Wednesday, November 5, 2008

Chapter 7 Panel Trustee, Sonya Salkin Referred to the U.S. Trustee for Fraud

October 10, 2008

PRIORITY MAIL DELIVERY
Mr. Donald F. Walton
United States Trustee
75 Spring Street, S.W.
Room 362
Atlanta, Georgia 30303

Re: Chapter 7 Panel Trustee Sonya Lorraine Salkin

Dear Mr. Walton:

Sonya Salkin was the Debtor’s Counsel in the Baron’s bankruptcy, Case No. 97-25645-PGH-BKC.

An attorney retained by the trustee, or debtor in possession, who assists with the collection of the assets of the estate, must abide by the highest professional standards. “Not honesty alone, but the punctilio of an honor the most sensitive is the standard of behavior. An attorney’s duty goes beyond not merely putting false evidence before the court; the duty is greater – the lawyer has a duty to not make misrepresentations to the court.

In February, 2008 it came to the attention of Baron’s and its creditors that the Plan upon which Baron’s was confirmed upon was accomplished using falsified documents. (Exhibit 1) This fact was further substantiated in May, 2008 by Michael G. Kessler, a forensic document expert when he declared, under oath, that the Amended Joint Plan of Liquidation and the Amended Disclosure Statement in the Baron’s bankruptcy was falsified. (Exhibit 2)

Sonya Salkin, having knowledge of the fraudulent documents and the sworn declaration of a forensic document expert has failed to take remedial action both in the state court proceeding where she is a defendant in a legal malpractice action and in the bankruptcy
court where she remains a United States Chapter 7 Region 21 Panel Trustee. Ms. Salkin has not refuted the sworn declaration of Michael G. Kessler. Furthermore, Ms. Salkin is using what she knows to be falsified documents to support a Summary Judgment Motion in the legal malpractice action where she and her firm are defendants.

Ms. Salkin is in violation of Florida Bar Rule 4.3.3 Candor Toward the Tribunal – False evidence.

Ms. Salkin is also in violation of State Criminal Statute §831.02 – Uttering Forged Documents.

By Ms. Salkin having full knowledge that the documents confirming the bankruptcy of Baron’s have been declared falsified, Ms. Salkin has been participating in committing a felony under §831.02.

Ms. Salkin is also in violation of Federal Criminal Statute 18 U.S.C. §4 – Misprision.

“Whoever, having knowledge of the actual commission of a felony…conceals and does not as soon as possible make known the same to some judge or other person in civil or military authority under the United States” is guilty of misprision of felony and can be punished with up to three years of prison.

Ms. Salkin is the attorney who signed off on the fraudulent documents in the bankruptcy of Baron’s. Ms. Salkin has taken affirmative steps to conceal the fraudulent documents from the Court, the Debtor and the Creditors.

Considering the magnitude of the wrongdoing of Ms. Salkin, not only as an attorney who should be held to the highest fiduciary standards, but also the fact that Ms. Salkin was, during the bankruptcy proceedings of Baron’s, and remains a United States Region 21 Chapter 7 Panel Trustee, Ms. Salkin must be immediately suspended from her duties until a full investigation as to her participation, perpetration, execution and submission of fraudulent documents in the bankruptcy proceedings of Baron’s has been completed

I trust that this matter will be a priority in the U.S. Trustee’s office.

Very truly yours,



Meryl M. Lanson
Telephone: 561-488-2740
Facsimile: 561-488-2861
E-mail: mlanson@bellsouth.net



Enclosures: Exhibit 1 and Exhibit 2 (as stated herein)

cc: - United States Attorney General Michael B. Mukasey
- Special Agent Jeff Danik – Federal Bureau of Investigation
West Palm Beach, Florida (without Exhibits as already in possession of)
- Theodore P. Littlewood, Jr., Esq., - The Florida Bar (without Exhibits as already in possession of)

Monday, October 27, 2008

Supplement Master Letter to Agencies

October 23, 2008

PRIORITY MAIL WITH PROOF
OF DELIVERY – TO ALL PARTIES
ON THIS COVER PAGE SERVICE LIST



Federal Bureau of Investigation
Attention: Special Agent Jeff Danik
505 South Flagler Drive
Suite 500
West Palm Beach, Florida 33401

Katherine Fernandez-Rundle
Miami-Dade State Attorney
E.R. Graham Building
1350 N.W. 12th Avenue
Miami, Florida 33136-2211


Bill McCollum
Office of Attorney General
State of Florida
The Capitol – PL-01
Tallahassee, Florida 32399-1050

Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink
Florida Department of Financial Services
200 East Gaines Street
Tallahassee, Florida 32399-0300


The Office of Inspector General
Florida Department of Law Enforcement
2331 Phillips Road
Tallahassee, Florida 32308

The Office of Inspector General
Attention: Kenneth A. Chambers
Supreme Court Building
500 South Duval Street
Tallahassee, Florida 32399-1905

Brooke S. Kennerly
Executive Director
Judicial Qualifications Commission
1110 Thomasville Road
Tallahassee, Florida 32303-6226

John F. Harkness
Executive Director
The Florida Bar
651 East Jefferson Street
Tallahassee, Florida 32399-2300

Michael L. Schneider
General Counsel
Judicial Qualifications Commission
1110 Thomasville Road
Tallahassee, Florida 32303-6226


Theodore P. Littlewood, Jr., Esq.
The Florida Bar
651 East Jefferson Street
Tallahassee, Florida 32399-2300

Detective Luis Robainas
Miami Dade Police Department
Public Corruption Investigations Bureau
8899 N.W. 18th Terrace
Doral, Florida 33172

Chief Judge Joseph P. Farina
Eleventh Judicial Circuit of Florida
Miami Dade County Courthouse
73 West Flagler Street
Miami, Florida 33130


This is to supplement my previous letter to you, dated September 17, 2008, whereby Notice was given that violations of 831.04 f.s., constituting a felony of the third degree, may have been committed by attorneys Ronald C. Kopplow, Marc Cooper, Sonya L. Salkin, and their counsels, Charles W. Throckmorton, Lauri Waldman Ross, Robert M. Klein, Lewis N. Jack, Jr., and Reggie Sanger.

It has been brought to my attention that another State Criminal Statute may have been committed by attorneys Ronald C. Kopplow, Marc Cooper, Sonya L. Salkin, and their counsels, Charles W. Throckmorton, Lauri Waldman Ross, Robert M. Klein, Lewis N. Jack, Jr. and Reggie Sanger with the acquiescence of Judge Jeri Beth Cohen.

F.S.A. § 831.02 - Uttering Forged Instruments

Whoever utters and publishes as true a false, forged or altered record, deed, instrument or other writing mentioned in F.S. § 831.01 knowing the same to be false, altered, forged or counterfeited, with intent to injure or defraud any person, shall be guilty of a felony of the third degree, punishable as provided in s.775.082, s. 775.083, or 775.084.

Since May 30, 2008, Judge Jeri Beth Cohen has known that attorneys, Kopplow, Cooper, Salkin, and their counsel, Throckmorton, Waldman-Ross, Klein, Jack, and Sanger have been using a document, deemed to be fraudulent by an expert witness, to support a Summary Judgment Motion, for the benefit of their clients, the attorney defendants, and to the detriment of the Plaintiffs in a legal malpractice lawsuit in Miami-Dade County Circuit Court, Case No.99-21062 CA 15.

The defendants have never refuted the expert witness’ declaration that the documents, which they are relying upon to injure the Plaintiffs, are fraudulent. Nor have the defendants retained their own expert witness to refute that the documents that they have been relying upon are fraudulent. Nor have the defendants and their counsel withdrawn the fraudulent documents in violation of Florida Bar Rule 4-3.3(a)(4).

Since May 30, 2008, the Plaintiffs have been seeking, through numerous written and ore tenus Motions, to strike the Defendants Pleadings for “fraud on the court” for knowingly using fraudulent documents to support their clients’ position. This activity is in violation of the Rules Regulating The Florida Bar, 4-3.3(a)(4) which:



Prohibits a lawyer from offering false evidence and requires the lawyer
to take reasonable remedial measures when false evidence has been
offered. This is subordinated to the criminal statute violation.

The Plaintiffs have filed verified Motions to Strike Defendants Affirmative Defenses, which goes to the heart of the fraudulent documents, as a Sham, pursuant to FRCP 1.150.

Judge Jeri Beth Cohen (a member of the Florida Bar) has wilfully engaged in conduct prejudicial to the administration of justice and thereby has subverted the truth finding process that the adversary system is designed to implement by the following violations:

1) refuses to allow discovery to see which attorneys were involved in the preparation, perpetration, execution and submission of the fraudulent documents.

2) refuses to conduct an evidentiary hearing as required by law under FRCP 1.150 which states:

Rule 1.150(a) contemplates a full evidentiary hearing where the parties
have the opportunity to offer evidence on the issue of whether the pleading
attacked alleges a cause of action or defense that is false in fact. The rule
provides that “the court shall hear the motion, taking evidence of the
respective parties.” Fla. R. Civ. P. 1.150(a).

3) continues to violate Judicial Canon 3.D.2)a:

A judge who receives information or has actual knowledge that substantial
likelihood exists that a lawyer has committed a violation of the Rules
Regulating the Florida Bar shall take appropriate action. This does not
speak to the violation of criminal statutes.

4) has violated and breached an Agreed Order signed on February 14, 2008, by Senior Judge Herb Stettin, which states in part:(A copy of the Senior Judge Stettin’s signed Agreed Order is enclosed herein).



3. Plaintiffs shall have twenty(20) days from the date of this Order
to serve their response to the Amended Affirmative Defenses.

4. Plaintiffs reserve all rights to challenge the Amended Affirmative
Defenses, including, but not limited to, motions to strike, motions
for summary judgment and the like. The Plaintiffs have complied
with both requirements of the signed Agreed Order, and still Judge
Jeri Beth Cohen refuses to abide by Senior Judge Stettin’s Order.

5) has denied Plaintiffs their due process rights pursuant to an Agreed Order signed by Senior Judge Herbert Stettin.

6) has condoned the Defendants and their Attorneys breach of that Agreed Order. The Defendants (attorneys) and their counsel engaged in a knowing breach of that signed Agreed Order whereby the Defendants received the benefit of the Agreed Order and then the Defendants engaged in a scheme to deprive the Plaintiffs of the benefit that they were to receive by that signed Agreed Order......the right to attack the Affirmative Defenses by striking them as a sham under FRCP 1.150 which would require the court to conduct an evidentiary hearing.

At the hearing held on October 15, 2008, I requested that Judge Cohen adhere to her judicial responsibilities pursuant to Judicial Canons. She sat stoned faced and said “you file a Complaint,” again, in violation of her judicial duties.

Furthermore, the violations of the Rules and the law that the attorneys have engaged in, with the cooperation and coverup of Judge Jeri Beth Cohen, needs to be investigated by all the appropriate agencies, especially because such conduct has risen to the level of, what I believe to be, criminal activity. Judge Cohen continues to obstruct justice.


