Lawyer May Face Contempt Hearing re His Visit, With Locksmith, to Home His Client Claims to Own
A Florida judge says he plans to schedule a contempt hearing after a lawyer handling civil litigation went with a locksmith to $1 million home in Lakeland that his client, Dorice “DeeDee” Moore, claims to own.
Circuit Judge J. Dale Durrance indicated yesterday that attorney Randall O. Reder of Tampa may have violated a Sept. 21 court order when he went there Sept. 27, intending to change the locks, the Ledger reports.
However, Reder argues that the judge’s order didn’t specifically forbid his actions and that his client holds title to the house. He also says he plans to ask the judge to recuse himself from the Bartow case due to his alleged bias against Moore, the newspaper explains.
Moore, 39, is facing a first-degree murder charge concerning the slaying of homeowner Abraham Shakespeare, whose body was found under a concrete slab in 2010, several years after he won a $17 million lottery payout. His estate and Moore are litigating over who owns the Lakeland house. In the meantime, Reder says it’s his job to look after his client’s property for her.
He is not the first lawyer to run into trouble with Moore, as an earlier ABAJournal.com post details:
Body of Victim in Lotto Winner Murder Case Found in Law Firm’s Back Yard
