Overlawyered: Chronicling The High Cost Of Our Legal System

Posts Tagged ‘Geoffrey Fieger’

Mich. high court reinstates Geoffrey Fieger reprimand

By a 4-3 margin, the Supreme Court of Michigan has ruled that the First Amendment does not protect “the interests of an officer of the court in uttering vulgar epithets toward the court in a pending case” (decision in PDF format, p. 19) and has therefore sent back a case involving the disciplining of Geoffrey Fieger with instructions to reinstate the reprimand. After seeing a $15 million medical malpractice verdict overturned, Michigan’s most prominent plaintiff’s lawyer had described the appellate judges who ruled against him as variously “jackasses”, “Hitler”, “Goebbels” and “Eva Braun”, said that he was declaring war on them, said that they could kiss a portion of his anatomy not generally revealed in public, and repeatedly proposed that various objects be employed to assault a similar location on their persons.

In dissent, Justice Michael Cavanagh wrote that it matters not whether Fieger violated “a disciplinary rule he swore to obey when admitted to the practice of law”. The point is instead that “the judiciary, upon which is conferred unique powers, significant influence and considerable insulation, must not be so shielded that the public is denied its right to temper this institution”. Which raises at least one question: in what sense should Fieger be counted as a member of the “public” for these purposes? As a lawyer deputized with power to initiate compulsory process to drag unwilling parties into the Michigan courts, wouldn’t it be fair to say that “unique powers, significant influence and considerable insulation” have been conferred on him, too, in exchange for which he might reasonably be asked to submit to professional rules not applicable to the general public to guard against the abuse of these unique powers? (Dawson Bell, “Fieger reprimanded for attacks on judges”, Detroit Free Press, Jul. 31; Charlie Cain, “High court reinstates Fieger reprimand for comments”, Detroit News, Aug. 1).

We covered the controversy at hand (and its underlying lawsuit) Sept. 14, 1999, May 3, 2001, and Apr. 3, 2006. Other coverage of Fieger’s antics can be found here.

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Update: McLeod v. Mt. Sinai Medical Center

We covered this case as Hollins v. Jordan in 2004 on Nov. 20, Oct. 11, and Aug. 31. In a disingenuous 2-1 opinion, an Ohio appellate court overturned the lower court’s grant of a new trial, and reinstated the liability verdict. The court did hold that the $30 million verdict was too high, but it is unlikely to be reduced more than 20%. I found the dissent, starting on page 23, persuasive; the majority opinion falsely claims that the defendants did not challenge liability on appeal to argue that there was no need for a new trial. New detail that the press did not cover: the plaintiff suffered from microcephaly—is there a legitimate doctor out there who wishes to claim that brain damage from microcephaly results from the failure to perform a C-section? Also worth reading in the dissent is the detailing of the dishonesty with which Geoffrey Fieger characterized testimony. Lawyers plan to appeal to the Ohio Supreme Court. (AP/Canton Repository, May 5 (link fixed 5:45 pm)).

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Constitutional Right to be a Jackass

One of our profession’s enfants terribles, Geoffrey Fieger, is back in court, this time defending his right to call Michigan appellate judges who ruled against him “jackasses” and “nazis.”

Fieger faces a reprimand from the Michigan Attorney Grievance Commission for insulting three state appellate judges on a radio talk show in 1999 after the judges overturned a $15 million verdict he won in a medical malpractice case.

Fieger’s lawyer, Michael Alan Schwartz, maintaining that Fieger’s comments outside the courtroom are protected by the First Amendment.

Summing up Fieger’s modus operandi nicely, Schwartz offers this:

“There’s no law that says you’ve got to be dignified.”

He also offers Standing Committee on Discipline v. Yagman, 55 F.3d 1430 and Craig v. Harney, 331 U. S. 367 (1947) to support his client’s right to criticize the judges.

UPDATE: Sorry folks, I neglected to include a link to the story. It is the Michigan Attorney Grievance Commission seeking to reprimand him. The Commission is “the investigative and prosecutorial arm of the Michigan Supreme Court for allegations of attorney misconduct.”

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Update: Feds raid Fieger’s office in campaign laundering probe

Getting wilder by the week: “Federal agents raided the law office of Geoffrey Fieger late Wednesday looking for evidence that he laundered $35,000 in campaign contributions to the John Edwards 2004 presidential campaign through his employees.” (David Ashenfelter and Joe Swickard, “Federal agents raid Fieger’s office”, Detroit Free Press, Dec. 1). “A former associate in trial attorney Geoffrey Fieger’s firm said Friday that he and his wife each gave $2,000 to Democrat John Edwards’ 2004 presidential campaign on the promise that they would be reimbursed by the firm.” Joseph Bird, an attorney later fired by Fieger’s firm, “said he had ‘no clue’ at the time that it was illegal for employers to instruct people to give to a campaign and then reimburse them.” (Sarah Karush, “Lawyer says firm demanded political contributions to Edwards”, AP/Winston-Salem Journal, Dec. 2; same story with more details at Detroit News site, Dec. 4). For earlier evidence suggesting the likelihood of laundering in trial lawyers’ donations to Edwards, see Apr. 28-29 and May 8, 2003. For more on Fieger, see Nov. 17, Nov. 10 and links from there.