In the spirit of full disclosure, I want the record to reflect that I have a JQC Complaint pending against Judge Jeri Beth Cohen, No. 08411, in addition to these allegations of involvement in criminal activity. I also have a Civil lawsuit, under the ADA, pending against Judge Jeri Beth Cohen, in her official capacity, and in her individual capacity, in the United States District Court, Southern District of Florida, Case No. 08-CV-22009-JORDAN. I have also alerted the JQC, its fifteen member panel, and Governor Crist to the undue influence that Special Counsel to the JQC, Lauri Waldman Ross, has on the judiciary. Such influence is displayed regularly as Judge Cohen yields to Lauri Waldman Ross during proceedings. Lauri Waldman Ross has used her undue influence previously before the late Judge Manuel Crespo who presided over this case in 2005, for a total of two hearings, and then recused himself before expiring.. At a hearing held on October 15, 2008, Lauri Waldman Ross, Defense counsel for Marc Cooper, and a Special Counsel to the Judicial Qualifications Commission, continued violating Rule 4-3.3 - Candor Toward the Tribunal: False evidence and a duty to disclose. In addition, Ms. Ross violated Rule 4-3.4 Fairness to Opposing Party and Counsel. As a member of The Florida Bar, and as a representative of the JQC, Ms. Ross should exude the highest standard of ethics, as she, by her position, is called upon to weigh transgressions of the judiciary. How can Ms. Ross perform her responsibilities if she, herself, does not abide by the Rules of Professional and Ethical Conduct regulating The Florida Bar members? At that hearing, Ms. Ross verbally and demonstrably accused Plaintiff’s counsel, Mary Alice Gwynn, of making misrepresentations to the Court when it was Ms. Gwynn who alerted the Court about the parties’ prior agreement with regard to challenging the Defendants Affirmative Defenses. Ms. Gwynn referenced e-mails between the parties documenting such an agreement. Ms. Ross immediately started pointing her finger at Ms. Gwynn and said: “I want anything in writing from this lady because I am sick of coming in here and having misrepresentations from her.”

Ms. Ross sat silent and failed to disclose that, in fact, the parties did have an agreement that was reduced to an Agreed Order signed by Senior Judge Herbert Stettin on February 14, 2008 which was actually drafted by Lauri Waldman Ross, and forwarded directly from Ms. Ross to Judge Stettin.

I, Meryl M. Lanson, on October 16, 2008, via e-mail, requested that Ms. Ross report her misrepresentations to Judge Cohen. Ms. Ross refused to do so which further violates the ethical rules governing The Florida Bar members. A Notice of Filing of the exchange of e-mail communications between Plaintiff, Meryl M. Lanson, Pro Se, Plaintiff, Norman Lanson’s counsel, Mary Alice Gwynn, and the Defendants counsels, Waldman Ross, Throckmorton, Klein, Jack and Sanger was sent to the Court for filing on October 22, 2008. (A copy of the Notice of Filing with attachment is enclosed herein). Furthermore, a Motion (A copy of the Motion is enclosed herein)was sent, via Federal Express, to the Court for filing on October 22, 2008 which outlines what transpired at the October 15, 2008 hearing and the violations of Ms. Ross, with the acquiescence of Judge Cohen, and the silence of attorneys, Throckmorton and Jack, who were also party to the Agreed Order signed by Senior Judge Stettin. Robert Klein, Esq. and Reggie Sanger, Esq. were not present at that hearing but are party to the Agreed Order and was party to the e-mail communications, and all communications filed with the Court. A copy of all filings have been sent to all Counsel of Record. The Defendants and their Counsel continue to engage in obstruction of justice and do so in knowing violation of the Rules Regulating The Florida Bar.


I have asked Judge Cohen, on three occasions, to disqualify herself. She refuses to do so. Her rulings in this case appears to be that she is using her position, to not only retaliate against me for the actions I have taken against her, but also to sabotage the civil litigation for the benefit of the attorneys and to the detriment of the Plaintiffs, Meryl Lanson, Norman Lanson and Baron’s Stores, Inc., and its beneficiaries, the Creditors.

As mentioned in my previous Notice dated September 17, 2008, the Courts have turned a blind eye to the submission of fraudulent documents in violation of the Rules and the Law for, what I believe to be, the protection of certain well connected professionals.

This matter involves both state and federal agencies as the alleged criminal violations involve the transmittals of the fraudulent documents through electronic mail, Federal Express and the United States Postal Service.

I have made serious allegations against these attorneys and Judge Jeri Beth Cohen. I stand by each one of my allegations as I have the documents, the transcripts, the tapes - the evidence to support my position. Finally, every agency in receipt of this letter has a duty to protect the public from unethical conduct, negligence, fraud and/or corruption. When such unethical conduct, negligence, fraud and/or corruption involves officers of the court, specifically attorneys and judges, the tolerance level should be at zero and the priority to investigate should be at the top of your agenda. I trust that your investigations will be properly handled without regard to whom the individuals are.



Respectfully submitted,



Meryl M. Lanson
Telephone: 561-488-2740
Facsimile: 561-488-2861
E-Mail: mlanson@bellsouth.net

Enclosures:
1) Copy of Senior Judge Herbert Stettin’s signed Agreed Order dated February 14, 2008.
2) Copy of Notice of Filing dated October 22, 2008 with attachments.
3) Copy of Plaintiff, Meryl M. Lanson, Pro Se, Supplement to Plaintiff’s Response to Defendants Motion for Summary Judgment and Objection to Any of the Defendants Proposed Orders and Request for an Evidentiary Hearing Pursuant to Senior Judge Herbert Stettin’s February 14, 2008 Order.

cc: Governor Charlie Crist with attachments

Sunday, October 19, 2008

Master Letter to Agencies

September 17, 2008

PRIORITY MAIL WITH PROOF
OF DELIVERY – TO ALL PARTIES
ON THIS COVER PAGE SERVICE LIST

Federal Bureau of Investigation
Attention: Special Agent Jeff Danik
505 South Flagler Drive
Suite 500
West Palm Beach, Florida 33401

Katherine Fernandez-Rundle
Miami-Dade State Attorney
E.R. Graham Building
1350 N.W. 12th Avenue
Miami, Florida 33136-2211


Bill McCollum
Office of Attorney General
State of Florida
The Capitol – PL-01
Tallahassee, Florida 32399-1050

Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink
Florida Department of Financial Services
200 East Gaines Street
Tallahassee, Florida 32399-0300


The Office of Inspector General
Florida Department of Law Enforcement
2331 Phillips Road
Tallahassee, Florida 32308

The Office of Inspector General
Attention: Kenneth A. Chambers
Supreme Court Building
500 South Duval Street
Tallahassee, Florida 32399-1905

Brooke S. Kennerly
Executive Director
Judicial Qualifications Commission
1110 Thomasville Road
Tallahassee, Florida 32303-6226

John F. Harkness
Executive Director
The Florida Bar
651 East Jefferson Street
Tallahassee, Florida 32399-2300

Notice is hereby given that violation of 831.04 f.s., constituting a felony of the third degree, may have been committed by attorneys Ronald C. Kopplow, Marc Cooper, Sonya L. Salkin, and now their counsels, Charles W. Throckmorton, Lauri Waldman Ross, Robert M. Klein, Lewis N. Jack, Jr., and Reggie Sanger.

State Criminal Statute: 831.04 f.s. – Penalty for changing or forging certain instruments of writing states in part:


Any person making any erasure, alteration, interlineations or interpolation in any writing or instrument mentioned in s. 92.28, and made admissible in evidence, with the fraudulent intent to change the same in any substantial manner after the same has once been made, shall be guilty of the crime of forgery, which, for the purpose of this section, constitutes a felony of the third degree.

On February 4, 2008, Defendant attorneys, Ronald Kopplow, Marc Cooper, Sonya Salkin and their respective firms filed a Summary Judgment to eliminate Baron’s Stores, Inc. from the legal malpractice lawsuit filed in the Circuit Court of the 11th Judicial Circuit of Florida in and for Miami-Dade County:

Case No. 99-21062 CA 15 – Norman Lanson, Meryl Lanson and Baron’s Stores, Inc. v. Ronald C. Kopplow, Esq., Kopplow & Flynn, P.A., Marc Cooper, Esq., Cooper & Wolfe, P.A., and Sonya L. Salkin, Malnik & Salkin, P.A.

Attached to, and in support of, the Summary Judgment Motion, are two documents titled Amended Plan of Liquidation and Amended Disclosure Statement.

On May 2, 2008, Michael G. Kessler of Kessler International, an independent forensic document expert, under the penalty of perjury, made the following conclusory statement regarding the Amended Plan of Liquidation and the Amended Disclosure Statement to wit:

“I can conclude that someone tampered with these documents, modified them and/or altered them resulting in these documents not representing what they are presented to be. These documents have been falsified.”

A copy of Mr. Kessler’s Declaration, attached hereto, has been filed in the State Court, and has been provided to Judge Jeri Beth Cohen, the Defendants, and their counsels, as evidence, on numerous occasions attached to various motions.

The defendant attorneys, Kopplow, Cooper and Salkin and their counsels, Throckmorton, Waldman Ross, Klein, Jack and Sanger, refuse to withdraw the fraudulent documents. The defendant attorneys, Kopplow, Cooper and Salkin, and their counsels, Throckmorton, Waldman Ross, Klein, Jack and Sanger have not refuted Mr. Kessler’s findings.

Circuit Court Judge Jeri Beth Cohen, being fully apprised of Mr. Kessler’s findings, by and through the attachment of the evidence to various motions, refuses to allow discovery, refuses to hold an evidentiary hearing, refuses to stay proceedings and refuses to follow Judicial Canons, specifically:

Canon 3.D.2)a:

A judge who receives information or has actual knowledge that substantial likelihood exists that a lawyer has committed a violation of the Rules Regulating the Florida Bar shall take appropriate action. This does not speak to the violation of criminal statutes.

Lawyer Regulation: Rules Regulating The Florida Bar – Rules of Professional Conduct 4-3.3(a)(4) :

Prohibits a lawyer from offering false evidence and requires the lawyer to take reasonable remedial measures when false evidence has been offered. This is subordinated to the criminal statute violation.

Furthermore, the Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Florida, Judge Paul G. Hyman, Jr., has also been provided with a copy of Mr. Kessler’s Declaration that the documents which confirmed the bankruptcy of Baron’s were fraudulent. Judge Hyman, having knowledge that fraudulent documents were used to confirm a Chapter 11 bankruptcy, and that the only parties that could be responsible for the preparation, execution, and filing of such documents were/are attorneys, have denied the Plaintiffs discovery and an evidentiary hearing. The defendants, Kopplow, Cooper and Salkin, and their counsels, Throckmorton, Waldman Ross, Klein, Jack and Sanger were also provided with Mr. Kessler’s Declaration in the context of the federal bankruptcy proceedings. The Court and its officers have refused to take remedial action.

18 U.S.C. § 4: “Whoever, having knowledge of the actual commission of a felony cognizable by a court of the United States, conceals and does not as soon as possible make known the same to some judge or other person in civil or military authority under the United States, is guilty of the federal crime of misprision of felony.”

“The offense of concealing a felony committed by another, but without such previous concert with or subsequent assistance to the felon as would make the party concealing an accessory before or after the fact.”

Both the Bankruptcy Court and the State Court have knowledge that fraudulent documents are being used, by the defendant attorneys and their counsels, in the Baron’s/Lanson’s civil litigation, to gain an unfair advantage. Both Courts have condoned the use of fraudulent documents. The fact is that the Courts have denied the Plaintiffs the required evidentiary hearings thereby subverting the truth finding process that the adversary system is designed to implement. Both Courts have turned a blind eye to these fraudulent documents to protect certain connected attorneys.


