Posts on ‘August 28th, 2009’

Miami-Dade Circuit Judge John Schlesinger is married to Marilyn Milian of “The People’s Court,” which helps explain his reported net worth of $7.18 million on annual judicial disclosure forms. He’s the second richest South Florida circuit judge, behind Palm Beach Circuit Judge Elizabeth Maass, who credits her husband, attorney Robb Maass, in part for her $7.2 million reported net worth. But not all judges reported millions in net worth, including one who says his lower net worth is due partly to his devalued home.

The IRS estimates that $68 billion of the annual $345 billion tax gap for 2001 (the spread between what the government should collect and what it actually collected) was due to sole proprietors who underreported income or overstated deductions. That finding has led to government suggestions on ways to close the gap and increased IRS scrutiny of sole proprietors. Sidney Kess, a CPA-attorney, discusses some key audit issues for solo practitioners and other solopreneurs, and what can be done to avoid problems.

The Phoenix Coyotes bankruptcy case is shaping up to be the year’s landmark sports law case. The big question hovering over the entire proceeding: Who ultimately has the authority to decide who can own a team and where that team plays — a professional sports league or a bankruptcy court judge? The National Hockey League believes such power rests with the league, and it has taken the highly unusual step of submitting its own bid to purchase the Coyotes over a rival bidder who might relocate the franchise to Canada.

A California district attorney retaliated against a bail bondsman who slammed the prosecutor in a newspaper ad, a federal court jury decided. The jury found that DA David Paulson and his chief investigator acted with malice when they sought a temporary restraining order against Joel Thomas Toler and then unsuccessfully pursued charges that he violated that order. “It’s a pretty significant victory for any federal jury to find a public official acted maliciously,” said Toler’s attorney.

A New York federal judge has refused to dismiss a potential class action brought by customers who claimed Subaru sold or leased them cars with defective odometers. The judge turned aside Subaru’s argument that the Federal Odometer Act does not apply to the plaintiffs’ allegations. The plaintiffs charged that the defective odometers overstated the mileage on their vehicles and thereby shortened their warranty periods, decreased resale values and, with leased automobiles, penalized drivers for “excessive mileage.”

A federal jury in Texas ruled that the German software vendor SAP should pay Versata Software $138.64 million in damages for infringing two of its patents. The patents in question cover Versata’s software that allows its customers to manage pricing for its products along complex distribution networks. Versata had asked the jury for $190 million. The co-lead trial counsel for Versata said that over the seven-day trial, the jurors took “copious notes” and really tried to understand the technology.

An unexplained 15-year delay in the sentencing of a woman who had already rehabilitated herself violated the due process clause, the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Thursday. Shenna DeLoache Ray’s bizarre case led the appeals court to confront several issues for the first time, chief among them its ruling that the right to a speedy trial in the Sixth Amendment applies only to trials, and not to sentencing proceedings.

Former New York Supreme Court Justice Thomas J. Spargo has been found guilty of attempting to shake down lawyers appearing before him to help pay the substantial legal bills he had incurred in fighting an ongoing investigation into his conduct by a judicial conduct commission. A federal jury on Thursday convicted Spargo of both counts in the indictment against him: attempted extortion and soliciting a bribe. Under state law, Spargo also will be disbarred. Spargo’s sentencing is scheduled for December.

At least four lawyers and law firms are among the top creditors of Masry & Vititoe, the personal injury law firm of “Erin Brockovich” fame that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Aug. 14. The firm, based in Westlake Village, Calif., said in bankruptcy court papers that it has spent $3 million defending lawsuits filed by the family and estate of former name partner Edward Masry, who died in 2005.

Winston & Strawn has quietly cut some administrative staff and some of its 900 lawyers over the past two months, sources familiar with the cost-paring moves said. The Chicago-based firm dismissed a handful of administrative staff in the business development unit of its Chicago office last week following reductions in staff positions in other departments in prior weeks. The firm also dismissed some nonpartner lawyers during the summer, asking them to leave by the end of this month.