Judge Chops Lawyers' Fees by $1 Million

Executives tired of paying big legal bills can take solace in this: North Carolina Business Court Judge Albert Diaz recently cut attorneys’ fees in a class-action case by $1 million because he thought lawyers had charged too much per hour and spent too much time working on the case.

Judges typically don’t get involved in fee arrangements between clients and their attorneys. But class-action cases are an exception because most members of the class don’t have an opportunity to negotiate a fee arrangement with the attorney that ends up representing them.

For that reason, judges have the power to act as a guardian or fiduciary for the class, says Press Millen, a Womble Carlyle attorney who was not involved in the Wachovia case but has experience with such issues. Judge Diaz, in a Feb. 5 order, exercised that authority and reduced the plaintiff’s attorneys fees down to just $932,622.

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Judge Chops Lawyer Fees by $1M

No Raise for Probate Judge Tommy Crosslin

Colbert County commissioners passed a resolution opposing a bill that would have increased Probate Judge Tommy Crosslin's salary by more than $50,000 a year.

The decision is likely unnecessary because the bill in its current form is unconstitutional and will not be introduced, State Sen. Bobby Denton, D-Muscle Shoals, said.

"As far as I know right now, there wouldn't be any need in pursuing this issue," Denton said. "I'd be foolish to introduce a bill that would be unconstitutional."

[State Rep. Marcel Black, D-Tuscumbia] said any effort to increase Crosslin's pay should be based on the duties of his office and have the input of the county commission, which pays his salary and employee benefits, including retirement.

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Judge's $50,000 Raise Dead

Rothstein's Wife Still Controls Properties

Bankruptcy lawyers handling the financial fallout from Scott Rothstein's mega Ponzi scheme are taking issue with the way federal prosecutors are dealing with the convicted felon's multimillion-dollar properties.

Of particular concern: Rothstein's wife Kimberly is still managing some of the houses and is living rent-free in one of them, the attorneys wrote in court filings.

"It has recently come to the attention (of the lawyers) that the government has apparently delegated its duty to properly manage and safeguard certain of the property subject to forfeiture to Scott Rothstein's wife — Kimberly Rothstein," wrote Paul Singerman, one of the attorneys handling the case for the bankruptcy trustee.

"More specifically, the (lawyers) have learned that the government has permitted Kimberly Rothstein to live rent free in one of the forfeited properties and to continue to rent out other properties to tenants," Singerman wrote.

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Scott Rothstein's Wife Still in Control of Properties

See Also:
New Website Tracks Scott Rothstein Bankruptcy

Bill Moyers: Justice for Sale

How would you feel if you were in court and knew that the opposing lawyer had contributed money to the judge's campaign fund? This is not an improbable hypothetical question, but could be a commonplace occurrence in the 21 states where judges must raise money to campaign for their seats — often from people with business before the court.

Though many states have elected judges since their founding, in the past 30 years, judicial elections have morphed from low-key affairs to big money campaigns. From 1999-2008, judicial candidates raised $200.4 million, more than double the $85.4 million raised in the previous decade (1989-1998).

According to retired Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, of all the fallout from the Citizens United decision, the most dangerous may be in judicial elections.

This week the JOURNAL revisits "Justice for Sale," a 1999 documentary about the impact of money on judicial elections in three states — Pennsylvania, Texas and Louisiana.


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Justice For Sale

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Watch Video

Read Transcript

•DANNY’S DIARY•

When every word and action is scrutinized, we must find a place within ourselves, within our spirit, that is our spine and our own personal declaration of independence. It is here we determine our words and actions and, coupled with the truth, all things false will fall by the way. This place in our soul, in our conscience, is the constant reminder of who we are, what we stand for and what we believe. With this spine, one can stand strong against any foe, any false claim, any errant wind. And, by faith, you will endure.

Source:
FreeDannyTate.Wordpress.com

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Danny Tate, Sandbagged!?

"Irreconcilable Differences"

An Upper Darby woman who admitted to bilking an elderly, partially blind Lower Merion woman for whom she worked as a home health aide apparently needs a new lawyer.