These alleged acts of the defendants, and their counsels, are criminal in nature, and if proven to be true would require their immediate disbarment.

In the Florida Bar v. Steven Evan Wolis, .the referee ultimately recommended that Wolis be disbarred, finding that “obstruction of justice, with a predicate act of perjury and the filing of fraudulent reports, is a serious felony” and that “[w]hile [Wolis] appears to be truly remorseful and genuine in his rehabilitation effort, the mitigation in this case is not sufficient to warrant a penalty less than [the presumed sanction of] disbarment.” While the referee acknowledged that his recommendation of disbarment “was not an easy one to render given [Wolis’] age [of 39] and apparent remorse,” the referee ultimately concluded that [Wolis’s ] offense for which he was convicted goes to the very essence of the legal profession. The truth cannot be sacrificed for convenience or personal gain. It cannot be abrogated because of a client’s needs. Simply stated, society must be able to rely upon an attorney’s representations. The Oath of Admission to The Florida Bar, The Rules Regulating The Florida Bar and the interest of the general public mandate that attorneys tell the truth and act in an honorable fashion.

The undersigned complainant has grave concerns that “obstruction of justice” is occurring for the benefit of the Florida Bar, by and through the judiciary’s assistance in limiting claims exposure to the Florida Bar’s created and sponsored malpractice insurance company, Florida Lawyers Mutual. All of the parties, including Judge Hyman and Judge Cohen, are members of the Florida Bar. Attorneys Kopplow and Cooper are insured for legal malpractice by Florida Lawyers Mutual Insurance Company.


Respectfully submitted,



Meryl M. Lanson
Telephone: 561-488-2740
Facsimile: 561-488-2861
E-Mail: mlanson@bellsouth.net

Attachment: Michael G. Kessler’s Declaration as stated herein.

cc: Governor Charlie Crist with attachment.

Saturday, October 11, 2008

CIRCUIT COURT CORRUPTION RALLY

Date: October 27-28th
Time: 10:00 a.m. on both days
Location: State Capitol Building
301 Monroe Street.Tallahassee, FL 32399

CALLING ALL FAMILIES AND INDIVIDUALS with Cases Involving Juvenile/Family Court: CHILD PROTECTIVE SERVICES, CHILD SUPPORT & JUVENILE DELINQUENCY CASES; THIS IS YOUR CHANCE TO ACT AND STAND UP FOR YOUR CIVIL RIGHTS AND STAMP OUT CORRUPTION!

New Interviews by Ex-DCF workers will be presented on YouTube. Lots of information available to help you. What it takes is education.

Bring banners, signs, photos, or organizational material, pass out your flyers, contact with others who help support.
RECEIVE REAL SUPPORT BY REAL PEOPLE WHO CARE.

Come out, rain or shine. We encourage, Lawyers, Ex-DCF/CPS workers, and whistleblowers, to come out and help bring awareness to the public that there are two sides to every story.

Contact Robert at Mrbig81174@hotmail.com or call 727-215-5793 or contact@modelfamily.org or vera@polkcountycorruption.com

This has to be a state effort. We must stand together and stand strong for change.

COMING TO A COUNTY NEAR YOU!
Donations accepted for future rallies in your area!

Thursday, August 14, 2008

TALLAHASSEE DEMOCRAT

Crist's court appointments can end 'lawsuit lottery'

Carlos Muhletaler • My View • August 14, 2008


As the media fixate on Sen. John McCain's short list of potential running mates, the eye of America is focused on Gov. Charlie Crist. But as Crist's attention is increasingly lured toward the presidential campaign, he must not fail to recognize his responsibility to the people of Florida.


Florida is on the precipice of a major reorganization of its Supreme Court. Over the next 18 months, Gov. Crist will appoint four new Supreme Court justices. As such, the future of the Florida judiciary is in his hands — and with it, he holds the opportunity to finally restore our state's poor legal reputation.


Florida's Supreme Court is in dire need of good justices who will fairly apply and uphold the law. Unfortunately, Florida is currently considered a haven for lawsuit abuse. National organizations such as the American Tort Reform Association and Pacific Research Institute have ranked Florida the number one "judicial hellhole" in the country and named our state "worst" for legal fairness.


Frivolous lawsuits are clogging our courts, delaying justice for those with legitimate claims, and costing each one of us $820 every year in increased costs of products and services, according to research by the global professional services firm Towers Perrin. We need Supreme Court justices who will help set the tone for the entire state and set a high bar to ensure that our judiciary is a forum for justice — not greed.


Supreme Court justices have tremendous power over our lives. From our health care and community safety to our economy, schools and just plain fairness in our courts, our highest court makes decisions every day that affect the way we live our lives. Yet, this little-understood branch of government has too often been abused by those who seek to play the "lawsuit lottery" with our legal system.


It is my hope that Gov. Crist recognizes the power of this opportunity to improve our courts, and that he understands how important legal fairness is. Florida has been a "judicial hellhole" for too long, and the upcoming Supreme Court makeover provides a rare opportunity for meaningful change that will trickle down through the courts to improve fairness in Florida.


By taking advantage, we can encourage people to come to the Sunshine State to do business rather than file lawsuits.

This is a special time in Florida, and the people of Florida are looking to Gov. Crist to restore justice to the state Supreme Court.


http://www.tallahassee.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2008808140306




Carlos Muhletaler
Executive Director
Florida Stop Lawsuit Abuse
www.floridastoplawsuitabuse.com
561-544-2508

Friday, July 18, 2008

Abuse of JQC Special Counsel, Lauri Waldman Ross

July 11, 2008


CERTIFIED MAIL - RETURN RECEIPT REQUESTED

Office of Governor Charlie Crist
State of Florida
The Capitol
400 South Monroe Street
Tallahassee, Florida 32399-0001

Re: Denial of Disability Accommodations and Abuse of JQC Special Counsel, Lauri Waldman Ross’ Position in Order to Obtain an Unfair Advantage in Litigation

Dear Governor Crist:

I am a disabled citizen of Florida. My disability is classified as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). The cause is considered Legal Abuse Syndrome (LAS). My disability stems from protracted litigation and has been verified by two licensed medical professionals as such. The Legal Abuse Syndrome (LAS) arises, when in the judicial process, unfair and manipulative tactics create an abusive and unfair power differential. In this case misinformation, lack of candor, and outright lying are used by opposition counsel along with sleight of hand behind the scenes. My life is held in terror and jeopardy while these abuses hold me helpless to have my case heard in a fair court in Florida. The attached Report has been provided to the ADA Site Coordinator at each court hearing our case.

This is precisely what has been transpiring in the legal malpractice action that my 76-year old husband, my company, Baron's Stores, Inc., and I have against three Florida attorneys which has been in Miami Dade Circuit Court since 1999. I ask for reasonable accommodations which are granted on their face and then find that the Judge denies my basic due process rights rendering my Accommodations moot. This is an underhanded way of using my disability against me without it showing in the paperwork. I am in a war of attrition with powerful entities that connect behind the scenes and block my path to fair and unbiased decisions at every turn for more than ten years.

As the Chief Executive Officer of the State of Florida, as a member of The Florida Bar, I am writing to you, for the third time, regarding a matter of great public importance that has a direct bearing on the citizens of this state whom you are duty bound to protect. I am one of those citizens who have notified you, now for the third time, regarding Lauri Waldman Ross, Esq., Special Counsel for the Judicial Qualifications Commission.


Governor Crist, you must understand how difficult it is to sue an attorney in general. Nevertheless, it was easy for us to retain counsel to pursue the damages we suffered as a result of three attorneys negligence which caused the destruction of a fifty two year old family business, the unemployment of two hundred Florida citizens, and the financial and emotional devastation to my family. What has been difficult is having attorneys stay on board to see the case through to its just results. One need look no further than the role The Florida Bar and its connections, and the pressure that it could exert on attorneys, have played in this particular litigation. In this instant case, opposition counsel is Lauri Waldman Ross, who is defending attorney Marc Cooper, my adversary, who routinely commits fraud upon the court. This is also to put you on notice what powerful strategy The Florida Bar personnel use behind the scenes by involving Ms. Ross in this litigation considering that The Florida Bar's improperly created malpractice insurance carrier, Florida Lawyers Mutual, insures Mr. Cooper. The Bar’s created insurance company promises to protect insider lawyers who insure with them.

I have expressed my position on this inherent conflict of interest between The Florida Bar and Florida Lawyers Mutual Insurance Company for years. My website - www.victimsofthesystem.org, and my blogs, www.fraudonthecourt.blogspot.com and www.baronslansonlitigation.blogspot.com outline in detail the detrimental and prejudicial effects such a relationship has on the unsuspecting public.

Ms. Ross maintains a very influential position with the JQC. An insider influential position, that according to the cover story in the Daily Business Review published on December 3, 2007, “Behind the JQC curtain,” the article opens “Its members consist of top lawyers, judges and businessmen from across the state. They operate in secret and even retain former FBI and U.S. Secret Service agents to help with investigations. In private visits behind closed doors, they warn errant judges that they are being watched, so they'd better conform to the code of judicial conduct or face the consequences. They are known as the JQC - three letters that are whispered throughout the halls of justice and, at least its members claim, strike fear in the hearts of judges everywhere.” In the same article it states - The fear of appearing before the JQC helps keep judges conforming to the code, said JQC members. “There are three letters a judge never wants to see or hear and that's the 'J-Q-C,' said Broward Circuit Judge Paul Backman, a JQC member. They don't want to be in front of the JQC, they don't want in any way to be known by the JQC, and if someone makes a mistake that needs to be addressed and corrected, they usually get the message very quickly.”

What sets our case apart from the normal protocol is the presence of Lauri Waldman Ross and her position with the JQC. In our litigation the rules and the laws are ignored to favor the defendants, their counsel, having the full cooperation of a sitting judge up for re-election. The defendants and their counsel have knowingly brought fraudulent documents into our litigation. They have refused to remove them in violation of the Rules Regulating The Florida Bar. Judge Cohen has full knowledge of the fraudulent documents and has taken no action to report the defendants and their counsel to the proper authorities in violation of Judicial Canons. Lauri Waldman Ross has not taken appropriate action by bringing this to the attention of the JQC because her client, and others, benefit by the fraud on the court.

This is not the first time Ms. Ross has used her position to improperly influence a Judge in this litigation. In 2005, Ms. Ross secured a partial summary judgment from a terminally ill Judge, Manny Crespo, who was on the case for two days, inapposite to the facts and to the law. She secured this partial summary judgment full well knowing that the Judge, Norman Gerstein, who presided over this case for six years, stated at a hearing immediately prior to his transfer to another division that the damages Ms. Ross was able to secure summary judgment on from Judge Crespo were individual damages belonging to me and my husband. She knew what she was doing was a violation of the rules and the law, and she did it with the intent to continue to deprive my husband and me what is rightfully ours according to legal precedent.

