Trials

Shame Upon Shame: Use BitTorrent to Snag Some Free Porn? The Feds May Be After You

Pay Up!: Village Voice Suing Yelp Over "Best Of" Use

Village Voice Media Holdings (now Voice Media Group), which owns New Times Broward/Palm Beach, is suing Yelp in Arizona federal court over its use of "Best Of" in at least 10 cities. The firm is seeking to stop  the social networking, user review and local search website and app from ... More >>

Kenneth Nolan Hits Panther While Riding Motorcycle, Sues Florida Department of Transportation

See also "Urban Sprawl Kills Endangered Florida Panther"Some lawsuits make you want to punch mankind's collective crotch and pray to the gods that the Mayans are right about the whole 2012 thing. Case in point: Kenneth Nolan filed a suit in Broward County Court seeking $15,000 from th ... More >>

Porn Companies "Blackmail" Illegal Downloaders

Boca Lawyer Doug Schapiro Has Sued Nearly 100 Local Businesses Over ADA Infractions

"The urinal is too high," says Douglas Schapiro, a pudgy lawyer dressed casually in a red polo shirt. He's squished into the men's room of Mi Fondita Mexicana Y Café in Hollywood fiddling with a measuring tape. "It has to be 17 inches from the floor. This is 24 inches."From the proper height of pis ... More >>

Florida A&M University President Resigns Over Robert Champion Hazing Scandal

On the same day that the parents of a student killed in a marching band hazing session filed a lawsuit against Florida A&M University, its president, James Ammons, has resigned, according to the Associated Press. The move comes a month after the university's board of trustees passed a vote of no ... More >>

George Elia Accused of Running Fort Lauderdale Ponzi Scheme

​It's probably not a good sign that a $4 million lawsuit regarding an alleged Ponzi scheme seems like "only" $4 million.While the accusations against 68-year-old Fort Lauderdale real estate broker George Elia pale in comparison to Scott Rothstein's billion-plus Ponzi scheme, people definitely stil ... More >>

South Florida's Dirty Dozen: Our Annual List of Our Worst

Michael "The Situation" Sorrentino in Lawsuit Against Abercrombie Over G.T.L. Shirts

andpop.com​"You need to be on your tip-top game with your GTL to stay FTD to get the girls to DTF in MIA... say that 5 times fast." -- Michael "The Situation" SorrentinoA South Florida federal court and the clothing company Abercrombie & Fitch now have a situation -- the Situation.The Jersey S ... More >>

Former Alcee Hastings Aide Convicted on 30 Counts in Fraud Case

​Mikel Jones, a former aide to Democratic Rep. Alcee Hastings, was convicted for his role in a scheme to defraud a New York venture capital fund that financed the operation of his Philadelphia law firm.Jones, a 55-year-old Boynton Beach resident, was convicted of conspiracy, money laundering, 14 c ... More >>

Ronald Vinci's Murder Gets Ever Weirder With Girlfriend's Family Ties to Phil Spector

pribek.netIn case you forgot what Phil Spector looked like.​In an odd progression of events, the death of multimillionaire Ronald Vinci -- which started as a "suspicious death" when Fort Lauderdale cops were called to the scene of his duct-taped body and quickly morphed into a stabbing, shooting, ... More >>

Juveniles Alleging Sexual Assault and Abuse at Thompson Academy Agree to Settle Lawsuit

​Ending a seven-month legal battle that raised questions about living conditions at private juvenile prisons, the teenagers who alleged they were physically and sexually abused at the Thompson Academy in Pembroke Pines have reached a settlement with the owners of the for-profit lockup.A federal cl ... More >>

Nevada Lawsuit Sheds Light on Inner Workings of VIP Nightclubs

​In a lawsuit filed this week, a young woman who hostessed at a Las Vegas nightclub -- Jet nightclub at the Mirage -- claims her bosses at the Light Group and Dancing Monkey coerced her to drink at work, do massive amounts of coke, and get a boob job.According to Jane Doe's attorney, she was "pres ... More >>

DJSP, Processing Company for Foreclosure Attorney David J. Stern, Lays Off 96 Employees

David J. Stern, whose law firm is under investigation for foreclosure fraud.​The latest round of layoffs at DJSP Enterprises, the foreclosure processing company for the law offices of David J. Stern, could add fuel to a class action case against DJSP and Stern, according to a lawyer for the compan ... More >>

Congressman Dennis Kucinich Sues Restaurant Over Olive

Donkey Hotey Watch those Olives!​Congressman Dennis Kucinich of Ohio is suing the operators, owners and suppliers of the House of Representatives cafeteria in Washington, DC for selling him a sandwich wrap that had an unpitted olive in it back in 2008. The lawsuit claims the Congres ... More >>

Defendants in Michael Brewer Burning Case Reject State's Plea Offer

Denver Colorado Jarvis and Jesus Mendez wait for the hearing to begin.​Matthew Bent, Denver Colorado Jarvis, and Jesus Mendez are three sixteen-year-olds charged with attempted murder for their alleged roles in setting their schoolmate Michael Brewer on fire more than a year ago. Today they appear ... More >>