Aretha Wellington, who is awaiting sentencing on charges she stole more than $140,600 in cash and jewelry from the elderly woman, and her lawyers Gregory Noonan and John L. Walfish have developed "irreconcilable differences," according to papers filed Friday by the defense lawyers in Montgomery County Court.

Walfish and Noonan claimed Wellington has represented that she is unhappy with her present lawyers. The lawyers indicated they cannot continue to represent Wellington "under the present circumstances."

The lawyers have asked Judge William J. Furber Jr. for permission to withdraw from the case.

Furber has not yet scheduled a hearing on the matter.

Last May, Wellington, 33, pleaded guilty to felony charges of theft by unlawful taking and access device fraud, or credit card fraud, in connection with incidents that occurred between August and September of 2006.

Wellington, who remains in jail without bail pending sentencing, faces a possible maximum sentence of seven to 14 years in prison on the charges.

Full Article and Source:
Home Health Worker Who Bilked Elderly Client Needs New Lawyer

Family Upset About Dad's Forced Move

The family of an elderly man who lived at an Oroville nursing home was told he needed to move out, his son and daughter said.

Gordon Stout, a 79-year-old retired teacher, had lived in the dementia unit of Olive Ridge Care Center for more than a year.

That was a manageable arrangement, said his son, Wayne Stout of Magalia, and daughter, Linda Powell of Paradise. They were able to take their mother, who is 83, to visit her husband three or four times a week in Oroville. But now that he has been moved to a nursing home in Novato, in the Bay Area, frequent visits are no longer possible.

The younger Stout said Olive Ridge staff told him and his sister the dementia unit was being closed to make room for patients who were discharged from acute-care hospitals and needed to convalesce.

Stout said it appeared perhaps 30 of the approximately 40 people who lived in the dementia unit had been moved out recently.

Stout said Olive Ridge staff found a spot for his father at a nursing home in Novato. They said it was the closest suitable facility that could take him.

Stout said he didn't have any say in his father's move because his dad is in a conservatorship through the Butte County Public Guardian.

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Family Upset After Resident From Oroville Nursing Home

Michael T. Conahan Claims Immunity

Former Luzerne County Judge Michael T. Conahan claimed he has "judicial and legislative immunity" from the latest in a series of lawsuits filed in the aftermath of the Luzerne County kids-for-cash scandal.

Conahan, acting as his own attorney, asked to be dismissed from a lawsuit filed in December in which a former juvenile defendant claimed he was sentenced to six months at a private detention facility based solely on the number of birds perched on the ledge outside the courtroom.

Conahan, who served as the county's president judge from 2002 to 2006, said he was acting "legislatively" when he forced the closure of the county-owned detention center in 2003 and asked county commissioners to fund an exclusive agreement with the private facility.

Conahan and the former judge who allegedly issued the bird-brained sentence, Mark A. Ciavarella Jr., have already been hit with civil-rights claims from hundreds of other juveniles and a 48-count racketeering indictment for allegedly pocketing $2.8 million in kickbacks from the backers of the private facilities.

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Conahan Claims Immunity in Latest Kids-For-Cash Suit

Arenac County Votes to Keep Public Guardian Office

The Arenac County Board of Commissioners voted Feb. 16 to keep the Public Guardian office open at this time.

“It will continue operating the way it has been,” Board Chairman Ray Daniels said.

“We have a new guardian that’s doing the work and doing a good job,” [Richard] Vollbach said.

The commissioners initially discussed discontinuing the position at the end of March, after former guardians Sherilyn Jones and Robert Romps were both charged with embezzlement in December 2009.

An investigation by the Michigan State Police that began June 2009 found more than $300,000 in funds were misappropriated from about 50 clients from 1999 to 2009.

The Michigan State Police arrested Romps and Jones, along with Jones’ mother, Sally Lebeau, on Dec. 8. Lebeau was charged with conspiring to embezzle over $200 but less than $1,000.

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Commissioners Vote to Keep Public Guardian Office

See Also:
Investigation of Public Guardian