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“Cox: Fieger tried to blackmail me about affair”

Further fireworks from the frequently fascinating Fieger files:

Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox accused a potential 2006 political opponent, high profile Oakland County lawyer Geoffrey Fieger, of blackmail Wednesday, claiming that Fieger threatened to reveal his extramarital affair if Cox did not drop an investigation into the lawyer’s alleged campaign finance violations.

(Dawson Bell and L.L. Brasier, Detroit Free Press, Nov. 9). For more on Fieger, whose activities have long been a mainstay of this site, see Mar. 13, Oct. 24, and many others.

More on the story: David Shepardson and Mike Martindale, “Sex scandal”, Detroit News, Nov. 10 (check sidebar for over-the-top statement by Fieger); L.L. Brasier and Patricia Montemurri, “Figure in Fieger-Cox sex scandal has criminal past”, Detroit Free Press, Nov. 10); Dawson Bell and L.L. Brasier, “Cox: Fieger made threat over affair”, Detroit Free Press, Nov. 10 (“one of the most bizarre events in recent Michigan political history”):

Fieger has a long history of stirring up trouble, both for himself and others, and sometimes on a personal level.

In 1998, when he was the Democratic nominee for governor, he suggested that his opponent — then-Gov. John Engler — was not the father of triplet daughters born to his wife, Michelle, in 1994.

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Geoffrey Fieger update

You will recall that Geoffrey Fieger’s modus operandi is to engage in outrageous behavior to get judges thrown off of cases and otherwise accuse judges who rule against him or his clients of misconduct (Nov. 20; Mar. 24). Now, in the aftermath of Hollins v. Jordan (Nov. 20 and links therein), Fieger is attacking an Ohio probate court judge who is daring to try to protect the settlement of the brain-damaged and legally incompetent plaintiff from Fieger’s machinations.

“This is all about intimidation,” [Judge] Corrigan said. He accused the plaintiffs’ out-of-town lawyers of “forum-shopping” to take the case away from him and give it to a Michigan judge more acquiescent to their wishes.

(James F. McCarty, “$30 million verdict spawns new legal battle”, Cleveland Plain-Dealer, Oct. 9). This dispute is over a $1.5 million pretrial settlement with another defendant; the $30 million verdict is also on appeal.

Back in Michigan, Fieger is offering to spend millions of dollars of his own money to run for Michigan Attorney General on the Democratic ticket. (Steven Harmon, “Fieger ready to pour own cash into attorney general fight”, Grand Rapids Press, Oct. 21). Fortunately for the Democratic Party, there doesn’t seem to be a lot of support for the idea. (Kathleen Gray, “Fieger considers running for state attorney general”, Detroit Free Press, Oct. 12). John Engler easily beat Fieger, 62 percent to 38 percent, when Fieger ran for governor in 1998.

The targeting of the incumbent attorney general, Mike Cox, may be related to “an ongoing criminal investigation of a complaint from Secretary of State Terri Lynn Land about alleged filing irregularities on $400,000 of Fieger-financed spending opposing the successful 2004 re-election of Republican Michigan Supreme Court Justice Stephen Markman.” (George Weeks, “Fieger isn’t faking bid for attorney general”, Detroit News, Oct. 13). Fieger has demonstrated his misunderstanding of principles of federal jurisdiction with a federal lawsuit against Cox and Land in an attempt to squelch the campaign finance investigation. (AP, Oct. 13).

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Fieger Update: Gilbert v. Ferry

You may recall the $21 million verdict thrown out by the Michigan Supreme Court last year (Jul. 24) because of misconduct by Geoffrey Fieger at trial. (Gilbert v. DaimlerChrysler (Mich. 2004); parties’ briefs; Brian Dickerson, “Judges use Fieger tactics to rebuke him”, Detroit Free Press, Jul. 26; yclipse blog). Fieger had had a buddy “expert” social worker testify that the alleged harassment caused Gilbert’s pancreatitis, and told the jury that Gilbert was like a “Holocaust victim.”

After losing, Fieger responded by filing ethics complaints against the four justices who ruled against him, and, when that didn’t work, filed a civil rights lawsuit in federal court against the justices. This tactic, far more often seen performed by unstable pro se litigants than by prominent trial attorneys, was, as could have been expected, rejected by the trial court and then by the federal court of appeals. (Gilbert v. Ferry (6th Cir. Mar. 10, 2005), affirming 298 F. Supp. 2d 606 (E.D. Mich. 2004)) (via yclipse).

