Timothy W. Schulz, P.A., a civil litigation law firm in West Palm Beach, FL, recently scored an important appellate victory in the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals.
Alleged Violations of the Americans With Disability Act, Equal Protection, Due Process, Conspiracy and Retaliation
The genesis of the case was in the Fifteenth Judicial Circuit in Palm Beach County, Florida. In that state case, a law firm and its sole attorney were held in contempt of court on several occasions, resulting in $240,000 in civil penalties being imposed against the firm and its attorney. The law firm unsuccessfully appealed the civil penalties to Florida’s Fourth District Court of Appeal. The disgruntled law firm also filed a separate lawsuit in August 2021, in the United States District Court, Southern District of Florida, against two state circuit court judges and the entire Fifteenth Judicial Circuit. The complaint alleged violations of the Americans With Disability Act, Equal Protection, Due Process, as well as conspiracy and retaliation, all arising from the lawsuit in Palm Beach County Circuit Court and the contempt findings.
Rule 11 Sanctions Awarded to Defendants
In a sprawling 235-page, 882 paragraph Amended Complaint filed in the federal district court, the Plaintiff added the Firm’s corporate client and Timothy W. Schulz, Esq., as well as an unrelated corporation and its attorney, as Defendants. In February, 2023, the Hon. Aileen M. Cannon, district judge, dismissed all claims against all Defendants with prejudice. Additionally, because the Plaintiffs' claims against the Defendant attorneys were deemed frivolous, over $14,000 in Rule 11 sanctions were awarded to the Defendants.
Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals Ruled In Our Favor
The Plaintiffs appealed Judge Cannon's Order of dismissal to the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals in April 2022. On December 14, 2023, in an unpublished 26-page Opinion, the Eleventh Circuit rejected each and every argument made by the Plaintiffs/Appellants, and affirmed Judge Cannon's Orders of dismissal.