Kluger v. Randazza, the Appeal!

This just in -- formerly anonymous blogger appeals poorly-conceived order enjoining her from posting "defamatory blogs in the future" that concern a local developer.

You can read the opening brief here.

In other news, Jack Reiter wrote a pretty darn good motion to dismiss the RICO suit against Lewis Tein pending before Judge Cooke.

Here's a taste:

Although the Second Amended Complaint is longer, it suffers from the same defect that warranted this Court’s October 10 Order. Despite listing hundreds of invoices purporting to identify legal services rendered to the Tribe, juxtaposed with a litany of Lewis and Tein’s alleged household purchases, the Second Amended Complaint does not identify a single incident of purported fraud. The allegations do not provide any basis upon which Lewis or Tein can defend themselves. Furthermore, because the Court has already given the Tribe the opportunity to allege their RICO claim with the requisite particularity, there is no basis for giving the Tribe yet another opportunity. Simply stated, if the Tribe had the ability to advance a claim for fraud or RICO, it would have done so. The Court should dismiss this case with prejudice as to Lewis Tein.

Listen, it's very hard to properly plead a RICO claim even when you have fantastic facts and evidence.

Methinks Judge Cooke will give this a close read.

Lewis Tein RICO Suit Update: Somebody Got "Disemboweled"; Also Martians in Spaceships!

How many pithy quotes can Paul Calli manage to wedge into John Pacenti's latest on the Miccosukee Tribe v. Lewis Tein matter?

And the hits just keep on coming:

"Jasper Nelson's deposition disembowels the tribe's wild accusations and lawsuits," Calli said.

A most unpleasant image!

And this:

"Two things are missing from the tribe's fantastical conspiracy story: one is Martians from outer space delivering the secret conspiracy plans on a flying saucer. The second, as Jasper Nelson affirms, is truth," Calli said.

But I see the Tribe has just filed a second amended complaint -- someone tell me where all the Martian allegations are.

Loan Me Fifty (Thousand) Dollars!

Anyone else catch this story about our State Attorney Kathy Rundle:

Miami-Dade County State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle has found a high-return investment, according to public records. Rundle lent $50,000 to a Key Biscayne homeowner at 12 percent interest.

“Well, I needed money quickly,” international lawyer Robert Feinschreiber said. “I had medical bills piling up. I know it’s a high interest, but I had no choice.”

According to court papers, he signed the two-year loan in 2007.

The deal, which wasn’t registered in archives, came to light as Feinschreiber is now facing foreclosure from a bank.

“Ms. Rundle has an interest in the apartment,” Feinschreiber said. “That’s why her name popped up.”

Another citizen, Elaine F. Rand, loaned Feinschreiber $50,000 at the same rate on the same day, according to documents.

“There’s nothing improper here,” Feinschreiber said. “I don’t even know Ms. Rundle. I was approached by a lawyer friend of mine who said he knew people who could help me and he told me later it was the state attorney.”
 
Ed Griffith, Rundle’s spokesman, said he couldn’t comment on the state attorney’s personal matters. And the state attorney didn’t reply to an email seeking comment. 

Huh?

I wonder what her rates are for home equity lines -- I'd like to add another hot tub (you can never have enough of them).

In other news, Paul Calli and "racy texts."

Hey, I just report this stuff.

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/02/12/2635294/radio-host-sid-rosenberg-alleged.html#storylink=misearch#storylink=cpy

Paul Calli and Steve Bronis Score Big!

After 12 weeks of grueling trial before Judge Leon in DC, he tosses the conspiracy charges:

A federal judge presiding over a landmark foreign bribery case in Washington, D.C., dismissed conspiracy charges against six defendants Thursday, exonerating one of them entirely.
The ruling is a major setback for the Department of Justice, which has touted the case as an example of its efforts to get tough on foreign corruption. The trial, which began in September, is the second in a series of criminal trials to arise from a Federal Bureau of Investigation sting operation targeting corruption in the military equipment industry.

In an unusual procedural move, U.S. District Judge Richard Leon on Thursday threw out the conspiracy counts after 12 weeks of trial, saying there wasn't enough evidence to justify sending the charges to the jury to decide, according to court transcripts seen by Dow Jones Newswires.
Leon's ruling meant that defendant Stephen G. Giordanella, who was accused only of conspiring to violate the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, was exonerated entirely. The remaining five defendants still face counts of substantive violations of the FCPA, a 34-year-old law that prohibits bribes to foreign officials to win business.

