-related felonies was unsealed today. And it revealed what an attorney for one of the more than 20 young women currently suing him for alleged sex-related conduct calls…

Sep 18, 2009 6:19 PM CDT

US Tax Probe ‘May Spread Like Wildfire’ After UBS Settlement

As a Sept. 23 deadline looms for tax-evaders to obtain lesser penalties by disclosing offshore accounts to the Internal Revenue Service, one observer predicts that a federal probe of foreign banks may expand exponentially following a $780 million settlement by UBS AG. After the Swiss bank’s agreement to disclose information…

Sep 18, 2009 5:23 PM CDT