Florida

Lawyer’s million-dollar challenge wasn’t an enforceable contract, 11th Circuit says

A Florida lawyer who issued a million-dollar challenge on national TV is not obligated to pay the money to the law student who sought to collect, a federal appeals court has ruled. The Atlanta-based 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled on behalf of the lawyer, James Cheney Mason, the…

Dec 24, 2014 11:24 AM CST

‘Tis the season for lawsuits over holiday displays

A Florida city began litigating in February over the expected holiday display extravaganza at the Plantation Acres home of Mark and Kathy Hyatt, who were featured last year in The Great Christmas Light Fight but lost the $50,000 contest to a family in Georgia. Nonetheless, the case is still ongoing…

Dec 19, 2014 4:10 PM CST

Judge who flashed badge at police officer claims selective DUI prosecution, but jury convicts her

Updated: A Florida judge fought her drunken-driving case to the end, refusing a plea bargain and claiming at trial that she had been prosecuted despite a lack of evidence because her job made her a high-profile target for conviction. However, a Palm Beach County jury was not persuaded. The three…

Dec 19, 2014 10:40 AM CST

3rd county judge charged in DUI case goes to trial, after nixing plea deal

Two other judges in the same Florida county pleaded guilty or no contest and got no jail time after being charged with driving under the influence in a period of less than a year. But Broward Circuit Judge Cynthia Imperato refused a plea deal and is now at trial, the…

Dec 17, 2014 1:10 PM CST

Ex-administrator helped convict 6 lawyers, feds say, asking that judge cut her prison time in half

A former top administrator for a now-shuttered South Florida law firm helped the federal government convict six attorneys in cases linked to a $1.2 billion swindle by the onetime managing partner, prosecutors say. They are asking U.S. District Judge William Zloch to cut the prison term for 47-year-old Debra Villegas…

Dec 15, 2014 2:25 PM CST

Florida’s chief justice orders judges to report colleagues who goof off

An administrative order (PDF) this month from Florida’s chief justice has reverberated throughout the legal community. In it, Chief Justice Jorge Labarga says the chief judge in each circuit must “separately communicate” with every trial court judge “the importance of a professional work ethic and accountability to the judiciary as…

Dec 12, 2014 2:38 PM CST

Disbarred closing attorney scheduled to plead guilty in mortgage-fraud case is found dead

A former Virginia lawyer who was scheduled to plead guilty Wednesday afternoon in a federal mortgage fraud case in Richmond was found dead Wednesday morning in Florida under unexplained circumstances. Walter Hooker left his Boca Grande home on Monday, telling his wife he was going to play golf, and never…

Dec 11, 2014 10:15 AM CST

Federal judge axes suit against law firm in sunken-treasure hoax, sets sanctions hearing for partner

A well-known Delaware law firm is no longer facing a civil lawsuit over a sunken-treasure hoax. But a sanctions hearing has been scheduled later this week by a federal judge in Florida for partner Bruce Silverstein of Young Conaway Stargatt & Taylor, Delaware Law Weekly (sub. req.) reports. Silverstein is…

Dec 9, 2014 12:15 PM CST

Law student says N-word Instagram comment was made by someone who hijacked her account

An N-word comment on Instagram was made by someone who hijacked a law student’s account after stealing her phone, according to a statement issued by her school, Barry University’s Dwayne O. Andreas School of Law in Florida. Law student Daniella Pedrozo filed a police report on Friday after the messages…

Dec 8, 2014 7:05 AM CST

11th Circuit bans drug tests for welfare applicants, says they’re not students or working risky jobs

Differentiating welfare applicants from students and employees working risky jobs, a federal appeals court ruled Wednesday that the state of Florida could not require individuals to undergo drug testing as a condition of receiving government benefits. “Outside the context of employees in especially hazardous occupations, the Supreme Court has recognized…

Dec 4, 2014 11:00 AM CST

Judge stays enforcement of city ordinance making it a crime to feed the homeless

A Florida judge on Tuesday stayed enforcement of a controversial Fort Lauderdale ordinance that imposes restrictions on feeding homeless people in parks and public places and makes it a crime to violate these rules. The decision by Broward Circuit Judge Thomas Lynch concerns Arnold Abbott, 90, who has been cited…

Dec 2, 2014 1:49 PM CST

Senior city prosecutor faces possible issue at work after 3rd DUI arrest

A senior city prosecutor in St. Petersburg, Florida, arrested Sunday on suspicion of drunken driving, is now facing potential consequences at work as well as a misdemeanor driving-under-the-influence case. The DUI arrest is the third for Mark Winn, 60, who serves as chief assistant to city attorney John Wolfe, the…

Dec 2, 2014 12:45 PM CST

Judge resentences polo mogul to 16 years in DUI manslaughter case, denies bond during appeal

Saying that a onetime billionaire who founded a Palm Beach polo club had resources that would make it easy for him to flee, a Florida judge on Friday resentenced John Goodman to a 16-year term in a DUI manslaughter case and refused to release him on bond while he is…

Nov 24, 2014 12:35 PM CST

Florida State gunman was a former BigLaw associate

The gunman who shot three people early Thursday at Florida State University has been identified as a lawyer who attended the school as an undergraduate, police told the Associated Press. The gunman was shot and killed by campus police after shooting three people at the university’s library. Tallahassee Police Chief…

Nov 20, 2014 11:33 AM CST

Feds freeze 1,000 student accounts at Florida college, charge 21 in $1.9M tax-refund scheme

In the latest example of claimed rampant fraud in federal income tax-refund applications, federal authorities have frozen more than 1,000 student financial services accounts at a single Florida college. They say at least some of the Higher One Inc. accounts were being used to funnel fraudulently obtained tax refunds to…

Nov 19, 2014 5:35 PM CST