At a status conference held on May 30, 2008, Judge Jeri Beth Cohen degraded me, denied me discovery pursuant to the fraudulent documents and denied the Motion to Strike for Fraud on the Court without even glancing at the Motion. It was after that hearing, whereby my PTSD/LAS exacerbated to such a degree that I could not function, could not get out of bed and was consumed with such dire thoughts that I had to seek treatment by a psychiatrist who immediately placed me on daily medication. Furthermore, Judge Cohen deprived me of my full rights to continue to represent myself, Pro Se, in violation of F.S. 454.18.

Attached, to this letter is a copy of my ADA Report. Both the Federal Court and the State Court, in addition to the defendants and their counsel, have been provided with this Report since as early as March, 2008. After being put on notice of Requested Accommodations, both the Court and Lauri Waldman Ross have ignored my requests and have actually exacerbated my symptoms as stated above. I am putting the State on notice, through your office, that I am requesting the attached ADA Accommodations be granted to me immediately. I am entitled to these accommodations in order for me to secure a “level playing field” which is built on my rights to due process being properly granted. In that regard I ask you to exercise your Executive Powers and see to it that a change of venue in this case is granted immediately, free of all appearances of conflicts of interest pertaining to The Florida Bar, its members, its officers, the JQC, and its created malpractice insurance company, Florida Lawyers Mutual. My health has been in danger for these past ten years due to preventable traumatic experiences perpetrated by the insider connections surrounding this legal malpractice case.

Respectfully submitted,


Meryl M. Lanson

cc: Brooke Kennerly, Executive Director - Judicial Qualifications Commission
Lauri Waldman Ross, Esq.
Media

Enclosures: ADA Accommodations Report
Daily Business ReviewArticle Dated December 3, 2007 “Behind the JQC Curtain”

Karin Huffer.letter to Meryl Lanson July 2008

KARIN HUFFER, M.S., M.F.T.
Email: legalabuse@gmail.com Tel. 702.528.9588 www.legalabusesyndrome.org
Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist #NV0082
3236 Mountain Spring Road. Las Vegas, NV 89146


July 18, 2008



Mrs. Meryl Lanson
Boca Raton, Florida 33498

Dear Meryl:

After witnessing what transpired at the July 16, 2008 state court hearing, and the physical and emotional impact that resulted therefrom, it is my professional recommendation that you refrain from any additional litigation that may further exacerbate your PTSD/LAS symptoms. Considering what you said at the hearing regarding the professional connections tied to the Florida Bar and its insurance carrier, it is my advice that, at this time, you withdraw your previously filed complaint against The Florida Bar, et al.

Very truly yours,

Karin Huffer, M.S., M.F.T.

Saturday, June 21, 2008

Complaint against Special Counsel for the Judicial Qualifications Commission - Lauri Waldman Ross

June 17, 2008

CERTIFIED MAIL
RETURN RECEIPT REQUESTED

Office of Governor Charlie Crist
State of Florida
The Capitol
400 South Monroe Street
Tallahassee, Florida 32399-0001

Re: Complaint against Special Counsel for the Judicial Qualifications Commission - Lauri Waldman Ross

Dear Governor Crist:

On June 9, 2008, I obtained confirmation that you received my letter dated June 5, 2008 regarding my Complaint against Special Counsel for the Judicial Qualifications Commission - Lauri Waldman Ross. I have enclosed another copy of that letter for your ready review.

It has now come to my attention that Lauri Waldman Ross has been selected as a candidate for your consideration to the Judicial Nominating Commission. I have enclosed a copy of that information taken from The Florida Bar News dated June 15, 2008.

This letter will serve to voice my strenuous objection to her appointment given the graveman of her wrongdoing as outlined in my previous correspondence.

Respectfully submitted,



Meryl M. Lanson


Enclosures: As stated herein.

cc:
Lauri Waldman Ross, Esq.
Brooke S. Kennerly, Executive Director JQC
Florida House of Representatives - Judiciary Committee

Friday, June 13, 2008

Complaint against Special Counsel for the Judicial Qualifications Commission - Lauri Waldman Ross

June 5, 2008



Office of Governor Charlie Crist
State of Florida
The Capitol
400 South Monroe Street
Tallahassee, Florida 32399-0001

Re: Complaint against Special Counsel for the Judicial Qualifications Commission -
Lauri Waldman Ross

Dear Governor Crist:

This is a letter of complaint about Special Counsel to the Judicial Qualifications Commission, Lauri Waldman Ross. Ms. Ross represents attorney Marc Cooper in the defense of a legal malpractice lawsuit, Case No. 99-21062 CA 15, brought on behalf of myself, my husband, Norman Lanson, and our corporation, Baron’s Stores, Inc. The Honorable Jeri Beth Cohen is now presiding over the case.

On February 4, 2008, Ms. Ross joined in a Motion for Summary Judgment on behalf of her client. The Motion for Summary Judgment is supported by two documents entitled First Amended Plan of Liquidation and First Amended Disclosure Statement. I hired a Forensic Document Expert who has sworn, under oath, that these documents are falsified documents. On May 15, 2008, I filed the Forensic Document Expert Report in the Eleventh Judicial Circuit in and for Miami Dade County. All interested parties received the Expert Report, including Ms. Ross. Ms. Ross has not obtained an opposite opinion from any other expert, nor has she attempted to refute the Plaintiffs’ Expert’s finding. Additionally, the defendants, Ms. Ross, and defendants co-counsels, have not withdrawn their Motion supported by these falsified documents.

This submission of, and continued reliance on, a falsified document, is a violation of the following Florida Bar Rule:

Florida Bar Rule 4-3.3 Candor Toward the Tribunal states:

False evidence: Upon ascertaining that material evidence is false, the lawyer should seek to persuade the client that the evidence should not be offered, or, if it has been offered that its false character should immediately be disclosed. If the persuasion is ineffective, the lawyer must take remedial measures. If necessary to rectify the situation, an advocate must disclose the existence of the client’s deception to the court. If perjured testimony or false evidence has been offered, the advocate’s proper course ordinarily is to remonstrate with the client confidentially. If that fails, the advocate should seek to withdraw if
that will remedy the situation. If withdrawal will not remedy the
situation or is impossible and the advocate determines that disclosure is the only measure that will avert fraud on the court the advocate should make disclosure to the court.

Rule 4-3.3(a)(4) prohibits a lawyer from offering false evidence and requires the lawyer to take reasonable remedial measures when false material evidence has been offered.

Rule 4-3.4(b) prohibits a lawyer from fabricating evidence or assisting a witness to testify falsely.

Ms. Ross is Special Counsel to the Judicial Qualifications Commission. She cannot sit on that Commission, in my opinion, and violate the above-noted rules.

Ms. Ross has ensnarled Judge Jeri Beth Cohen by inducing Judge Cohen to have violated Judicial Canons in support of her client, Marc Cooper, and the other attorney defendants. Judge Cohen has been fully briefed by the Plaintiffs as to the falsified documents.

Canon 3D(2) states:
A judge who receives information or has actual knowledge that substantial likelihood exists that a lawyer has committed a violation of the Rules Regulating The Florida Bar shall take appropriate action.

Judge Cohen has actual knowledge of the submission of the documents and has actual knowledge of an Expert Report claiming the documents are falsified. Judge Cohen has violated the Judicial Canons.

As Governor of the State of Florida, your power is described in Article IV, Section 7 of the State Constitution:

Article V, Section 12, of the State Constitution creates the JQC and specifies:
Members who are not judges may be removed through the Governor’s power to suspend public officials in certain instances.

As you know, you have the power to suspend a non-judge member of the JQC, in certain instances. This may be one of those instances, and I urge you to conclude that it is, and remove Ms. Ross immediately from the JQC because of her ethical misconduct which has now involved a sitting judge.

Respectfully submitted,



Meryl M. Lanson

Enclosures:
Motion for Summary Judgment
First Amended Plan of Liquidation
First Amended Disclosure Statement
Expert Witness Report by Michael G. Kessler

cc: Lauri Waldman Ross, Esq. (w/o enclosures as already in Ms. Ross’ possession)
Brooke S. Kennerly, Executive Director JQC (with enclosures)

Monday, June 9, 2008

Meryl M. Lanson, Pro Se, Initial Brief - 11th Circuit Court of Appeals

VIII. STATEMENT OF THE CASE

A. STATEMENT OF BACKGROUND FACTS

This appeal arises from the Bankruptcy proceeding of Baron’s Stores, Inc. (“Baron’s Stores”). For over fifty (50) years, Baron’s Stores was a retailer of men’s clothing. Since 1988, Appellant, Norman Lanson, owned 99% of Baron’s Stores shares. In 1988, Appellant, Meryl Lanson, Norman Lanson’s wife, became owner of the remaining 1% of Baron’s Stores shares. In addition to being Baron’s Stores’ sole shareholders, the Lansons were creditors, guarantors, and employees of Baron’s Stores. [A-1, pg. 2] During the Bankruptcy Proceeding, Appellant alleged that a fraud upon the court was perpetrated by three attorneys and their law firms. The attorneys are Ronald C. Kopplow, Esq. and Kopplow & Flynn, P.A. (collectively “Kopplow”), Marc Cooper, Esq. and Cooper & Wolfe, P.A. (collectively “Cooper”), and Sonya Salkin, Esq. and Malnik & Salkin, P.A. (collectively “Salkin”) (the attorneys and their law firms are referred to collectively as the “Attorneys”).

The company, Baron’s Stores, Inc. (“Baron’s”), filed an accounting malpractice lawsuit in state court against its accounting firm for failing to detect embezzlement from Baron’s by Baron’s chief financial officer. Appellee, Kopplow and Cooper represented Baron’s and its principals, Norman Lanson (“Norman”) and Meryl Lanson (“Meryl”) (collectively the “Lansons”), in that litigation. While that litigation was pending, Salkin filed a Chapter 11 Petition on behalf of Baron’s before the Bankruptcy Court. In order to be appointed general bankruptcy counsel for Baron’s, Salkin was required to file a motion and affidavit with the Bankruptcy Court. Likewise, in order to be permitted to continue the state court accounting malpractice action, Appellees, Kopplow and Cooper were also required to submit affidavits with the Bankruptcy Court. For ease of reference, these motions and affidavits will be referred to collectively as the “Retention Motions and Affidavits.”

Pursuant to Federal Bankruptcy Rule 2014, when attorneys seek appointment by the Bankruptcy Court, they must satisfy very stringent disclosure requirements and disclose the universe of connections and/or conflicts-of-interest, potential or actual, that they have relative to the debtor estate, its creditors, and the attorneys and accountants of those individuals and entities.

The Attorneys failed to disclose a litany of connections and conflicts-of-interest in their Retention Motions and Affidavits. Despite the numerous written demands by Baron’s and its principals to disclose their connections and conflicts-of-interest, the Attorneys still refused to do so. The Appellant was successful in re-opening the Bankruptcy case based on the Attorneys’ fraud on the Court in failing to disclose their numerous conflicts and connections. The Bankruptcy Court ultimately found that the Appellees did not commit a fraud on the Court in error, which was affirmed by the District Court, as further set out below.

