Florida

FL Firm Loses Malpractice Appeal

A Florida appeals court has upheld a $1.04 million malpractice verdict against a law firm sued by heirs of the Gannett newspaper fortune. The suit claimed Gunster Yoakley & Stewart hired firm client JPMorgan to do estate planning work for Charles V. McAdam Jr., driving up the costs of estate…

Aug 23, 2007 11:11 AM CDT

Law Students Worried About FAMU

Concerned about perceived problems, law students at Florida A & M University are criticizing—and in some cases leaving—the five-year-old taxpayer-funded institution. Vilma Martinez, for instance, has transferred from FAMU, in the state’s center, to Stetson University College of Law, on Florida’s gulf coast near her native Tampa, starting classes there…

Aug 22, 2007 7:09 PM CDT

Lawyer on Esquire Best-Dressed List

A Florida lawyer is one of five finalists on a list of the world’s best-dressed “real” men put together by Esquire magazine in connection with its annual best-dressed list featuring the rich and famous. Adam Saben, 41, a Miami Beach attorney, is the only lawyer on the five-man list, which…

Aug 22, 2007 5:53 PM CDT

Immigration Worries for Florida Students

As a star student and popular football player, Juan Gomez got a lot of attention over his recent arrest as an illegal immigrant shortly after his high school graduation. But many other Miami students—exactly how many, no one knows—are facing the same problem, too. More than 20 percent of the…

Aug 20, 2007 9:49 PM CDT

Florida Mermaids in Lease Battle

Things are hardly going swimmingly right now for a group of Florida mermaids. Their historic tourist attraction, Weeki Wachee Springs, is in a lawsuit battle with a state agency known as Swiftmud. At issue: the validity of the one-mile-square city’s 30-year lease of the land on which it is built,…

Aug 17, 2007 3:39 PM CDT

Padilla a ‘Small Pawn,’ Juror Says

One of the jurors who voted to convict Jose Padilla on terrorism charges says the former gang member was “just a small pawn.” “He was guilty–believe me,” the juror told the Miami Herald. “But there were much bigger people involved.” Padilla and two co-defendants were convicted of all charges yesterday…

Aug 17, 2007 1:20 PM CDT

FL Lawyers Launch Judge PR Effort

A group of Miami-area lawyers wants to help the Broward County judiciary regain public respect. The Daily Business Review describes the group’s objective: “Help bring respect back to a bench beset by criminal investigation, insensitive comments and inappropriate actions.” “We have a great judiciary. We just have to prove it…

Aug 17, 2007 12:11 PM CDT

World’s 25 Oddest Laws List Includes US

Think you’ve heard it all? Even seasoned practitioners may not be aware of what a British newspaper lists as the world’s 25 oddest laws. For example, a French pig may not legally be named Napoleon (item 22 on the list), reports the London Times. Nor may an unmarried woman parachute…

Aug 16, 2007 10:59 PM CDT

Lawyer Attacks Pit Bulls, Saves Woman

When Paul Geller spotted two pit bulls attacking a pregnant woman walking her small dog in Delray Beach, Fla., this past weekend, he didn’t hesitate. Pulling over to the side of the road, the 39-year-old plaintiffs securities litigator warned his 8-year-old son not to try this himself and then leaped…

Aug 15, 2007 8:05 PM CDT

FL Fights for Internal State Farm Docs

A battle between Florida regulators and the state’s biggest property insurer is capturing the attention of lawyers there and elsewhere, because of what’s really at issue. Property insurance rate-setting is the official topic. But attorneys on both sides are waiting to see whether State Farm, a Bloomington, Ill.-based insurer, has…

Aug 15, 2007 5:26 PM CDT

Tale of 2 Cities: Tampa Porn Dorm Legal, But Miami’s Isn’t

A so-called porn dorm in Tampa, in which women live and participate in sexual activities that are videotaped and publicized over the Internet, is apparently legal. But that doesn’t mean that a comparable business—featuring buffed-up young men who are paid $1,200 plus room and board to live in a house…

Aug 15, 2007 4:34 PM CDT

BDO Socked With $351 M in Punitives

Updated: A Miami jury has ordered BDO Seidman to pay $351 million in punitive damages for failing to uncover fraud at a financial services firm. With punitives, the total damages award now comes to $521 million, the Associated Press reports. (See this ABAJournal.com post for more information on the $170…

Aug 15, 2007 2:15 PM CDT

BDO Ordered to Pay $170 M

A Miami jury has decided that accounting firm BDO Seidman must pay $170 million in damages for negligent audits that failed to spot fraud at a financial services firm. The jury has also decided it will award punitive damages, although the amount is yet to be determined, the Daily Business…

Aug 14, 2007 3:16 PM CDT

Star FL Student Free, Still to be Deported

Thanks to legislative lobbying by fellow teens, a star Miami student has been released from jail and expects to start college later this month in a local honors program. However, this is only a temporary reprieve for Colombian-born Juan Gomez, 18, and his brother, Alex, 19, who still are scheduled…

Aug 10, 2007 7:39 PM CDT

Ex-Astronaut Wants Monitor Off

A former astronaut accused of attempted kidnapping for confronting a romantic rival wants an Orlando court to release her from an electronic ankle bracelet. Lisa Nowak pays $105 a week to wear the bracelet as a condition of her release while she awaits trial. Court papers say the company that…

Aug 10, 2007 2:32 PM CDT