Florida

Judge Orders Lawyers to Return $450K in Fees

A retired South Florida cruise ship injury lawyer and his former associate were ordered to return nearly $450,000 in fees collected under a secret deal after the injury lawyer withdrew from a series of personal injury cases. Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Herbert Stettin, who supervised Jay Wingate’s withdrawal amid bribery allegations,…

Apr 2, 2009 10:04 AM CDT

Mom Sues Over Fla. Kindergartener Handcuffed in 2005 Temper Tantrum

The mother of a 5-year-old handcuffed by police after other efforts failed to calm the girl down during a kindergarten temper tantrum in 2005 has filed suit over the incident. Inga Akins, 27, seeks damages from the Pinellas County School Board and Fairmount Park Elementary for alleged negligence, malicious prosecution…

Mar 31, 2009 10:15 PM CDT

Fla. Judge Vaults Bench, Helps Subdue Suspect, Makes TMZ

When a melee broke out in his Fort Lauderdale, Fla., courtroom yesterday morning, one of Broward County’s newest judges didn’t make a safety play and retreat to chambers. As a suspect suddenly attacked a witness who had been testifying in a restraining order matter, Judge Ian Richards vaulted over the…

Mar 25, 2009 5:11 PM CDT

Chicago-Based Arnstein & Lehr Acquires 7-Lawyer Fla. Firm

Following up on a previously announced plan of Florida expansion, Chicago-based Arnstein & Lehr is acquiring a seven-lawyer Coral Gables firm. All of the attorneys at Fieldstone Shear & Denberg will be joining Arnstein, and Ronald Fieldstone, David Shear and Michael Denberg will be joining as equity partners, according to…

Mar 24, 2009 8:46 PM CDT

Golfer John Daly Loses Libel Suit; Newspaper May Seek Defense Costs

After four years of litigation, a Florida newspaper and its columnist, Mike Freeman, have won a libel suit filed against them by pro golfer John Daly over a 2005 column that discussed his alleged “thug-life qualifications.” (They reportedly included that he had been accused of domestic violence and that he…

Mar 24, 2009 5:11 PM CDT

Female Fla. Prison Workers Sue Over Alleged Inmate Sexual Harassment

More than 100 female prison workers have filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against the Florida Department of Corrections contending that they were routinely sexually harassed by inmates. The employees, mostly nurses, allege that male inmates used graphic language and masturbated towards them, reports the Miami Herald. “The conduct is…

Mar 23, 2009 3:13 PM CDT

25 Years After Fla. Courthouse Shooting, Last Victim Dies

It was a time when courthouse metal detectors and bag searches were not yet commonplace. So when Thomas Provenzano walked into the Orange County Courthouse on Jan. 10, 1984, no one knew that the Florida man, who had a history of mental illness, was carrying three guns. Intending to shoot…

Mar 20, 2009 1:03 AM CDT

A Shock for Judge Zloch: 9 Jurors in 1 Trial Doing Web Research

When U.S. District Judge William Zloch recently learned last week that a juror in a big federal drug trial in Florida had been doing Internet research, in violation of the court’s instructions, he was shocked. But the judge was even more amazed to find out, when he then questioned other…

Mar 17, 2009 8:20 PM CDT

Lawyer Gets Into ‘Hulkamania-Style Blowup’ with Pro Wrestler

A lawyer representing Hulk Hogan’s wife in a divorce managed to snare an autograph from the pro wrestler before a court hearing, but the truce quickly ended in a press conference afterwards. Lawyer Raymond Rafool got into “a no-holds-barred Hulkamania-style blowup” with Hogan after the wrestler interrupted the lawyer’s “boring…

Mar 13, 2009 2:20 PM CDT

11th Circuit Nixes Attorney Fee, Although Paralegal Won OT Pay From Law Firm

Sometimes a reasonable attorney fee is no attorney fee, a federal judge said when attorney Rudy Barack sought attorney fees after winning $3,500 for a paralegal seeking overtime pay from a Florida law firm. And the Atlanta-based 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals apparently agrees, upholding in an opinion (PDF)…

Mar 6, 2009 12:25 AM CST

Suit Accuses Greenberg Traurig of Malicious Prosecution

The owner of a Florida dental technician business has sued Greenberg Traurig for malicious prosecution after the state supreme court sided with her in an eviction case. Marina Del Toro claims the law firm, partner Craig Barnett and their landlord client filed suit to evict her company for improper reasons,…

Mar 5, 2009 3:25 PM CST

Fla. City Official: Business Sign Rules Allow US Flag, But Not 1st Amendment

Had a Florida bait and tackle shop covered up an offending fish painting with the U.S. flag, it could have avoided additional tickets under the Clearwater municipal sign ordinance. But covering the exterior wall mural with the text of the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution violated Clearwater’s sign rules…

Mar 5, 2009 1:52 AM CST

State Prosecutors Give Bad Check Cases to Private Collectors, Share Money

Those who have written a bad check tend to pay up when they get a letter from a state prosecutor’s office. However, in some states, such letters are actually being sent by private collection agencies, reports CNN. Such outsourcing is controversial, because collection can take place without the government ever…

Mar 2, 2009 9:25 PM CST

ACLU Backs Florida Bait Shop Ticketed for Displaying US Constitution

Updated: At first, it was a painting of game fish on an exterior wall of a Florida bait and tackle shop that drew adverse attention from sign code enforcement officials of the city of Clearwater, who said it violates a ban on a business displaying a depiction of the product…

Feb 24, 2009 9:31 PM CST

Miami’s Bilzin Sumberg is Growing Despite Dismal Economy

Last week, a major commercial law firm in Miami pulled out of a 10-year, $58 million lease deal for new office space. This week, the managing partner of Bilzin Sumberg Baena Price & Axelrod confirms that the firm has made a “small number” of layoffs, reports the Daily Business Review.…

Feb 24, 2009 7:22 PM CST