$20,000 Contempt Fine & Sanctions Improper in Florida Lawsuit & Appeal

When Florida probate litigation law firms don’t follow the Florida Rules of Civil Procedure, bad legal things can happen.  When clients don’t follow a judge’s order, REALLY bad things can happen.  Here is a recent contempt case from Florida’s 2nd District Court of Appeal.  It is not a Palm Beach probate case. Rather, it is a real estate holding company case involving allegations of fraud and investment losses, what commercial litigation lawyers in Florida often refer to as ‘commercial litigation’ or contract or corporate litigation.  Here is the opinion in the case of Menke v. Wendell, 40 Fla. L. Weekly D 2515, issued November 6, 2015:http://www.2dca.org/opinions/Opinion_Pages/Opinion_Pages_2015/November/November%2006,%202015/2D15-2144.pdf

$20,000 Sanction for Contempt Discovery Violation Leads to Florida Appeal & Petition for Write of Certiorari

• The trial court found Mr. Menke in contempt for a discovery violation and sanctionedhim $20,000
• Probate litigation law firms in Florida may be familiar with sanctions and contempt
• Why?
• Many estate lawyers in Palm Beach have to deal with family members who don’t get along with other family members and beneficiaries of trusts and estates
• If there is sibling rivalry and family dysfunction, that can lead to a lot of probate lawsuits Delray Beach
• Consider all the probate lawsuits and will contests Florida where a brother or sister hires an estate litigation law firm on a contingency fee to get an inheritance, while the “other” sibling uses trust funds and estate funds to pay defense costs and probate lawyers
• Do you know what the standards are for the entry of a contempt order in Florida?  It’s in this opinion
• The standard of review for a contempt order generally has 4 elements
• To be in contempt of an order of a court, you must understand what you were supposed to do.  If it’s not clear what you are being ordered to do, if it’s not clear what the court’s command is, then how can one be in contempt or that order? Some orders of contempmust provide the “prisoner” with jail keys; in other words the contempt order must spell out in clear and concise language, how a party is to comply with a court’s command or how to “right the wrong”.  This may be referred to as the purge or the purge amount if money is involved
• Florida estate lawyers are familiar with sanctions
• Sanctions are fines, usually monetary, but not always
• Sanctions are imposed by Florida probate judges when a party behaves badly
• Sanctions must have some bearing upon the harm suffered by the injured party
• So, if you are involved in a Palm Beach probate and a party or beneficiary or personal representative is behaving badly, and someone violated an order of the Florida probate court, or is going to be subject to sanctions, consider reading this recent Florida appeals case on contempt and sanctions