Blog of law articles

Poor Jeff Soffer -- if this keeps up Daddy is going to make him go back to elementary school and graduate each grade so he shows he has what it takes to run that big fancy company.

But at least he has his lawyers, I mean had his lawyers:

Lawyers defending the Fontainebleau Miami Beach against more than $60 million in construction claims dropped out of the case Thursday as contractors accused the resort of stall tactics amid a lack of cash.

Bilzin Sumberg, a prominent Miami firm, won court permission to drop the dozens of cases against South Florida's largest resort. A judge agreed to delay depositions and mediation until December, Fontainebleau's deadline to find new lawyers.

Fontainebleau executives accuse contractors of submitting padded bills and bogus fees from a renovation funded by a $640 million mortgage on the iconic oceanfront property. Bilzin lawyers declined to say why they were withdrawing, but some contractor attorneys called the move another example of Fontainebleau not paying its bills.

``Basically, I've been getting the run-around,'' Alexander Cvercko, who represents a construction staffing firm claiming nearly $1 million in unpaid bills, said during the morning hearing in Miami-Dade Civil Court. ``The Fontainebleau ran out of money, and just doesn't want to pay people.''

David Reimer, a lawyer for Fontainebleau's contractor, said the resort has legitimate disputes with fees and warned against drawing broad conclusions about Bilzin's departure or the unpaid contractors. ``There's more to these cases than the Fontainebleau doesn't have the money to pay,'' Reimer said. ``There are questions [to be] raised about these bills.''

I presume David is referring to the subcontractor bills, not those of Bilzin.

If Bilzen does wind up going after what may or may not be unpaid legal fees, they better be careful:

Miami attorney Warren Trazenfeld, who represents Whitney in the unpaid legal bills case, contends lawyers suing clients is "one of the top 10 stupidest things a lawyer can do."

He said almost every claim for unpaid legal fees is met with a counterclaim of legal malpractice. He said one will be coming against Rothstein.

"Most clients think the best defense is a good offense, and there's no better offense than a counterclaim for legal malpractice," Trazenfeld said.

Oy, such tsurris.

I don't know about you, but it's Friday and I'm getting ready to go decorate my Sukka, which as usual will be adorned with traditional festive items such as windsurfing gear, a Keytar, Bo Derek posters, dry Gin Gibsons and -- oh yeah -- an etrog.

So I hope everyone has a great weekend, filled with these very interesting professional women, the burning of exactly 970 calories, and lots and lots of clean sheets.

See you Monday!