B. Course of Proceedings and Disposition of Lower Court

In December 1993, it was discovered that David Peterson (“Peterson”), Baron’s Stores’ Chief Financial Officer, had embezzled more that $3,000,000 from Baron’s Stores over a period of years. As a result of this discovery, the Lansons commenced litigation against the accounting firm of Morrison, Brown, Argiz & Co., P.A. (“MBA”), alleging the firm had committed accounting malpractice when it failed to detect Peterson’s embezzlement as it was occurring. [A-1, pg. 2]

In addition to being Baron’s Stores’ auditor, MBA also provided accounting and financial advisory services to the Lansons in their individual capacities. On January 12, 1994, Baron’s Stores and Norman Lanson, individually, signed an “Authority to Represent” and “Statement of Client’s Rights,” pursuant to which Appellees, Kopplow; Kopplow & Flynn, PA.; Cooper; Cooper & Wolfe, P.A. (collectively “Kopplow and Cooper”), were retained. [A-1, R. 493]. Kopplow and Cooper were employed to represent Baron’s Stores and the Lansons in the claim for damages against Peterson and MBA.

In November 1995, Kopplow and Cooper filed a lawsuit against MBA on behalf of Baron’s Stores. Despite the fact that Appellants, Meryl Lanson, and her husband, Norman Lanson, also had individual claims against MBA, Baron’s Stores was the only named plaintiff. In June 1997, the Lansons sought advice from Kopplow regarding the Lansons’ ability to continue operating Baron’s Stores. Kopplow recommended the Lansons speak with Appellee, Sonya Salkin, an attorney specializing in Bankruptcy law. (A-1, pg 3)

On July 18, 1997, Baron’s Stores executed a Retainer Agreement with Salkin. Upon Salkin’s advice, on September 9, 1997, Baron’s Stores filed a petition for Chapter 11protection. Thereafter, on October 23, 1997, Salkin filed a Motion to Authorize Employment of Kopplow and Cooper as Special Counsel to continue the pre-existing MBA action.

Salkin attached Affidavits of both Kopplow and Cooper in support of the Motion. [R-44; R-532, Exh. 7 and 9]. In these retention Motions and Affidavits, the Attorneys, in violation of the mandatory Bankruptcy Rule 2014 (a) and 11 U.S.C. 327(e), failed to disclose to the Bankruptcy court Kopplow’s and Cooper’s connections and conflicts of interest arising from the fact that, in addition, to representing Baron’s in the MBA action, they continued to represent the Lansons individually in the MBA action.
On September 10, 1997, Salkin filed her own Motion to authorize her employment before the Bankruptcy court as counsel for Baron’s, as debtor in possession. [R-4;R-532-Exh.4]. On that same date Salkin filed her Affidavit in support of the Motion.
Ultimately, the Bankruptcy court, in reliance upon, the Affidavits of Kopplow, Cooper and Salkin, claiming under the penalty of perjury, that they had no connections and conflicts of interest, authorized their employment pursuant to Bankruptcy Rule 2014. [R #52, 53 & 94]

On January 12, 1998, a Creditors’ Meeting was held at Alan Stuart’s office. [R- 493, 30]. The Lansons and the Attorneys were present. At the Creditors’ Meeting, Kopplow presented a document from MBA’s files, entitled “Items to Be Removed from Baron’s Workpapers.” [R- 493,-10-31]. Kopplow referred to this document as the proverbial “smoking gun”, and exclaimed that he was going to get $10 million from MBA. [R-540-536; R-532-Exh. 19, 10]. Although Kopplow did not concede at trial that he used the term “smoking gun”, he did concede that he told the Creditors’ Committee, at that meeting, that he thought the MBA Action had a settlement value of up to $10 million. [R-539-129,133].

The fact that Kopplow thought the MBA Action had a value of $10 million is significant because he shortly thereafter forced Baron’s to settle the MBA Action for only $2.4 million (i.e. at a 76% discount) in a misguided effort to hide his malpractice in allowing the statute of limitations to expire on the Lansons’ individual claims in the MBA Action. [R-541-587,588; R-532-Exh. 19, 13-14].
Ultimately, Baron’s Stores, at the urging of their counsel, Salkin, reluctantly approved the $2.4 million settlement of the MBA action.
After the settlement of the MBA action, in April, 1998, some seven months later, Salkin finally informed the Lansons they should seek other individual counsel to handle the issues regarding their individual claims and interests, as she had become conflicted.

As will be set forth in more detail below, Salkin failed to disclose to the Bankruptcy court the fact that, in addition to representing Baron’s, Salkin also represented the Lansons in their individual capacities. In particular, Salkin represented the Lansons, individually, in connection with their personal guarantees of post-petition financing for Baron’s.[R-539-274-275-276] Salkin also represented the Lansons, in their individual capacities, in connection with the Bankruptcy Plan and in negotiations with the creditors regarding that Plan.

Ultimately, the Bankruptcy court approved the $2.4 million settlement of the MBA action. Norman Lanson signed the MBA release solely in his corporate capacity, and the Lansons refused to sign the MBA releases in their individual capacity. [A-1, pg. 4 & 5]

On May 18, 1998, the Bankruptcy court entered an order (the “Settlement Order”) approving Baron’s Stores settlement with MBA. The Settlement Order awarded Kopplow and Cooper a total of $600,000.00 in attorneys’ fees and $146,327.04 in costs which represented in, great part, undisclosed pre-petition fees and costs. [A -1,pg.4 & 5]

Approximately two months after the Bankruptcy court awarded Appellees’ fees, Norman Lanson informed Kopplow and Cooper, by letter dated July 8, 1998, that he disputed their fees. In response to Norman Lanson’s letter, Kopplow and Cooper filed a Motion seeking a determination of their Entitlement to Fees previously approved by the Bankruptcy court. On August 27, 1998, the Lansons, individually, filed an Affidavit in Opposition to Kopplow’s and Cooper’s Entitlement to Attorneys’ Fees in the Bankruptcy court, claiming Appellees’, Kopplow and Cooper had deceived the court by representing they had no interests adverse to the estate. [A-4][R-222]

On August 28, 1998, Salkin, in opposition to the Lansons Affidavit, wrote
the Lansons counsel, Mark Osherow, a letter stating: [A-5]

“the filing of this Affidavit was very foolish. No one was going to stand up and object to the treatment of the principals of the Plan. In fact, the Committee has revised the Plan to assist the Lansons. You have now provided the Court, sua sponte, the ability to deny confirmation and require revisions to the Disclosure Statement and Plan, which could take away those negotiated efforts.”

On August 31, 1998, the Bankruptcy court held a hearing on the fee entitlement motion during which the Bankruptcy court ruled that Kopplow and Cooper were entitled to their fees. [R-224]

On September 7, 1999, a year later, the Lansons and Baron’s Stores, Inc. filed a legal malpractice action against Kopplow and Cooper and later amended to include Sonya Salkin, as a defendant. Appellant(s) alleged in 2004, in the legal malpractice action, that Appellees perpetrated a fraud on the Bankruptcy court in connection with their retention as counsel for Baron’s Stores during the Chapter 11 proceeding. In 2005, the presiding Judge in the legal malpractice action, advised the Lansons that allegations of fraud on the Bankruptcy court should be resolved by the Bankruptcy court. [A-1pg.6].

Appellant filed Answers to Interrogatories on March 30, 2005 which listed the following over sixty combined connections and/or conflicts of interest of the

Attorneys.

As to Appellee Cooper:
- Represented Norman Lanson, individually, in the Morrison, Brown litigation
- Represented Meryl Lanson, individually, in the Morrison, Brown litigation
- Represented Baron’s Stores, Inc. in the Morrison, Brown litigation
- Norman Lanson was an insider
- Meryl M. Lanson was an insider
- Norman Lanson was a creditor
- Meryl M. Lanson was a creditor
- Trace Lanson was a creditor
- Norman Lanson was a Guarantor
- Meryl M. Lanson was a Guarantor
- Norman Lanson’s attorney in the Morrison, Brown litigation was also Ronald C. Kopplow, Marc Cooper’s co-counsel
- Meryl M. Lanson’s attorney in the Morrison, Brown litigation was also Ronald C. Kopplow, Marc Cooper’s co-counsel
- Baron’s Stores, Inc. attorney in the Morrison, Brown litigation was also Ronald C. Kopplow, Marc Cooper’s co-counsel
- Rachlin, Cohen and Holtz was a creditor
- Rachlin, Cohen and Holtz were the accounting experts in the underlying litigation against Morrison, Brown, Argiz
- Rachlin Cohen and Holtz were retained at the inception of the retention of Kopplow and Cooper in the Morrison, Brown, Argiz litigation on behalf of Baron’s Stores, Inc. and Norman Lanson, individually

As to Appellee Kopplow:

- Represented Norman Lanson,individually, in the Morrison, Brown litigation
- Represented Meryl M. Lanson, individually, in the Morrison, Brown litigation
- Represented Baron’s Stores, Inc. in the Morrison, Brown litigation
- Norman Lanson was an insider
- Meryl M. Lanson was an insider
- Norman Lanson was a creditor
- Meryl M. Lanson was a creditor
- Trace Lanson was a creditor
- Norman Lanson was a Guarantor
- Meryl M. Lanson was a Guarantor
- Represented Norman Lanson, individually in the Peterson/Neiman litigation
- Represented Meryl M. Lanson, individually in the Peterson/Neiman litigation
- Represented Baron’s Stores, Inc. in the Peterson/Neiman litigation
- Norman Lanson’s attorney in the Morrison, Brown litigation was also Marc Cooper, Ronald C. Kopplow’s co-counsel
- Meryl M. Lanson’s attorney in the Morrison, Brown litigation was also Marc Cooper, Ronald C. Kopplow’s, co-counsel
- Baron’s Stores, Inc. attorney in the Morrison, Brown litigation was also Marc Cooper, Ronald C. Kopplow’s, co-counsel
- Rachlin, Cohen and Holtz was a creditor
- Rachlin, Cohen and Holtz were the accounting experts in the underlying litigation against Morrison, Brown, Argiz
- Rachlin Cohen and Holtz were retained at the inception of the retention of Kopplow and Cooper in the Morrison, Brown, Argiz litigation on behalf of Baron’s Stores, Inc. and Norman Lanson, individually
- Represented Norman Lanson in Reef Apartments litigation
- Represented David Peterson, the embezzler and employee of Baron’s Stores, Inc. in Reef Apartments litigation. David Peterson was a defendant in the Morrison, Brown, Argiz lawsuit
- Represented Marc Levine in Reef Apartments litigation
- Represented Marc Levine in a personal injury lawsuit
- Marc Levine was an employee of Baron’s Stores, Inc.
- Marc Levine was a creditor of Baron’s Stores, Inc.
- Marc Levine ultimately became a shareholder in the “New Baron’s” whoseaccounting firm was Morrison,Brown, Argiz, the defendants in the lawsuitregarding Baron’s Stores, Inc.
- Represented Alan Glist in Reef Apartments litigation
- Alan Glist was the largest creditor of Baron’s Stores, Inc.
- Alan Glist’s accounting firm was Morrison, Brown, Argiz, the defendants in the lawsuit regarding Baron’s Stores, Inc.
- Alan Glist’s attorney was Jeff Perlow.
- Represented Jeff Perlow in Reef Apartments litigation
- Represented Mark Perlman in Reef Apartments litigation
- The referral of the Lanson’s/Baron’s vs. Morrison, Brown, Argiz et al. case to Mr. Kopplow was attributable to attorney Mark Perlman, a client of Mr. Kopplow
- Attorney Jeff Perlow created the successor firm to Baron’s for Alan Glist, who was Mr. Kopplow’s client
- Attorney Mark Perlman created the successor firm to Baron’s for Alan Glist , who was Mr. Kopplow’s client.
- Represented Charles Alberts and/or Lillian Alberts in Reef Apartments litigation.
- Charles Alberts was an employee of Baron’s Stores, Inc.

