Florida

Unhappy Holidays for Wesley Snipes: Judge Denies Request for Delayed Jail Term

Updated: Actor Wesley Snipes had sought a month’s delay before he begins serving a three-year sentence for failing to file tax returns, so he could spend the holidays with his four minor children. But the request received a “Bah, humbug!” response from a federal judge in Florida, reports TMZ. Wrote…

Dec 8, 2010 12:31 AM CST

Oops. Bank Sells 1 Foreclosed House to 2 Different Buyers; Law Firm Blamed for Mistake

In a mistake that was unusual but, experts say, not unique, a bank reportedly sold the same foreclosed South Florida home twice. A law firm to which the matter was transferred blamed its predecessor firm, operated by embattled foreclosure king David Stern, for the error, the Sun-Sentinel reports. Shapiro and…

Dec 7, 2010 12:20 AM CST

Fla. Gov Studies Doors Front Man’s Wild Miami Night, Prepping for Pardon Hearing

Jim Morrison urged his fans at a 1969 concert to “love your neighbor ‘til it hurts!” But did the Doors front man expose himself? That is the critical question outgoing Florida governor Charlie Crist is studying as he prepares with a thick notebook of material for a Clemency Board hearing…

Dec 3, 2010 10:26 PM CST

Principal’s Pasting of Schoolgirls’ Heads on Women’s Nude Bodies Not Child Porn, Says Appeals Ct.

A Florida appeals court today reversed the child pornography conviction of a former elementary school principal serving a five-year prison term after finding that the face photos of 11- and 12-year-old students he apparently pasted over the heads of nude adult women in other photographs weren’t illegal under state law.…

Dec 3, 2010 8:44 PM CST

Voted Out of Kindergarten by Classmates, Autistic Boy, 5, Gets $350K Settlement

The family of a 5-year-old boy who, at his teacher’s suggestion, was voted out of his kindergarten class by the other children has won a $350,000 settlement of a federal lawsuit. About $150,000 of the money will be paid in structured settlement, starting in 2020, when Alex Barton is 18…

Dec 2, 2010 10:59 PM CST

Ex-Employees Sue Stern’s Foreclosure Law Firm and Related Company Over Hundreds of Layoffs

After laying off hundreds of employees in the last few months, a law firm and related company known for their mortgage foreclosure work on behalf of lenders are now themselves the target of litigation. The law offices of David J. Stern and a related processing company, DJSP Enterprises, didn’t comply…

Dec 1, 2010 11:11 PM CST

After 18% Pay Cut, Layoffs, Defections, Etc., Revamped Ruden McClosky Is Now ‘Poised to Grow’

Hit hard by the recession and the crash of the real estate market, a South Florida law firm made layoffs, saw mass defections in some offices and instituted an 18 percent across-the-board pay cut during the past two years to get back on a more solid financial footing. But now…

Nov 24, 2010 6:22 PM CST

Judge Jogging with Juvenile Offenders Would Be Unethical, Says Fla. Supreme Court

Even if it seems like a nice idea, juvenile court judges should not go jogging with adolescent offenders, says the Florida Supreme Court, in a recent ethics advisory opinion. The question was submitted by a Florida jurist who wanted to create a running program for juvenile offenders. The plan was…

Nov 24, 2010 5:46 PM CST

With Foreclosure Co. Layoff Tally at 900, Lawyer David Stern Doffs CEO Hat, Returns to Law Firm

The layoff tally has now reached 900 at a mortgage foreclosure processing company hard-hit by an onslaught of client departures after questions were raised about the validity of its paperwork. Meanwhile, the South Florida attorney formerly at its helm, David Stern, has stepped down as of Friday from his former…

Nov 22, 2010 9:36 PM CST

Foreclosure Lawyer Fighting to Keep Own Home; Last Mortgage Payment Made in Dec. 2006

A Florida lawyer who’s gotten national publicity as an expert in foreclosure defense has one thing in common with his clients–he’s fighting to keep his home, too. Peter Ticktin and his wife haven’t made a payment on their nearly 4,000-square-foot Boca Raton house since December 2006 and were sued by…

Nov 20, 2010 12:34 AM CST

Doc Who Ate Artichoke, Leaves & All, Sues Restaurant, Alleging Lack of Proper Warning

Arturo Carvajal is a physician. But he apparently didn’t know how to eat an artichoke. After allegedly consuming the entire vegetable served to him at a South Florida restaurant, including all the tough, sharp leaves, he suffered severe consequences requiring hospital care, he says. And now he is suing the…

Nov 18, 2010 11:10 PM CST

Banks Knew About Illegal Rothstein Transfers and Hence are Liable for $160M, Lawyer Argues

Banks at which then-attorney Scott Rothstein deposited money he obtained via a $1.2 billion Ponzi scheme may not have known about the swindle. But they did know, or should have known, about illegal transfers from his now-defunct Florida law firm trust account to its operating account and Rothstein’s personal account,…

Nov 18, 2010 5:44 PM CST

Cruise Ship Lawyer: Smelly Toilets and Cold Showers Won’t Support a Lawsuit

A top maritime lawyer is warning passengers from the disabled Splendor cruise ship that it’s not worth the time or money to file a lawsuit. Writing at his website Cruise Law News, lawyer Jim Walker says some lawyers are advertising that the passengers should consider a lawsuit. But that’s a…

Nov 18, 2010 12:59 PM CST

AmEx to Pay Millions to Victims of Lawyer’s $1.2 Billion Ponzi Scheme

American Express tentatively agreed to pay $50,000 plus 65 percent of the illegitimate business expenses of high-profile lawyer Scott Rothstein today in an effort to return cash to victims of Rothstein’s $1.2 billion Ponzi scheme. Although the final amount will be determined by mutual agreement or arbitrator, the bankruptcy trustee…

Nov 17, 2010 9:49 PM CST

Fla. Jury Awards $72M in Punitives to Daughter in Smoking-Death Case; R.J. Reynolds to Appeal

A jury in Levy County, Fla., has awarded $80 million to the daughter of a man who died of lung cancer in 1996, at age 78, some six decades after James Cayce Horner began smoking in the 1930s, as a teenager. Of that amount, R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. must pay…

Nov 17, 2010 1:30 AM CST