Florida

Land-use partner exiting Johnson Pope after 30 years to open new office for Hill Ward

After 30 years at a well-known Florida law firm with roots in Pinellas County, a leading land-use lawyer is exiting with another attorney to open a new Clearwater area office for Hill Ward Henderson, a 90-attorney Tampa-based law firm, on May 1. Partner Ed Armstrong, 55, declined to explain why…

Mar 5, 2013 5:22 PM CST

‘Garden of Eden’ defense re overgrown lawn doesn’t cut it, but pro se defendant wins on jurisdiction

Ken Conklin had what you might call a “Garden of Eden” defense to an overgrown-lawn case brought against him by the city of St. Petersburg, Fla. Even faced with the threat of a maximum penalty of 60 days in jail, he just didn’t want to mow the waist-high weeds in…

Mar 4, 2013 9:21 PM CST

Student loan debt may have played role in lawyer’s suspected slaying of mom, authorities say

Authorities in Florida say student loan debt may have played a role in motivating what they suspect was a lawyer’s slaying of his own mother, before he committed suicide earlier this year. John Conrad Wagner, 32, who had been working as a temporary attorney reviewing documents in Philadelphia, was found…

Mar 4, 2013 5:25 PM CST

Secretary dumped law firm client, then settled his case and cashed the check, arrest affidavit says

A former secretary for a South Florida personal injury law firm is facing criminal theft charges after allegedly stealing nearly $25,000 using a variety of techniques. An arrest affidavit says Vanessa Beloitte, 29, made unauthorized charges to a client’s trust account for utility bill payments and forged endorsements on at…

Feb 28, 2013 6:18 PM CST

Judge literally applauds progress of teen jailed for courtroom bird flip

A Miami teen who angered a South Florida judge when she flipped him the bird earlier this month got a better reception when she appeared in court this week. A different judge in the case, Jeffrey Rosinek, clapped his hands in applause after learning 18-year-old Penelope Soto had passed eight…

Feb 28, 2013 3:14 PM CST

With billions at issue, trial begins to apportion fault for oil spill among BP, its subcontractors

A federal judge in New Orleans began hearing opening statements Monday in a trial to determine how to apportion blame between BP Plc and its subcontractors for the massive oil spill that began April 20, 2010 with a blowout of an undersea well after the Deepwater Horizon oil rig exploded…

Feb 25, 2013 6:16 PM CST

Bombshell tape found during cop-murder trial sparks plea deal, but both defendants balk

Updated: Dennis Escobar got an unexpected reprieve last week for the second time in a first-degree murder case for the slaying of a Miami police officer in 1988. An unlabeled audiotape, found Feb. 17 by a retired city homicide detective going through an evidence box as he prepared to testify,…

Feb 25, 2013 5:00 PM CST

Law firm can’t sue Better Business Bureau for ‘F’ grade under Lanham Act, federal judge rules

A law firm that says it lost clients over disparaging reviews published by the Better Business Bureau of Central Florida Inc. lacks a basis for filing suit under the Lanham Act, a federal judge in Orlando has ruled. Because the BBB is not a competitor of the plaintiff, Kaufman, Englett…

Feb 20, 2013 8:22 PM CST

25-year-old tape’s revelation prompts prosecutors to offer mid-trial plea deal

An audio tape that apparently came to light on Sunday has led to dramatic developments in the retrial of a man facing a potential death sentence if he is convicted of murdering a Miami police officer in 1988. Dennis Escobar had already been found guilty in 1991 by a Florida…

Feb 19, 2013 9:01 PM CST

Search ordered on juror’s computer drive to see if she violated Web research ban

Terri Wright says a Florida newspaper reporter misunderstood her when he said in an article that she conducted Internet research while serving as the forewoman of a jury hearing a 2011 drug case against a Grammy-winning reggae star. But a federal judge in Tampa plans to have a forensics expert…

Feb 19, 2013 8:16 PM CST

Lawyer sued over lawsuit statements is entitled to qualified privilege, court says

The Florida Supreme Court has reinstated a suit against a lawyer accused of making defamatory comments when questioning a potential witness in a pending lawsuit. The court ruled in the case of lawyer Arthur Rodgers Traynor, who was initially hired to defend a defamation suit by a plaintiff who said…

Feb 19, 2013 12:00 PM CST

Former lawyer on the lam for 27 years returns to Miami federal court

A former Miami lawyer who was living in a high-rise beachfront condo in Cancun is back in a federal courtroom in Florida where he was convicted more than 27 years ago. Manuel Lopez-Castro never showed up in early 1986 to begin serving a 27-year prison sentence for money laundering and…

Feb 15, 2013 12:57 PM CST

3-parent birth certificate is OK’d by judge

After a lengthy court battle, two women and the gay man they used as a sperm donor have agreed that all three will be listed as parents on the birth certificate of their 23-month-old daughter, and a South Florida judge has approved the settlement. Maria Italiano, 43, and Cher Filippazzo,…

Feb 8, 2013 3:33 PM CST

Judge orders prosecutors to pay defendant’s costs for pursuing ‘reprehensible’ child-support claim

Falsely accused by his ex-wife, after a bitter divorce, of being behind in his child-support obligations by more than $3,500, Tony Schehtman was prosecuted for months and had his passport confiscated, restricting his business travel. But last month he won a measure of vindication when a South Florida judge issued…

Feb 8, 2013 11:40 AM CST

Laughing teen with jewelry ‘like Rick Ross’ gets 30 days for flipping off judge (see video)

Updated: A South Florida judge got serious with a laughing teen who flipped him off on Monday. Penelope Soto, 18, was sentenced to 30 days in jail for contempt after she gave the finger to Judge Jorge Rodriguez-Chomat and told him “F— you.” NBC Miami, CBS News and the Daily…

Feb 6, 2013 2:16 PM CST