As to Appellee Salkin

- Represented Norman Lanson, individually, in the bankruptcy proceedings
- Represented Meryl M. Lanson, individually, in the bankruptcy proceedings
- Represented the Debtor in Possession and the Debtor in Possession’s Principal
Shareholder, Norman Lanson, who was also a Guarantor
- Represented the Debtor in Possession and the Debtor in Possession’s shareholder, Meryl M. Lanson, who was also a Guarantor

The Bankruptcy court reopened the case on April 7, 2005 to consider the merits of the Appellants fraud claims. After a three day trial, the Bankruptcy court ultimately ruled, on April 12, 2007, that no fraud on the court had been perpetrated by the attorneys. The Bankruptcy court’s order was affirmed by the District Court below on January 7, 2008. [A-1]

IX. STANDARD OF REVIEW

Normally, a court’s findings of fact will not be set aside unless they are clearly erroneous. Fed. R. Bankr. P.8013; In re Chase & Sanborn Corp., 904 F.2d 588, 593 (11th Cir. 1990); In re T & B Gen. Contracting, Inc., 833 F.2d 1455, 1458 (11th Cir. 1987). Equitable determinations are subject to review under an abuse of discretion standard. In re Red Carpet Corp. Of Panama City Beach, 902 F.2d 883, 8909 (11th Cir. 1990). Conclusions of law, mixed issues of law and fact, and “ultimate facts” are all subject to de novo review. In re Chase & Sanborn Corp., 904 F.2d at 593; In re Sublett, 895 F2d 1381, 1383 (11th Cir. 1990); In re Marks, 131 B.R. 220, 222 (S.D. Fla. 1991). A court abuses its discretion “when a relevant factor deserving a significant weight is overlooked, when an improper factor deserving of significant weight is overlooked, or when the court considers the appropriate mix of factors, but commits palpable error of judgment in calibrating the decisional scales.” Burger King Corp. v. Ashland Equities, Inc., 181 F. Supp. 2d 1366, 1370 (S.D. Fla. 2002). A court also abuses its discretion when it misapplies the law. Florida Ass’n of Rehabilitation Facilities, Inc. v. Florida, 225 F.3d 1208, 1218 (11th Cir. 2000) (citing to Sun Am. Corp. v. Sun Life Assurance Co. of Canada, 77 F.3d 1325, 1333 (11th Cir. 1996), finding that a court necessarily abuses its discretion if it “has applied an incorrect legal standard”); United States v. Prairie Pharmacy, Inc., 921 F.2d 211, 212 (9th Cir. 1990) (“[a] court abuses its discretion when it bases its decision on an erroneous conclusion of law or when the record contains no evidence on which it could rationally base its decision”).



X. SUMMARY OF THE ARGUMENT

The District Court committed error in failing to consider that the disclosure rules under the Bankruptcy Code are mandatory and non-discretionary. The District Court failed to address that the Attorneys lied in their sworn Affidavits claiming no connections and/or conflicts of interest when in fact there were over sixty combined connections and/or conflicts of interest amongst the Attorneys. As a result, “manifest injustice” occurred in the bankruptcy of Baron’s.

XI. ARGUMENT
A. THE DISTRICT COURT MISAPPREHENDED THE MANDATORY DISCLOSURE UNDER BANKRUPTCY RULE 2014 AND 11 U.S.C. 327

Throughout the District Court’s opinion, the focus centered on whether the Appellee’s knew Appellants had an individual claim in the MBA action, instead of on the professional’s mandatory disclosure requirements.
Rule 2014 mandates that any professional seeking to render professional services in a Bankruptcy proceeding, must file an application that includes, the name of the person to be employed, the reasons for the selections, the professional services to be rendered, any proposed arrangements for compensation and to the best of the applicant’s knowledge, all of the person’s connections with the debtor, creditors, any other party in interest, their respective attorneys and accountants. The application shall be accompanied by a verified statement of the person to be employed setting forth the person’s connections with the debtor, creditors, any other party in interest, their attorneys and accountants, the United States trustee, or any person employed in the office of the United States trustee. Pursuant to the Rule, the professional must disclose, in detail “all of the person’s connections with the debtor, creditors, or any other party in interest, their respective attorneys and accountants, the United States Trustee, or any person employed in the office of the United States Trustee”, and not merely those which rise to the level of a conflict. In re: Gulf Coast Orthopedic Center, 265 B.R. 318 (N.D. Fla. 2001) also citing In re: Keller Financial Services of Florida, Inc., 243 B.R. 806 (N.D. Fla. 1999).

Further, in the In re: Gulf Coast, supra, the Court held
“These disclosure requirements are not discretionary and the duty of the professional to disclose all connections with the Debtor, Debtor in possession, insider, creditors, or parties of interest, is a must, including fee arrangements.” (Emphasis added)

“The duty to disclose the professional’s connection under FRBP 2014 is a mandatory requirement and the scope of the disclosure is far broader than what is required for disqualification.”

In the case of In re: Keller Financial, supra:
“A mere violation of the disclosure rule alone was enough to disqualify a professional and deny all compensation, regardless whether the undisclosed connections are fee arrangements, are materially adverse to the interest of the estate or insignificant.” See also In re: Smitty’s Truck Stop, Inc., 210 B.R. 844 (10th Cir. 1997)

Appellee Salkin, as general bankruptcy counsel to Baron’s, the debtor in possession, was required to satisfy 11 U.S.C. 327(a), which states:

In re: Finao Corporation, 2005 WL 419704 (Bankr. M.D. Fla. 2005), states:

“Section 327(a) of the Bankruptcy Code provides:
11 USC §327. Employment of professional persons
(a) Except as otherwise provided in this section, the trustee, with the court’s approval, may employ one or more attorneys, accountants, appraisers, auctioneers, or other professional persons, that do not hold or represent an interest adverse to the estate, and that are disinterested persons, to represent or assist the trustee in carrying out the trustee’s duties under this title.
11 U.S.C. §327(a)(Emphasis supplied). The term “disinterested person” is defined in §101(14) of the Bankruptcy Code to mean a person that “does not have an interest materially adverse to the interest of the estate or any class of creditors or equity security holders, by reason of any direct or indirect relationship to, connection with, or interest in, the debtor.” [Emphasis added] (See also In re: Jennings, 199 Fed.Appx. 845 (11th Cir. 2006)

All three Appellees submitted Retention Motions and Affidavits, under the penalty of perjury, stating that they had no connections and/or conflicts of interest or held any interest adverse to the estate. [R-44,46] The Appellees committed perjury when they failed to disclose the more than sixty combined connections and/or conficts of interest between them. (A-3)

The District Court, in error, narrowly construed the seriousness of the Appellees’ non-disclosure in violation of Rule 2014 by focusing on one connection to the exclusion of at least sixty-three other connections and/or conflicts of interest.

At Page 12, of the January 7, 2008 District Court’s Order, the Court states:

“Appellants’ central argument is that Appellees represented both the Lansons and Baron’s Stores, and that the Lansons held individual claims against MBA that placed the Lansons in conflict with Baron’s Stores because both the Lansons and Baron’s Stores were seeking recovery from a common limited fund., According to Appellants, Appellees were under an obligation to disclose the conflict of simultaneously representing Baron’s Stores and the Lansons when Appellees filed their initial Motions for Retention before the bankruptcy court, or at the very least as soon as it became apparent that the Lansons and Baron’s Stores had competing interests. When Appellees failed to disclose their conflict in representing two parties with competing interests, Appellants assert Appellees committed fraud…..” [A-1]


The District Court minimized the more than sixty-four glaring conflicts of interest and/or connections of the Appellees at the inception of their retention, and their continuing duty to disclose any conflicts or connections that may have arisen during the Bankruptcy proceeding. For instance, at Page 4 of the February 15, 2008 Order Denying Appellant’s Motion for Rehearing, the District Court, relied on the bankruptcy court’s finding that there was no evidence that Kopplow and Cooper understood that they were required to disclose the attenuated relationships or connections as part of their retention as special counsel. [A-2] The District Court further relied on the bankruptcy court that there was no evidence that Salkin even knew of the relationships until after the case had been closed and the Lansons filed their legal malpractice action.[A-2]This erroneous finding is not supported by the record below.

Between March, 1998 and March, 2005, the Lansons, and three different attorneys representing the Lansons and/or Baron’s, Kopelowitz, Osherow and Zukoff, made repeated oral and written demands upon Kopplow, Cooper and Salkin to fulfill their obligation to disclose their connections and/or conflicts of interest. On March 5, 2005, Appellant sent a letter to Appellee, Salkin, (with copies to various Federal Judges and the U.S. Trustee) demanding that she fulfill her fiduciary obligation and disclose the fraud on the court perpetrated in the bankruptcy of Baron’s.[A-7]

The voluminous amount of undisclosed connections, that were intentionally omitted, is, in and of itself, sufficient evidence to support Appellant’s “fraud on the court” under bankruptcy Rule 2014. In re Etoys, Inc., 331 B.R. 176, 188 (Del.2005) [R-390 – p. 11-12]

Failure to disclose connections and conflicts-of-interest pursuant to Bankruptcy Rule of Procedure 2014 and 11 U.S.C. §327 is a fraud on the Court. In re Etoys, Inc., 331 B.R. 176, 188 (Del. 2005). “Defective disclosure is not a minor matter.” In re B.E.S. Concrete Products, Inc., 93 B.R. 228, 236 (E.D. Cal. 1988). “[S]trict compliance with Rule 2014(a) is necessary to the effective enforcement of §327(a) and (e) as this provision goes to the very heart of the bankruptcy system’s integrity.” In re Tinley Plaza Associates, L.P., 142 B.R. 272, 279 (N.D. Ill. 1992). Accordingly, “Failure to meet the requirements of Rule 2014(a) is enough by itself to disqualify an attorney and deny compensation even if no conflict of interest exists.” Id., at 278 (emphasis added). This standard is so stringent that the penalty for failing to disclose a potential, much less an actual conflict is the denial of all compensation. In re Keller Financial Services of Florida, Inc., 248 B.R. 859, 898 (M.D. Fla. 2000).

Further, disclosure of connections must be made “regardless of whether the undisclosed connections ... were materially adverse to the interests of the estate or were de minimis.” Id.. “No matter how trivial a connection appears to the professional seeking employment, it must be disclosed.” In re Begun, 162 B.R. 168, 177 (N.D. Ill. 1993). It is for this reason that “The scope of disclosure is much broader than the question of disqualification.” In re Keller, at 897. Further, “Rule 2014 has long been held to be read broadly.” In re Jore Corp., 298 B.R. 703, 725 (D. Montana). Needless to say, the Attorneys may not usurp the Court’s authority and unilaterally evaluate the significance of the connections. In re Keller, at 897. Finally, “a bankruptcy court should punish a willful failure to disclose the connections required by Fed.R.Bankr.P. 2014 as severely as an attempt to put forth a fraud upon the court.” In re Balco Equities Ltd., Inc., 345 B.R. 87, 113 (S.D.N.Y. 2006).

