Florida

FL Fights for Internal State Farm Docs

A battle between Florida regulators and the state’s biggest property insurer is capturing the attention of lawyers there and elsewhere, because of what’s really at issue. Property insurance rate-setting is the official topic. But attorneys on both sides are waiting to see whether State Farm, a Bloomington, Ill.-based insurer, has…

Aug 15, 2007 5:26 PM CDT

Tale of 2 Cities: Tampa Porn Dorm Legal, But Miami’s Isn’t

A so-called porn dorm in Tampa, in which women live and participate in sexual activities that are videotaped and publicized over the Internet, is apparently legal. But that doesn’t mean that a comparable business—featuring buffed-up young men who are paid $1,200 plus room and board to live in a house…

Aug 15, 2007 4:34 PM CDT

BDO Socked With $351 M in Punitives

Updated: A Miami jury has ordered BDO Seidman to pay $351 million in punitive damages for failing to uncover fraud at a financial services firm. With punitives, the total damages award now comes to $521 million, the Associated Press reports. (See this ABAJournal.com post for more information on the $170…

Aug 15, 2007 2:15 PM CDT

BDO Ordered to Pay $170 M

A Miami jury has decided that accounting firm BDO Seidman must pay $170 million in damages for negligent audits that failed to spot fraud at a financial services firm. The jury has also decided it will award punitive damages, although the amount is yet to be determined, the Daily Business…

Aug 14, 2007 3:16 PM CDT

Star FL Student Free, Still to be Deported

Thanks to legislative lobbying by fellow teens, a star Miami student has been released from jail and expects to start college later this month in a local honors program. However, this is only a temporary reprieve for Colombian-born Juan Gomez, 18, and his brother, Alex, 19, who still are scheduled…

Aug 10, 2007 7:39 PM CDT

Ex-Astronaut Wants Monitor Off

A former astronaut accused of attempted kidnapping for confronting a romantic rival wants an Orlando court to release her from an electronic ankle bracelet. Lisa Nowak pays $105 a week to wear the bracelet as a condition of her release while she awaits trial. Court papers say the company that…

Aug 10, 2007 2:32 PM CDT

Seven Leave Holland & Knight

Seven lawyers at Holland & Knight have announced they are leaving the firm’s Miami office to start their own boutique firm. Six of the lawyers are partners, the Daily Business Review reports. The publication says the partner departure is the largest since the firm experienced financial problems several years ago.…

Aug 10, 2007 11:33 AM CDT

Firm Hit in ‘Windfall’ Settlement

Updated: A Florida appeals court affirmed a ruling vacating a $7 million “windfall” settlement and disgorging attorney fees in an opinion that chastised the law firm that represented the plaintiffs. The law firm, Adorno & Yoss of Coral Gables, obtained the settlement for seven plaintiffs who challenged the constitutionality of…

Aug 9, 2007 11:54 AM CDT

Trophy Prank Cost: Law License & More

Helping a buddy hide a stolen Florida State University national football title trophy may have seemed like an amusing prank at the time. But the incident is now providing a painful lesson for a 30-year-old attorney who graduated from law school at the University of Florida, FSU’s archrival. Jason Paul…

Aug 8, 2007 5:39 PM CDT

‘Dirty’ Money Enforcement Blitz in FL

So-called dirty money is big business in Florida. And that means the state is a magnet for enforcement of federal laws banning banks from participating in money-laundering and similar schemes. ”On a proportional basis, [given] the number of institutions that Miami has, South Florida leads the country in Bank Secrecy…

Aug 8, 2007 5:08 PM CDT

Less Laughter as FL Lawyer Dies at 75

Sy Gaer, a beloved longtime Miami defense attorney known in courthouse circles for his cantankerous charm and unfailing sense of humor, has died following intestinal surgery. He was 75. Never at a loss for words, Gaer was quoted in the Miami Herald late last year in one classic courtroom exchange:…

Aug 7, 2007 7:09 PM CDT

Bloomberg: Insurers Aren’t Paying Claims

Despite having had to cover Hurricane Katrina, the worst U.S. disaster in the history of insurance, carriers are earning record profits. One reason why is that many don’t pay claims to the extent promised in insurance policies, a news agency says. “Insurers often pay 30-60 percent of the cost of…

Aug 3, 2007 8:47 PM CDT

2 Babies Die in Hot Cars, 1 Dad in Prison

Two grieving fathers in far-distant states still reproach themselves over the the deaths of their babies, whom they left alone in cars parked in the sun, years ago now. One does so in his faculty office at the University of California at Irvine. The other, a former horse groom, remembers…

Jul 31, 2007 10:52 PM CDT

Army Reservist Won’t Face 5th War Tour

A 26-year-old U.S. Army Reserve sergeant facing his fifth war-zone deployment has been given a reprieve after he filed suit in federal court in Florida. Erik Botta contended that the military’s denial of his request for an exemption constituted “unlawful custody,” and that it should be required to consider his…

Jul 31, 2007 7:37 PM CDT

Mortgage Foreclosures Rise 58 Percent

Mortgage foreclosures nationwide were up by 58 percent during the first half of 2007, compared to the first half of 2006. That translates to a total of 573,397 homes at some point in the foreclosure process between January and June 2007, from a notice of default to repossession, reports the…

Jul 31, 2007 3:30 PM CDT