The Department of Justice declined to comment. 

 But our man Calli certainly did:

Giordanella's lawyer, Paul Calli, said he was grateful the court had made the "correct and just ruling."

"Mr. Giordanella was innocent and should have never been accused in the conspiracy," Calli said. "In many respects, the DOJ's fake Gabon conspiracy represents a prosecution at its most dangerous. He's grateful to be exonerated and to begin putting this behind him."

 Congratulations!

SFL Friday -- It's Coming, It's Finally Coming!

School, that is.

Thank goodness!

Let's see, what else -- Edwards Angell defeats Carlton Fields in Vero Beach beauty contest, and more on Kevin Gleason's peace wine offering to Bankruptcy Judge Olson.

I feel the pain:

And Rumpy, your Friday photo is here -- this one's for you:

Have a great weekend, everybody!

Jack Reiter Leaves Yoss for Carlton Fields!

That intrepid person reports on the departure of Jack Reiter, former head of Adorno Yoss' appellate department, to Carlton Fields:

“I’ve been presented with a terrific opportunity to become part of a strong statewide firm and an extremely well-respected practice group,” Reiter said.

Reiter added, "I also was presented with a terrific opportunity to be paid on time, or just to be paid at all, and I found being paid for work that I do to be a significant factor in my future ability to earn any income."

Oh I kid, I kid.

All is well with Yoss, how could it not be?

I remember a time in college when I was flat-broke, and had to sell my blood to get any cash, plus I ate most meals at the food kitchen where you could get rice and bread for free in exchange for helping to clean up after dinner.

This seriously happened to me.

I call that my "restructuring period."

Carlton Fields Now Working on Red Light Camera Cases.

I love how this article makes it seem like the mere presence of competent lawyers can magically turn a case around:

Instead of letting a police community service aide try to combat legal arguments raised by attorneys hired to beat the tickets, the city dispatched Assistant City Attorney Lisa Conforti.

She got a boost from an attorney from the high-powered law firm of Carlton Fields, who fed Conforti case law and advice. The attorney, Amanda Sansone, is being paid by American Traffic Solutions, which operates cameras in West Palm Beach, Palm Springs and Juno Beach, and has contracts with other Palm Beach County municipalities planning to launch red-light camera programs.

"It's preposterous," attorney Robert Pasch said of the legal muscle being used to collect the $158 tickets. "There's three attorneys in there and they brought a box of case law with them."

What's "preposterous" about this?

It's obviously in the company's best interests for the cities they service to succeed on these things, so they dispatch a qualified associate from Tampa to show them how to win a few.

Big deal.

I'm more interested in how it makes the city look that their legal representatives have to be "fed" cases and advice in order to prevail on a traffic ticket.

Amanda, welcome to South Florida!

Are You Ready For Some Rule Changes?

Is it mere coincidence that the first day of Hanukkah coincides with the date that the amendments to the Federal Rules become effective?

Yes kiddies, as of December 1st, amendments to Federal Rules of Civil Procedure 8, 26, and 56, and Illustrative Form 52 all will rock your world!

You can learn about the changes in detail here, courtesy of our old pal Tom Meeks.

Hold on, stop that.

Are you suggesting Tom's young colleague in Tally, Andy Manko, actually prepared this fine briefing on these exciting rule changes?

How could you even think that?

That's simply beyond the pale and I urge you to put that thought aside immediately.

Parsing the Shaquille O' Neal Hacking Lawsuit.

Have you looked at this facata lawsuit filed in Miami-Dade circuit court against Shaquille O'Neal?

I don't know "aggressive criminal defense lawyer" Menachem M. Mayberg, but he's got an uphill battle in front of him to establish a Florida RICO count based on those allegations.

Not surprisingly, Shaq's attorney Ben Reid thinks so too:

"The Complaint's rambling, unsupported allegations, through which Darling alleges that he possesses substantial knowledge that would harm the Defendant both in a separate and unrelated lawsuit, as well as in the public eye at large, render Darling's nefarious motive clear."