Although a bankruptcy court enjoys considerable discretion in evaluating whether professionals suffer from conflicts, that discretion is not limitless. A bankruptcy court does not enjoy the discretion to bypass the requirements of the Bankruptcy Code. Until proper disclosure has been made, however, it is premature to award fees for two reasons First, the bankruptcy court cannot exercise its discretion to excuse nondisclosure unless it knows what it is excusing Second, employment is a prerequisite to compensation and until there is proper disclosure it cannot be known whether the professional was validly employed. In re Triple Star Welding, Inc., 324 B.R. 778 (9th Cir. 2005).

Despite the numerous demands made upon the Attorneys to make proper disclosure since their retention in 1997, it was not until testimony during the evidentiary trial in Bankruptcy court in 2007 that Kopplow finally flippantly made any disclosure to the Bankruptcy Court.

MR. KATZMAN: “You don’t feel that those are connections, because they’re not an actual adverse interest, right?

MR. KOPPLOW: They’re not connections that are either so close in time – present or so close in time that they would have any impact or bearing on my ability to be independent and continue to bring the claim of Baron’s against Morrison Brown.

MR. KATZMAN: Shouldn’t the Judge have been given the opportunity to make that decision by at least knowing that you used to represent folks who are creditors and owners of creditors of Baron’s?

MR. KOPPLOW: We’re telling him that today.”

R-539-210].

In the case of U.S. v. Gellene, 182 F.3d 578 (7th Cir. 1999), the Court found, that although Gellene made some disclosure, he did not fully disclose his connections and withheld the information over a two year period which not only was in violation of Rule 2014 but resulted in a conviction of bankruptcy fraud, served a jail sentence, was fined, and was disbarred. The Attorneys below made no disclosure but filed a boilerplate verified statement that they had no connections and/or conflicts of interest. The disclosure requirements are not satisfied with generalizations or boilerplate admonitions. Such generalizations, at best, cover inadvertent omissions of insignificant connections. They do not adequately disclose known or future connections, particularly with entities who are creditors, litigation targets or professionals associated with the debtor. In re Granite Partners, 219 B..R. at 34-36.

The District Court’s misplaced reliance on the Bankruptcy Court’s erroneous finding that, because the Appellees’ did not know the Lansons had individual claims against MBA, Appellees’ did not have the intent to deceive the Court. (A-1,pg.13). Such a finding turns the mandatory disclosure requirements under Bankruptcy Rule 2014 on its head and renders it meaningless.

B. THE DISTRICT COURT ABUSED ITS DISCRETION IN FAILING TO CONSIDER APPELLEE’S SALKIN’S PATENT ADMISSION OF HER INTENTIONAL NON-DISCLOSURE IN THE BANKRUPTCY PROCEEDING, AS EVIDENCE OF HER INTENT TO PERPETRATE A FRAUD ON THE COURT

Appellee, Salkin, not only was Debtor’s Counsel, but at that time and presently, Salkin was and remains a Panel 7 United States Bankruptcy Trustee for Region 21. In such capacity, Salkin is charged with a higher fiduciary obligation and should be intimately familiar with the mandatory disclosure rules under the Bankruptcy Code.

Salkin, as a Chapter 7 Trustee and as the fiduciary for the Debtor in possession , is held to a very high standard of honesty and loyalty. Woods v. City National Bank & Trust Co., 312 U.S. 262, 278 (1941); Moser v. Darrow, 341 U.S. 267 (1951); In re: Peckinpaugh, 50 B.R. 865 (N.D. Ohio 1985).

THE TIMELINE OF EVENTS IS SUFFICIENT EVIDENCE OF APPELLEES INTENT TO DEFRAUD THE COURT:

August 27, 1998 Meryl Lanson and Norman Lanson, through attorney Osherow, file an Affidavit (Entitlement to Fees) in Bankruptcy Court alerting the Court to the conflicts of Kopplow and Cooper (Service List of Affidavit put all professionals, including the U.S. Trustee, on notice). [A-4]

August 28, 1998 Sonya Salkin, Esq., sent letter to Osherow, with copies to Kopplow and Cooper, stating that the “filing of the Affidavit was a very foolish thing” and states:

“No one was going to stand up and object to the treatment of the principals of the Plan. In fact, the Committee has revised the Plan to add language to assist the Lansons. You have now provided the Court, sua sponte, the ability to deny confirmation and require revisions to the disclosure statements and plan, which could take away those negotiated efforts.” [A-5]

August 30, 1998 Osherow sends letter to Salkin and states:

“I am in receipt of your correspondence dated August 28, 1998,...

Suffice it to say, that what is transpiring at this point should have been taken care of earlier. The only consideration that I can glean from your letter, is that you think it is appropriate that the Court should not be aware of the facts as my clients perceives them. The Court has a right, and should know, and the attorneys have an obligation to provide all pertinent information so that the Court can make an informed decision as to anything that may transpire. [A-6]


August 31, 1998 During the Hearing on the Appellant’s Affidavit objecting to the Appellees’ fees based on their non-disclosure, all professionals remained silent in Court as to the conflicts of interest of Kopplow and Cooper.

The above admission is clear and convincing evidence that Salkin, with the approval of Kopplow and Cooper, engaged in a pre-meditated, unconscionable scheme, by preventing the Court from having the information necessary to make an informed decision. The unconscionable scheme was to continue to hide the connections and/or conflicts of interest of Kopplow, Cooper and Salkin, for their own financial gain, and to the detriment of the beneficiaries of the estate, the Creditors and the Debtor.

In light of the letter Salkin wrote to Osherow, it is obvious that, at that time, Salkin was sensitive to the issue of conflicts – although she did not share her concerns with the Court. It is therefore all the more evident that when Salkin represented to Bank Atlantic that she was the attorney for the Lansons, individually, and that she did so in the belief that she was the attorney for the Lansons. [A-9; R-532-Exh.31] The Court overlooked the fact that in doing so, Salkin was necessarily cognizant of the conflict and of the necessity to disclose that conflict to the Court.

On page 6 of the District Court’s Order, the Court makes reference that the Lansons did not appeal or seek a rehearing of the August 31, 1998 hearing on the fee entitlement motion. Appellee, Salkin, should have been acutely aware of the fiduciary duties she was charged with in Baron’s to look after the best interests of both the Debtor and Creditors and yet sat silent, knowing all along of the professionals undisclosed conflicts of interest. Ms. Salkin should have sought a rehearing or an appeal of this order on behalf of Baron’s and its Creditors. Appellee Salkin’s failure to appeal or seek a rehearing is a continuation of the Appellees’ unconscionable scheme depriving the Court of the necessary information it was entitled to receive in order to have made an informed decision.

C. Appellant’s Due Process Rights were violated when the District Court affirmed the Bankrptcy Court’s, sua sponte, expansion of inquiry to include the Attorneys’ subjective intent, on the last day of trial.

On September 29, 2006, the Bankruptcy Court denied Appellees’ Motion for Protective Order, as moot, in that the Court bifurcated the trial into liability and remedy negating the necessity for the Appellant to depose approximately nineteen fact witnesses prior to the trial. Three months later, at a pre-trial hearing on January 8, 2007, the Court substantiated his bifurcation by narrowing the scope to what was disclosed and what should have been disclosed. Quoting directly from the January 8, 2007 pre-trial hearing transcript: [A-8,pg. 11 & 23].
The Court: “I’ll tell you now, the only issue is disclosure. What should have been disclosed, and what was disclosed, that’s the issue before me.”

The Court: “Does anyone dispute that the issue before me, not in State Court, but before me, is what was disclosed and what should have been disclosed?” [A-8,pg. 11 & 23].

Even though the record is replete of Appellees’ subjective intent or “motive,” as it stands, the District Court erred in failing to consider the Bankruptcy Court’s sua sponte expansion of the narrow scope of disclosure to include the Appellees’ subjective intent, depriving the Appellants of meaningful discovery on that issue.

Ironically, this same Bankruptcy court, when faced with the same issue of whether or not a professional failed to make proper disclosure, found clear and convincing evidence of fraud on the court based on one undisclosed connection. Subjective intent was never mentioned in the twelve page opinion. In re Walker, 2004 WL 3152787(S.D. Fla.) Emphasis added. This Court recently affirmed the Bankruptcy Court’s decision and stated: “Lying under oath is lying under oath.” Walden v. Walker, 515 F.3d 1204 (11th Cir. 2008).
The District Court in its February 15, 2008 Order stated Appellants have not shown clear error or manifest injustice.
Black’s Law Dictionary defines “manifest injustice” as an error in the trial court that is direct, obvious, and observable as Bankruptcy Rule 2014 is mandatory, not discretionary, and cannot be left to the professionals to decide what to disclose and what not to disclose. (As argued above). Additionally, this Circuit held in order to demonstrate manifest injustice a party must show: (1) there was error; (2) that was plain; (3) that affected the parties substantial rights and (4) that affected the fundamental fairness of the proceedings. United States v.Quintana, 300 F.3d 1277 (11th Cir. 2002).
As a result of the manifest injustice in the bankruptcy of Baron’s, a fifty-two year old company was destroyed, more than two hundred loyal employees became unemployed, creditors were damaged, the Appellant and her family’s livelihood was stolen from them, all because the professionals broke the cardinal principle of Rule 2014(a) when they arrogated to themselves a disclosure decision that the Court must make in order to protect their ill-gotten fees. Ten years ago, in 1998, pre-confirmation, this situation could have and should have been rectified, but was not because the Attorneys sat silent at a hearing depriving the Court of the information necessary at that time to prevent the manifest injustice that has been ongoing for a decade. Ten years later, in 2008, Appellant is still seeking a remedy for this manifest injustice.
CONCLUSION
For all the foregoing reasons, stated above, this Honorable Court should enter an Order vacating the District Court’s affirmance of the Bankruptcy Court’s finding that Attorneys did not perpetrate a fraud on the court in violation of the mandatory disclosure rules under the bankruptcy code.

WHEREFORE, the Appellant respectfully requests this Court to vacate the District Court’s Order and remand with instructions for further proceedings, and award any other further relief this Honorable Court deems appropriate.



CERTIFICATE OF COMPLIANCE

I hereby certify that this Initial Brief complies with the type-volume limitation set forth in FRAP 32(a)(7)(b). This brief is in Times New Roman 14 pt. font. This brief contains 8,886 words.


CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE

I HEREBY CERTIFY that a true and correct copy of the foregoing has been sent via U.S. Mail, on this 12th day of May, 2008, to all counsel on the attached service list.

Respectfully submitted,




Meryl M. Lanson, Pro Se
mlanson@bellsouth.net




SERVICE LIST

Heidi Feinman, Esq.
Office of the U.S. Trustee
51 S.W. First Avenue
Miami, Florida 33130

Arthur Morburger, Esq.
19 West Flagler Street
Miami, Florida 33130

Charles W. Throckmorton, Esq.
Kozyak, Tropin & Throckmorton, P.A.
2525 Ponce de Leon Blvd., 9th Floor
Coral Gables, Florida 33134

Lauri Waldman Ross, Esq.
Two Datran Center
Suite 1612
9130 South Dadeland Boulevard
Miami, Florida 33156

Reggie D. Sanger, Esq.
208 S.E. 9th Street
Fort Lauderdale, Florida 33136

Lewis N. Jack, Jr., Esq.
2950 S.W. 27th Avenue
Miami, Florida 33133

Robert M. Klein, Esq.
Two Datran Center – PH II
9130 South Dadeland Boulevard
Miami, Florida 33156

Former Bankruptcy Trustee Who Lied About Creditor Relationships Kept Off Case

Billy Shields
02-07-2008

A bankruptcy trustee who lost her appointment after a judge found she had lied under oath will be kept out of the contentious case under a ruling by the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

Linda J. Walden appealed her removal on the grounds her lies shouldn't be held against her in the Chapter 7 bankruptcy of a Plantation, Fla., man. But Judge Phyllis A. Kravitch scotched that notion in her written opinion.