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Belated Geoffrey Fieger Report: Wills v. Dillard’s

Jameel Talley had been fired from the local police department, but the mayor of North Randall (pop. 893 and dropping) “sent what he called a ‘second chance’ letter to Maple Heights, saying Talley should not have been fired. The mayor said he ‘erred in judgment’ and ‘recommends 100 percent (that) Talley continue his career in law enforcement.'” So Maple Heights hired him for their police department, where Talley had a spotless record, and the local Dillard’s hired him for off-duty work as a security guard.

Unfortunately, Talley had been fired from North Randall for shooting at a shoplifting suspect.

And, unfortunately again, 41-year-old Guy Wills, under the influence of drugs, decided to shoplift a leather jacket at Dillard’s, and then resist arrest from the much larger Talley. So Talley smashed him upside down into the concrete floor. Unfortunately again, Wills checked himself out of the hospital, got sick at the police station, refused treatment or a trip to the emergency room–and then fell into a coma, and when he woke up, he was dead. Shortly after the incident, Dillard’s shut down the store. Talley was convicted of voluntary manslaughter for excessive force, and sentenced to three years. And Dillard’s, as the deep pocket, was sued. (NewsNet5: Jan. 18 (featuring the great line “Dillard’s attorney, who’s [sic] name is unknown at this time”), June 23, 2003; Nov. 14, 2002; “Dillard’s to close Raleigh Springs store”, Memphis Business Journal, Jan. 27, 2003).

The attorney was none other than Geoffrey Fieger (Oct. 11 and Aug. 31 and lots of links therein), but the trial wasn’t going so well, so he adopted what seems to be a standard tactic: deliberately try to alienate the judge, and then loudly complain about prejudice.

[Judge Nancy Margaret] Russo leveled a litany of legal wrongs against Fieger, including: insulting and berating lawyers and calling them liars; making faces after she ruled against him; repeatedly interrupting testimony; entering objections loudly; and threatening an insurance adjuster with the loss of his job.

“He has been nothing but bullying, loud, obnoxious and unprofessional,” Russo said. “I have tried for three weeks to rein him in. I have done my best.”

The final straw came Thursday after attorney Larry Zukerman accused Fieger of accosting him and threatening to have his client — former Dillard’s store manager Frank Monaco — arrested for obstruction of justice.

Russo threatened Fieger with contempt, and Fieger responded by pulling himself off the case and asking for a mistrial. For some reason, Russo rewarded the antics with exactly what Fieger wanted, and now Fieger gets to start all over with another judge, and a second bite at correcting whatever problems he saw with the first trial. (James F. McCarty, “Lawyer quits case on judge’s threat”, Cleveland Plain-Dealer, Jan. 29; James F. McCarty, “Mistrial in wrongful-death case of shoplifter”, Cleveland Plain-Dealer, Feb. 1). And shame on our Cleveland readers for not letting us know about this one sooner.

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Basketbrawl lawsuits begin

Fark would mark this entry with an “Obvious”: Fans at the now-infamous Detroit-Indiana basketball game Friday night have started filing lawsuits. According to the Detroit Free Press, video shows season ticket holder William Paulson dousing Indiana Pacer Ron Artest with a drink after Artest charged the stands and pummeled an innocent bystander, but he’s suing three players, the Pacers, and the arena over a concussion he allegedly suffered in the brawl. John Ackerman also claims to have suffered a concussion; he’s told different reporters that he was hit by a chair and hit by Jermaine O’Neal. The lawyer is your friend and mine, Geoffrey Fieger (Aug. 31 and links therein). (Ben Schmitt and Frank Witsil, “Victims? Suspect? Prosecutor identifies fan who started brawl”, Detroit Free Press, Nov. 23; Mike Martindale, “Find chair-tosser, get cash”, Detroit News, Nov. 24; Daniel Howes, “Lawsuits over Palace fight show a culture of litigation”, Detroit News, Nov. 24; Bisi Onile-Ere, “Lawsuits come in Palace brawl”, ABC-12, Nov. 23).

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Update: “Judge reinstates $30 million verdict”

Geoffrey Fieger’s $30 million verdict in the cerebral-palsy case Hollins v. Jordan (Oct. 11), thrown out by one judge, has been reinstated by a second judge. The press coverage isn’t clear why Judge Lawther “voluntarily removed himself” from the case; Fieger had earlier threatened to file a motion to remove the judge (Aug. 31). Fieger isn’t satisfied with $30 million; he’s going to ask the court for an additional $50 million in “pre-judgment interest.” The defendants have not had an opportunity to comment, but they’ll presumably appeal to a higher court on the grounds that led the first judge to throw out the verdict. (James F. McCarty, Cleveland Plain-Dealer, Nov. 20).

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