Polo Mogul's Tactic in Crash Case: Delay, Delay, Delay

Palm Beach County Sheriff's OfficeIt could be more than a year before Goodman's case goes to trial.​Yesterday, a judge refused Wellington polo mogul John Goodman's request to delay the wrongful death lawsuit filed against him for the car accident that killed 23-year-old Scott Wilson.But Palm Beach ... More >>

Jeff Greene Lawsuit Dismissed When Seniors Feared Counterclaim

Courtesy Greene campaignNo lawsuit for Jeff Greene.​Things are getting dramatic with a capital "middle school" between the Kendrick Meek and Jeff Greene campaigns for the Democrat Senate nomination. This weekend, the he-said, he-said jumped from catty campaign emails to my cell phone, when I got w ... More >>

Suit Filed in West Palm Against Chiquita; Banana Company Accused of Paying Colombian Terrorists

Flickr: Jennifer I.​In a filing that's been anticipated for months, a group of Colombian families have sued Chiquita Brands International in West Palm federal court over reports that the banana company paid a terrorist group that then kidnapped and murdered relatives of those families.The suit, in ... More >>

The Cop Who Pulled a "Walt Disney" With the Facts Has Been Called a Liar Before

Plantation Accountant, Firm Barred From Filing Taxes for Clients

In a deal that will have to come with a career change, Carole Exantus of Plantation accepted a permanent injunction against filing tax returns on clients' behalf in order to settle a case with U.S. Justice Department attorneys who had sued her for fraud. From the release:The court found that [Exantu ... More >>

Lauderadale Man Guilty of Memphis Murders May Now Face Local Inquiry

Henry Lee JonesFormer Fort Lauderdale resident Henry Lee Jones was convicted this week of a double murder in Memphis. Now the question remains whether Jones will be sent back to Florida to face murder charges in Broward County.Police have said they're considering whether Jones might be responsible f ... More >>

Awfully Wedded Wife

Bigamy charges and dozens of busts for sham marriages.It must be South Florida.

Just Say Uncle

The DEA's "Twin Oceans" hooked a big fish, but can they reel it in?

Wall Street in Miami

A slick L.A. movie producer gets slammed in the subtropics

Note From The State Attorney's Office

Mayor's Boy

You know Mara and Stacey. Now, meet Michael, the Giulianti family's tough guy.

Yes, But He's OUR Tipsy Coachman

Daddy's Girl

Fisher Island millionaire Bruce McMahan loved his daughter so much, he married her.

The $11 Billion Man

Meet the world's most castigated spammer — a South Florida man who says he's an innocent victim.

Muscles, Murder, and a Messiah, Part 2

Gil Fernandez Jr. could be responsible for as many as nine murders. If he's truly repentant, his former prosecutor says, he needs to confess his sins.

The Bad-Hands People

You say you want United Auto Insurance to pay your medical bills? Be ready to go to war.

Bullet Bob

Smooth-talking philanthropist Bob Montgomery has a dark side you don't want to see

Gamblin' Men

Big-ticket casino deals plus a messy internal power struggle equals even more legal woes for the Seminole tribe

Barred For Life

The process for restoring the civil rights of felons in Florida works perfectly -- if not restoring their rights is the goal

I, the Jury

A look behind the curtain of one episode of judicial theater

Osama's Bull's-eye

Two Stuart men find a novel way to exact revenge on the notorious Saudi: Take him to court.

A Children's Crusade

South Florida prosecutors are going after kids younger than 12 years old in record numbers

Captain of Deceit

It's clear the BSO's Richard Scheff lied under oath. So why isn't he charged with perjury?

Requiem for a Butcher

Need a tummy tuck? Plastic surgeon Jerry Lingle may not be your guy.

Guardian Gone

Irv Reisfeld fought ferociously for Broward's forgotten children. Then his boss axed him.

Undercurrents

Our new, improved column ponders a Sun-Sentinel screwup.

Crustacean Disputation

A shrimpy Ecuadorian company wants DuPont to stop spoiling its H20

A Most-Wanted Attorney

The government wants his money. The judiciary wants him disbarred. So what's F. Lee Bailey's next move? Sue the bastards!

At Work in the Fields of the Lord

Long hours. Low pay. Hardly any rights. It's the life of Palm Beach County's hidden underclass: migrant farm workers.

Grave Injustice

Do those who bury loved ones in Boca Raton's public cemetery have the right to decorate graves and erect markers? Apparently not.

The Sex Empire Strikes Back

Adult businesses in Broward put the heat on the heat by investigating local vice cops, but their evidence is slim

Letters

Impeachment as Cache

If there's anyone who can feel Bill Clinton's pain, it's ousted-judge-turned-congressman Alcee Hastings

A Southern Belle in Black and White

The City of Belle Glade may be forced to annex the Okeechobee Center and put an end to alleged discrimination against its mostly black residents