11th Circuit Court

Scruggs Gets Contempt Prosecution Tossed

After repeated press accounts about charges that Richard “Dickie” Scruggs conspired to bribe a judge, the plaintiffs lawyer finally has some good news. A federal judge on Friday tossed a criminal contempt charge against the lawyer for failing to return documents about State Farm’s Hurricane Katrina claims practices, the Associated…

Mar 3, 2008 12:57 PM CST

U.S. Trustees Seek Countrywide Sanctions, Allege Widespread Abuses

In a highly unusual action, U.S. trustees in three states are seeking sanctions against Countrywide Financial Corp., contending that the major mortgage lender has abused the bankruptcy process by making inaccurate filings and imposing unauthorized fees. The rare concerted filings today by U.S. trustees in Florida, Georgia and Ohio ask…

Mar 1, 2008 1:02 AM CST

Special Master Says Coughlin Stoia Paid for Stolen Coke Documents

A special master has concluded that the securities class action law firm Coughlin Stoia Geller Rudman & Robbins paid for stolen documents in a shareholders suit against Coca-Cola. Special Master Hunter Hughes III recommended that the firm be banned as class counsel because of the conduct, according to the Legal…

Feb 29, 2008 4:58 PM CST

Moldy Courthouses an Issue in Fla.

Mold reportedly may be a problem at a number of Florida courthouses. Among them: the David W. Dyer Federal Courthouse in downtown Miami. As a new courthouse sits across the street unused because of construction delays and cost overruns, workers complain that a documented mold problem may be making at…

Feb 25, 2008 6:08 PM CST

Appeals Court Overturns Sex Toy Ban, Setting Up Circuit Conflict

A federal appeals court decision overturning a Texas ban on the sale of sex toys wasn’t issued in time for retailers’ lucrative Valentine’s Day season. The decision will take effect when the New Orleans-based 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals issues its mandate in March, the Houston Chronicle reports. In…

Feb 14, 2008 12:31 PM CST

After 2 Months, Man Mistakenly Arrested Is Freed

After being flown in from Texas and held in a Florida jail for two months, protesting all the while that he was not the man authorities thought he was, the wrong Jose Garcia has finally been freed. Although he shares the name—and birthday—of the Jose Garcia that Miami-Dade authorities were…

Feb 12, 2008 8:33 PM CST

‘Scrivener’ Closing Attorney Ruined By $19M Real Estate Fraud

Atlanta attorney R. Joseph Costanzo Jr. was a little fish in sea of bigtime mortgage fraud, according to his defense lawyer. But after two years of closing fraudulent real estate deals in the Atlanta area as part of a $19 million “flipping” scheme that reportedly involved at least 21 people,…

Feb 12, 2008 1:34 AM CST

Facing Prison, Prominent Fla. Lawyer Still Has Many Friends

Disbarred and facing a prison sentence, a once-prominent member of Palm Beach County’s political structure still had a significant team of well-wishers in his corner as he was sentenced today to a two-year federal prison term in a corruption case . William Boose III, 63, kissed his former law partner,…

Jan 25, 2008 11:00 PM CST

Judge Lowers Padilla Sentence Because of Harsh Confinement

Updated: Jose Padilla, once accused of plotting to release a dirty bomb in the United States, has been sentenced to 17 years and four months in prison for conspiring to “murder, kidnap and maim” people overseas. The 37-year-old Padilla had been expected to get life in prison, the Miami Herald…

Jan 22, 2008 5:41 PM CST

ID Fraud Case a Cautionary Tale for Business Travelers

A Colombian engineer pleaded guilty in federal court in Miami yesterday to a 16-count indictment concerning an identity fraud scheme that netted him up to $750,000 from unsuspecting business travelers worldwide and could easily be copied by other thieves. To perpetrate the crimes, Mario Alberto Simbaqueba Bonilla, 40, simply checked…

Jan 10, 2008 5:34 PM CST

Fla. Field-Workers File Class Action Claiming Wage Violations

In an unusual move that has caught the attention of local South Florida residents, several field-workers have filed a federal lawsuit contending that the owner of the farm at which they have been harvesting beans for years has underpaid them and hundreds of other laborers. The basis of their suit,…

Jan 9, 2008 10:12 PM CST

Mistrial in Sears Tower Terror Case

The so-called Liberty City 7 trial in federal court in Miami over alleged, abortive plotting to blow up the Sears Tower in Chicago and FBI buildings in other major cities has fizzled out for now. One defendant was acquitted and the jury deadlocked concerning the other six, concluding the case…

Dec 13, 2007 11:02 PM CST

Lawyer Refiles Suit Against DontDateHimGirl.com

A Pittsburgh lawyer has refiled his defamation lawsuit against DontDateHimGirl.com in Miami federal court. Todd Hollis is acting as his own lawyer in the suit filed last week, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports. Hollis alleges the website defamed him with posts that falsely claimed he has multiple girlfriends, is gay or…

Dec 7, 2007 12:32 PM CST

Former High-Flying PI Lawyer Sentenced to 15 Years

A once-prominent Miami lawyer has been sentenced to 15 years in prison for bilking elderly asbestos clients out of more than $13 million. The sentence for Louis Robles was the longest possible under federal sentencing guidelines, the Daily Business Review reports. U.S. District Judge Alan Gold also ordered Robles to…

Dec 7, 2007 11:51 AM CST

Police Informant Sues Over Job Loss

A confidential police informant in Atlanta who lost his job after his identity was revealed because of a furor of publicity over a botched drug raid has sued the city for damages. Alex White contends in his federal lawsuit that he made about $25,000 annually from this work and seeks…

Dec 6, 2007 10:47 PM CST