Ok oh bearded one, but that's a bit clunky.

Let's try again:

"Even if everything he was saying were true, we believe there is no basis in the law to bring the case," Reid told CNN Thursday. "But in this case, none of it's true."

Alright, that's a little better.

BTW, Is it just me or is nearly every lawsuit filed or threatened against a celebrity nowadays met with charges of extortion?

Paul Calli Is A (Private) Dick.

I've always wanted to write that headline, and now I can:

This week, Calli and his firm, Carlton Fields, were tapped by the FPL Group to investigate allegations of fraud.

In two letters, anonymous FPL employees have alleged that FPL executives broke the law by forcing employees to provide inaccurate or misleading information to regulators and shareholders.

Legal experts say the allegations could open a Pandora's box of trouble for the Juno Beach-based company.

"These allegations are very serious, and they require diligence and patience by FPL," said Scott Weires, an attorney in the Boca Raton office of Buckingham, Doolittle & Burroughs. "They cut to the core of the structure upon which the rates for the entire state are based. If there's fraud there, imagine the amounts of money potentially at risk."

In a e-mail sent Monday to employees, FPL Group Chairman Lew Hay said the company hired Carlton Fields because of the serious nature of the allegations, and because the anonymous employees have failed to provide specific facts supporting their allegations.

Gerald Richman, a West Palm Beach attorney who formerly served as president of The Florida Bar, called Carlton Fields "an excellent law firm with a long-standing reputation."

But it's not all s*&ts-and-giggles:

But employees are frightened by the inquiry, said Thomas Saporito of Jupiter, a former FPL employee. He lost his claim that he was fired 22 years ago after raising concerns about safety at an FPL plant. Rather than a quest for the truth, Saporito said the fear is that FPL is on a "witch hunt" designed to find, and silence, the still-anonymous whistle-blowers.

Saporito, who said he keeps in touch with FPL workers, said the letters reflect the rising frustration level felt by employees. "What you have," Saporito said, "is a revolution going on inside that company."

Don't worry kids, they hired a quality guy who will do the right thing.

SFL Monday Monday.

It's cold, rainy, dreary, and wet, everywhere I look there are toxic assets -- and I haven't even left my house yet.

Welcome to Monday.

Let's see, I like happy endings, don't you?

Here's one for the Carlton Fields white collar trial team of Mike Pasano, Paul Calli, and Marissel Descalzo, who represented attorney Luisa Inclan Bird:

A jury found Puerto Rico's former governor not guilty Friday on all nine counts including conspiracy, money laundering and lying to the FBI, concluding his monthlong corruption trial.

Anibal Acevedo Vila, who could have faced 20 years in prison if convicted, was the first governor to be charged with a crime since the island became a semiautonomous U.S. commonwealth in 1952.

Acevedo made the sign of the cross as he heard the verdict and began to cry, as did former adviser Luisa Inclan, who was also cleared of similar charges.

Judge Paul Barbadoro faced both defendants after the verdict. "This case has ended. You are free to go," he said.

The acquittal is a major blow to the U.S. Attorney's office, which prosecuted the governor in an election year — likely contributing to his defeat in one of the most lopsided elections in Puerto Rican history.

U.S. Attorney Rosa Emilia Rodriguez said Friday that she respects but disagrees with the verdict. She also denied that evidence was weak.

"The circumstantial evidence allowed for inferences to be made that the jury did not understand as such, but we accept that," she said.

In other words -- great prosecution, dumb jury. Congrats guys!

In other news, our elusive butterfly may have spread his wings again, and we are looking for Peggyann Delaney in connection with a 50th high school reunion. Any leads, please let me know.

Sheesh, what am I, the local pennysaver?

An Actual Court Hearing!

What do you know -- I'm going to Court this morning! And that means lots of lawyers on the other side, a judge, a court reporter, and a courtroom.

If I'm lucky maybe there'll even be some law involved. It's state court, so who knows?

Congrats to the DBR for their new redesign -- I was at the unveiling at the Havana Club last Tuesday, and I like it alot. What do you all think?

In other news, the arts festival was a lot of fun but not really a success, Carlton Fields rubs it in, and here are two words you don't say together often enough:

Alex Rundlet and marine hoses.

Have a good day everybody!