Florida

A Year After Fla. Foreclosure King’s Law Firm Collapsed, Many Cases are Still Sputtering or Stalled

A year after an attorney known as Florida’s foreclosure king closed his once-mighty law firm, many of the 100,000 cases he reportedly abandoned are still sputtering their way through the legal system or even stalled entirely. Meanwhile, David J. Stern remains licensed and in good standing. His attorney says he…

Apr 2, 2012 4:53 PM CDT

HOA Could Face Hefty Bill If Sued by Trayvon Martin’s Family or Asked to Pay Shooter’s Defense Costs

Attorneys who represent homeowner associations say residents of the Florida development in which an unarmed teenager was shot and killed last month by a neighborhood watch captain could be looking at a hefty bill if Trayvon Martin’s family pursues a wrongful death claim. “They may wind up getting sued and…

Apr 2, 2012 4:29 PM CDT

Insurer’s Tape of Roadside Phone Call Gets Charges Against Policyholder Dismissed

Stopped by the side of the road in Coral Springs, Fla. last October, a 59-year-old woman initially had only two flat tires to deal with, caused, she admits, by bumping the median of the road with her vehicle. But after an off-duty city police officer in a marked car stopped…

Mar 28, 2012 4:25 PM CDT

Supreme Court Accepts Dog Sniff Case Contending Fla. Supreme Court Ignored Probable Cause Precedent

The U.S Supreme Court has agreed to decide whether the Florida Supreme Court ignored precedent when it ruled on behalf of a defendant arrested after a drug-sniffing dog indicated his car contained contraband. The Florida high court had ruled the alert by a trained dog does not establish probable cause…

Mar 26, 2012 4:10 PM CDT

Lawyer Wins Constitutional Challenge to Red-Light Ticket; Looks Forward to New Battle in Next Case

A former New Jersey insurance attorney has beaten the rap on constitutional grounds after getting a red-light-camera ticket from a Florida municipality in the mail. Allowing New Port Richey to fine him $158 without properly proving its case in court, including the identity of the driver, would violate his due-process…

Mar 21, 2012 7:31 PM CDT

Better Business Bureau Asks Federal Judge to Dismiss Suit Filed by Law Firm Over F Grade

The Better Business Bureau of Central Florida is asking a federal judge to dismiss a law firm’s suit over the F grade it received from the BBB. It’s review of the Orlando-based KEL law firm was truthful, fact-based opinion, the BBB contends. And furthermore, the law firm, formally known as…

Mar 19, 2012 10:09 PM CDT

Staffers at Florida Mortgage Law Firm Say They Were Fired for Wearing Orange

Staffers at a Florida law firm who wear orange shirts on payday say they were fired because of their color choice. Four staffers told the Sun Sentinel that 14 employees lost their jobs at the firm of Elizabeth R. Wellborn after management concluded the orange shirts were a form of…

Mar 19, 2012 12:16 PM CDT

Bankruptcy Lawyer Leapt to Death from Office Building After Minor Drug Charge

A South Florida bankruptcy lawyer committed suicide Friday morning by leaping from near the top of an 11-story Fort Lauderdale office building in which his own law office was located, authorities say. Stephen David Jerome was 61. He had been released on bond from the Broward County Jail hours before…

Mar 14, 2012 8:48 PM CDT

Homeowner on ‘60 Minutes’ Foreclosure Program Will Get $18M Settlement in Whistle-Blower Case

A Florida homeowner and foreclosure fighter who was featured on a 60 Minutes program about the so-called robo-signing scandal concerning improperly attested documents is scheduled to get an $18 million settlement from a whistle-blower case. The money will come from a $95 million settlement between five of the nation’s biggest…

Mar 13, 2012 4:45 PM CDT

Mystery of Judge’s Stolen Nameplate Is Solved with a Facebook Photo, Cops Say

A defendant who appeared before Judge Michael Orlando of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., last month has compounded his legal troubles with a Facebook picture. Steven Mulhall, 21, of Coral Springs, was in court last month for a misdemeanor theft case. At the same time, the judge’s nameplate was pried off the…

Mar 9, 2012 4:12 PM CST

Undocumented Law Grad Can’t Get Driver’s License, But Hopes for Fla. Supreme Court OK of Law License

José Godínez-Samperio can’t get a Florida driver’s license because he is an undocumented immigrant, brought to this country by his parents from Mexico when he was a child. But he hopes to get a Florida law license, having progressed from a non-English-speaking fourth grader to the valedictorian of his high…

Mar 8, 2012 9:04 PM CST

CUNY Law Grad Reveals Undocumented Status, Fears He Can’t Practice Despite Passing NY Bar

A 28-year-old Mexican immigrant who graduated from law school at the City University of New York and passed the state bar exam in November fears he will not be able to practice law in New York because he was illegally brought to this country as a 5-year-old child by his…

Mar 7, 2012 2:33 PM CST

Ex-Marine Gets 15 Years for Attacking Wife During Hearing in Judge’s Chambers

A man who fractured his wife’s nose and broke her jaw during an attack last year in a Florida judge’s chambers was sentenced Friday to a maximum 15-year prison term after pleading no contest to an aggravated battery charge. Paul Henry Gonzalez Jr., 29, apologized profusely and sought, with his…

Mar 6, 2012 7:44 PM CST

Holland & Knight Plans to Open Bogota Office, Only the Second Colombian Outpost for a Major US Firm

In what a press release says is only the second such move by a major United States law firm, Florida-based Holland & Knight plans to open an office in Colombia in April. The Bogota foothold will serve as a hub for the law firm’s growing practice both in Colombia and…

Mar 1, 2012 11:16 PM CST

EFF Files Suit on Behalf of Lawyer Ratings Site After Law Firm Sends Cease-and-Desist Letters

The Electronic Frontier Foundation has filed a lawsuit on behalf of LawyerRatingz.com seeking a declaratory judgment that the website is not legally responsible for online ratings of a Florida law firm. The suit, filed last week in Northern California federal court, says LawyerRatingz.com is protected by the Communications Decency Act,…

Feb 28, 2012 11:30 AM CST