"The idea that false testimony when offered to the court voluntarily is immune to the consequences of lying under oath is absurd," she wrote. "Lying under oath is lying under oath. It does not matter if the false statement is voluntary."

The three-judge panel affirmed U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Paul G. Hyman Jr.'s order removing Walden, a certified public accountant, from the case of James F. Walker.

The court examined three questions of first impression: whether a bankruptcy judge can without a motion eject a trustee for lying, whether a debtor with no financial interest in the estate can seek a trustee's removal and whether the 11th Circuit had jurisdiction to review the district court decision upholding Hyman's action.

In the end, the court found no abuse of discretion or clear error.

Walker's attorney, Gary J. Rotella of Gary J. Rotella & Associates in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., filed an emergency motion to remove Walden as trustee, accusing her of committing a fraud on the court by failing to disclose relationships with creditors.

Walden was quizzed by Hyman about financial relationships with creditors and had signed a statement saying she had no prior connection to any of the parties.

Hyman determined Walden lied in 2004 when she denied having a pre-existing relationship with the second-largest creditor, Florida Caliper. She had served as an accountant for the company and its president, Carl Shuhi.

She also allegedly served as the registered agent for two of Shuhi's companies and worked with Shuhi at least as far back as 1999, the ruling said.

The 11th Circuit decision issued Jan. 31 is just the latest chapter in a 20-year standoff that has been described as a "legal monster" and Florida's "most heavily litigated case."

Walker's neighbor, Eleanor Cole, invested $250,000 with him in 1988 for a Fort Lauderdale property that went into foreclosure, and Walker could not repay her.

She sued him a year later alleging civil theft and fraud, obtaining a $302,933 judgment. Walker also was ordered to pay $250,000 in criminal restitution to Cole in 1990 after he pleaded no contest to criminal charges in Florida's Broward Circuit Court. He served an 18-month sentence and was placed on probation for 15 years.

Walker filed for bankruptcy protection in 2003, claiming total assets of $101 and debts exceeding $1 million. Creditors elected Walden as trustee with the support of Cole, Shuhi and Boca Raton, Fla., attorney Mary Alice Gwynn, who had previously represented both of them.

After Hyman ousted Walden as trustee, he struck both Cole's and Shuhi's outstanding claims, citing their disrespect for the legal system.

Hyman also prohibited Gwynn from representing any parties in the case after ruling she violated court rules "by not remaining familiar with the court's Local Rules, administrative orders, the Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure, the Federal Rules of Evidence, The Florida Bar's Rules of Professional Conduct and the Bankruptcy Code."

Gwynn, Rotella, Shuhi and Cole's attorney, Miami Lakes, Fla., solo practitioner Michael A. Pizzi, did not return calls seeking comment before deadline.

Walker's $101 asset claim is still under scrutiny. Cole discovered in 2002 that Walker owned a house on the Bahamian island of North Cat Cay.

Cole accused Walker of fraudulently conveying a half stake in the property to his wife, Carol Ann Walker, to avoid paying the $550,000 judgment he owed Cole.

The value of the property is reportedly as much as $1 million, but who controls it is the subject of litigation.

The island property has been added to Walker's assets, and Kravitch observed, "It appears as though the assets now exceed liabilities."

US Supreme Court rules this week that Whistle Blower lawsuit may continue

Court sets limits in government fraud suits


WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court ruled unanimously Monday that a whistleblower law intended to expose fraud can be applied to subcontractors and other indirect recipients of federal funds.

The case before the court involved alleged contract fraud by a former unit of General Motors Corp. At issue was whether the False Claims Act covers any fraudulent claim paid for by government funds, or only fraudulent claims directly submitted to a government official.

Justice Samuel Alito charted a middle path, saying the law can be used if fraudulent statements are ultimately intended to get the government to pay claims.

The whistleblower law does not apply in situations in which a subcontractor does not intend the government to rely on a fraudulent claim as a condition of payment.

A lower appeals court had ruled that the whistleblower suits could proceed, because the False Claims Act covers claims made to other parties, "so long as the claim will be paid with government funds."

The court sent the case back to the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati to apply the standard it laid out Monday.

The case is Allison Engine v. United States, 07-214.

Friday, April 11, 2008

Crooked Lawyers Caught!

BY SAM FRIEDMAN

When insurers and brokers step out of line, Congress always rushes to probe the business, vows to pass sweeping reforms, and threatens to revoke the industry's cherished federal antitrust exemption. Funny, but I don’t sense similar outrage when high-profile plaintiff attorneys are caught corrupting the judicial system they are sworn to serve.

Indeed, despite the outrageous criminal misbehavior of two of the profession's most potent litigators, I don't see Congress rushing to investigate misdeeds by the plaintiffs bar, or pontificating about the need for direct federal oversight.

I imagine Congress is averting its gaze because just about all of our legislators are members of the bar themselves. Let he who is without sin cast the first stone, right?

Still, you’ve got to be appalled at the chutzpah of two of the most notorious lawyers in the business.

First, trial attorney extraordinaire Dickie Scruggs pleaded guilty to bribing a judge. (His son followed suit soon after.) Meanwhile, another king of class actions, Melvyn I. Weiss, copped a plea for his role in a scam to drum up plaintiffs.

The Scruggs case struck close to home for the insurance industry, as the bribery took place in a legal battle among plaintiff attorneys over $26.5 million in contingency fees from a Hurricane Katrina-related claim settlement with State Farm.

Mr. Scruggs simply got greedy, preferring to assure his firm's piece of an already fat pie by paying off the judge. He of all people should respect the integrity of the civil justice system.

As for Mr. Weiss, he pleaded guilty to a federal racketeering charge, for which he’ll pay a $10 million fine and accept a jail sentence of up to 33 months for his illegal plaintiff recruitment activities in connection with hundreds of class-action lawsuits.

“This kickback scheme lasted for more than 25 years and had a severely detrimental effect on the administration of justice across the nation as lies were routinely made to judges,” said U.S. Attorney Thomas P. O’Brien in Los Angeles. “The scheme was based in greed, and it affected the integrity of the courts and the interests of an untold number of absent class members.”

Of course—as I noted when New York’s former crusading attorney general, Eliot Spitzer, had to resign as governor following a prostitution scandal—self-inflicted wounds like these destroying the industry’s harshest foes doesn't mean insurers or brokers weren't guilty of the blatant bid-rigging, book-cooking and contingency fee abuse they were caught committing.

But it must feel good among the vast majority of those who conduct business honestly and honorably in the insurance community to see the shoe on the other foot for a change.

In fact, it would feel even better if Congress was as indignant about the misdeeds of these officers of the court as they were about insurance industry wrongdoing.

As far as I understand the system, lawyers are state-licensed. Perhaps the feds should take over, if the states are not up to the job of policing their renegade lawyers! (Or shall we have an optional federal charter for attorneys?)

Yet all we get out of Washington in the wake of these despicable falls from grace is deafening silence.

At least these cases prove that no matter how rich and powerful the attorney, no one is above the law. Hopefully, this will discourage other plaintiff lawyers from going rogue and abusing the judicial system.

As the TV cop Tony Baretta used to lecture those he busted, “don't do the crime if you can't do the time.”

Sam Friedman is NU’s Editor-In-Chief. To respond to his column, e-mail sfriedman@nuco.com, or go to his blog at www.property-casualty.com.

Wednesday, April 9, 2008

Re: Illegal Operations of Florida Lawyers Mutual Insurance Company

John B. Thompson, Attorney at Law
1172 S. Dixie Hwy., Suite 111
Coral Gables, Florida 33146
305-666-4366
amendmentone@comcast.net

April 8, 2008

The Honorable Alex Sink
Chief Financial Officer
Department of Financial Services, State of Florida
200 East Gaines Street
Tallahassee, FL 32399-0300

Re: Illegal Operations of Florida Lawyers Mutual Insurance Company

Dear Ms. Sink:

Florida Lawyers Mutual Insurance Company provides malpractice insurance coverage to Florida lawyers. As you may know, it was created by The Florida Bar.

There is no problem with FLMIC’s stated function. What it actually provides, however, amounts to protection of lawyers guilty of ethics breaches from appropriate discipline by The Florida Bar. Its policyholders are not just buying malpractice insurance; they are buying discipline protection, much as businesses, historically, have purchased “protection” from the Mafia.

That is one side of FLMIC’s illegal activity, one side of the tarnished coin. The other side of the coin is that those who do not purchase liability insurance from FLMIC are more likely to be disciplined by The Florida Bar. We have data to support all this.

This illicit commercial tying arrangement by which what is purported to be a governmental regulatory function of the practice of law to the purchase of an insurance product clearly violates a) federal anti-trust laws, b) federal and state anti-racketeering laws regarding extortion, fraud, and other predicate RICO acts c) federal mail fraud laws, d) state and federal fraud laws, and e) obstruction of justice laws.

FMLIC helps accomplish its ends illegally by having the executive director of The Bar and two Bar Governors sit on its board, along with a former president of The Bar. It is beyond unseemly that Bar officials who owe a strict fiduciary duty to Bar members would even think of sitting on an insurance company’s board of directors that must assess claims against lawyers against whom disciplinary charges may have been brought. No Bar official in his or her right mind would fail to see the conflict. In point of fact, these people serve in both capacities because of the conflict of interest, and it appears, based upon the data that we have that these conflicts are bearing fruit to the advantage of FLMIC and its policyholders.

When I informed The Bar and the Florida Supreme Court of this illegal activity involving FLMIC and my concerns about it, the Florida Supreme Court entered an order on February 19 as retribution for my whistleblowing. This Supreme Court order in and of itself violates Florida Statute 768.295, as the State may not punish a citizen for whistleblowing. One would think Supreme Court Justices would know that. Thus, we have the highest court in the state involved directly in this illegal enterprise by being willing participants in a knowing cover-up re whistleblowing at to FLMIC.

I and other plaintiffs—lay citizens as well as lawyers--intend to bring a civil action this week arising out of FLMIC’s illegal activities. We will be applying to the court for certification of it as a class action.

We thought you should know of this because of your duties to oversee the insurance industry in this state. Relatedly, FLMIC is using its illegal ties to the judicial branch of this state, through The Bar, in a fashion that improperly works to the considerable commercial disadvantage other insurance companies that provide liability insurance to lawyers in our state.

We shall be informing these other insurance carriers that this scam is occurring in our state, and that we have informed you of it.

We would very much like to tell these companies that the State’s CFO is on top of this outrageous situation and part of the solution. Please advise.

Regards, Jack Thompson



Copies: Florida Supreme Court
The Florida Bar and Its Governors
Various insurance carriers
Media