Eleventh Circuit: Mayoral Race Gets Ugly (For the Lawyers)

In 2006, Daniel Lewis, Christopher (James) Peer, and James Naugle, the incumbent at the time, ran for mayor of Ft. Lauderdale, Florida.  Although Naugle won the race four years ago by a huge margin, the conflict between Lewis and Peer remains; more specifically, between Lewis and Peer's attorneys.  Lewis argues that Peer's attorneys should be sanctioned in relation to a meritless lawsuit filed during the campaign.

Yesterday, the Eleventh Circuit declined to impose sanctions, like the district court before it, but remanded with a strong directive as to one of the attorneys, Richard Rosenbaum: "[T]he district court should keep in mind that attorneys are the filter upon which courts rely to maintain the integrity of, and trust in, our judicial process."  The district court will "contrary to its earlier findings, start[] with our finding that Rosenbaum acted in bad faith."