11th Circuit Court

Law firm can’t sue Better Business Bureau for ‘F’ grade under Lanham Act, federal judge rules

A law firm that says it lost clients over disparaging reviews published by the Better Business Bureau of Central Florida Inc. lacks a basis for filing suit under the Lanham Act, a federal judge in Orlando has ruled. Because the BBB is not a competitor of the plaintiff, Kaufman, Englett…

Feb 20, 2013 8:22 PM CST

Search ordered on juror’s computer drive to see if she violated Web research ban

Terri Wright says a Florida newspaper reporter misunderstood her when he said in an article that she conducted Internet research while serving as the forewoman of a jury hearing a 2011 drug case against a Grammy-winning reggae star. But a federal judge in Tampa plans to have a forensics expert…

Feb 19, 2013 8:16 PM CST

Best friend’s Ponzi scheme puts Shook Hardy lawyer—and his firm—under fire in trustee suit

Updated: A childhood friendship between a lawyer-to-be and another boy who, decades later, is serving a 20-year federal securities fraud prison term for masterminding a $930 million Ponzi scheme led to a legal representation that has put a prominent South Florida attorney and his law firm on the defensive. Marc…

Feb 1, 2013 5:20 PM CST

Law firm resolves ERISA case, must repay $1M in worker retirement assets

A federal judge in Georgia has ordered a Savannah-based law firm to repay all of the $1 million in assets improperly transferred from worker retirement and pension plans. A ruling last week also held that the Eichholz Law Firm and its former managing partner, Benjamin Eichholz, breached their fiduciary responsibilities…

Jan 23, 2013 6:40 PM CST

Contempt trifecta: Client and attorney are no-shows, shouting protester taken into custody

A bad day in a Florida bankruptcy court resulted in a contempt trifecta on Thursday morning. The founder of RoboVault, Marvin Chaney, and his lawyer, Lawrence Wrenn, were cited for contempt by U.S. Bankruptcy Judge John K. Olson after they were no-shows at a scheduled court hearing in Fort Lauderdale,…

Jan 18, 2013 5:00 PM CST

Now-Disbarred Lawyer Takes Plea in Fraud Case; Feds Say He Took $2.5M From Worker’s Comp Clients

A longtime Georgia lawyer accused of stealing millions in settlement money from his worker’s compensation clients over a four-year period has taken a plea. Miles Lamar Gammage, 59, pleaded guilty in federal court in Rome on Tuesday to one count of mail fraud, reports the Daily Report. Federal prosecutors say…

Jan 10, 2013 3:56 PM CST

Closing Attorney to Take Plea in Federal Mortgage Fraud Case, Forfeit $269K

A real estate closing attorney will take a plea in a federal mortgage fraud case that was unsealed last week in Birmingham, Ala. Kelvin Leonard Davis, 41, has agreed to plead guilty to four counts of wire fraud, concerning transactions in which he submitted fraudulent documents to lenders to obtain…

Jan 9, 2013 6:16 PM CST

Alabama Death Row Inmate Loses Appeal Because of Mistake by Troubled Lawyer

Alabama death-row inmate Ronald Smith had the bad fortune to be represented by a troubled lawyer who failed to submit either a filing fee or a motion to waive the cost along with court papers for a collateral appeal. As a result of the error, Smith’s documents weren’t “properly filed’…

Jan 9, 2013 11:30 AM CST

Judge Rescinds Order to Seize Home Computers of Juror Accused of Web-Surfing During Trial

Updated: A federal judge in Florida has reconsidered an ex parte order issued on Friday, telling marshals to seize the home computers of a juror who was quoted in a newspaper article as saying that she had conducted Internet research on the defendant in a high-profile trial. However, U.S. District…

Jan 8, 2013 10:59 PM CST

Hemingway Cat Descendants Are Regulated by Federal Law, Appeals Court Says

Descendants of Ernest Hemingway’s six-toed cat Snowball that live at his museum home are subject to federal regulation because they substantially affect interstate commerce, a federal appeals court has ruled. The cats roam the late author’s former Key West home at 907 Whitehead Street, now a museum that hosts daily…

Dec 11, 2012 2:08 PM CST

Lawyer for Jill Kelley Says He’ll Sue US Attorney in Tampa if Leaks Continue re Petraeus Case

A lawyer representing Tampa socialite Jill Kelley, whose complaint about threatening emails wound up linking her name to a sex scandal that led to David Petraeus’ resignation from his position as CIA Director, has threatened to sue the U.S. Attorney in Tampa. Abbe Lowell wrote in a letter to W.…

Nov 28, 2012 5:52 PM CST

Ga. Lawyer Ordered to Pay $10K Legal Bill In Contentious Municipal Case

In the latest chapter in a contentious litigation saga over a commercial building dispute, a Georgia lawyer has been ordered to pay $10,000 in legal fees for the city of Marietta. Richard Capriola is the seventh attorney to represent Waleed Jaraysi in the hard-fought battle over a partially completed multi-story…

Nov 26, 2012 5:00 PM CST

Supreme Court Leaves In Place 11th Circuit’s Reversal of $600K Prosecutorial Misconduct Sanction

The U.S. Supreme Court has declined to reconsider a federal appellate court’s reversal of a $600,000 sanction imposed by a judge on the Department of Justice over what the judge considered prosecutorial misconduct. The top court’s decision Tuesday not to hear an appeal by the acquitted defendant, Dr. Ali Shaygan,…

Nov 13, 2012 6:46 PM CST

US Supreme Court to Review Voting Rights Act Case Out of Shelby County, Ala.

The U.S. Supreme Court said Friday that it will review the constitutionality of a key provision of the Voting Rights Act. Under Section 5 of the statute, which was first enacted in 1965 and last extended by Congress in 2006, state and local government entities with a history of discrimination…

Nov 9, 2012 9:52 PM CST

Legal Secretary Accused of Embezzling $830K From Retired Partner Gets 3 Years in Federal Prison

Assigned by an unidentified Atlanta law firm to help a retired partner pay personal bills, a Georgia legal secretary took the opportunity to use his funds to cover $830,000 of her own expenses, authorities say. After pleading guilty earlier this year to one count of mail fraud, Francine Fonger, 50,…

Oct 29, 2012 9:25 PM CDT