Miami Judge Strikes Pleadings, Grants $3M Default Judgment in Bank-Investor Dispute
Circuit Judge Beatrice Butchko sanctioned Franco Lauricella. The judge determined Lauricella deliberately disobeyed discovery orders in his legal battle with Zuma Bank, which contends the Venezuelan businessman and his brother Miguel owes it millions of dollars.
October 09, 2019 at 03:58 PM
3 minute read
A Miami-Dade judge entered sanctions and a multimillion-dollar default judgment against a Venezuelan businessman.
Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Beatrice Butchko ruled against Franco A. Lauricella Ramirez in an order striking his pleadings.
Butchko, presiding over a lawsuit brought against Lauricella and his brother Miguel in the Eleventh Circuit's complex business division, determined the investor had deliberately disobeyed discovery orders and delivered "self-serving testimony as to why he supposedly could not comply" with the court's requests.
The judge's order directed the defendant to pay nearly $2.96 million to Zuma Bank, a Caribbean financial institution based in the Commonwealth of Dominica.
The bank filed suit against the Lauricella siblings, alleging fraud, and seek an undetermined sum of attorney fees and pre- and post-judgment interest. It filed the case against Lauricella and his brother in September 2017, accusing the defendants of owing millions of dollars in unpaid loans. It also claimed they participated in a fraudulent scheme for the benefit of Venezuelan businesses.
According to Zuma's October 2018 amended complaint, the Lauricellas secured loans from the bank ostensibly for their business Comercializadora Frainjo C.A., a Venezuelan company purportedly specializing in the storage and exporting of materials out of the South American country. But the suit alleges the defendants committed fraud because the company had been insolvent at the time. The complaint contends the brothers instead used the loans to finance lavish Miami lifestyles and to invest in multimillion-dollar South Florida real estate for their own gain.
|
Read the amended complaint:
The lawsuit also claimed the the Lauricellas transferred the Zuma money to Transporte Urbano Fermin C.A., a company that the Venezuelan government alleges defrauding the country's treasury of $35 billion. It sought loan repayment and overdraft fees from the defendants.
Butchko's order granted a motion by the plaintiff to strike Lauricella's pleadings and enter a default judgment for noncompliance.
Lauricella had been asked to provide documents and correspondence concerning Comercializadora Frainjo C.A. and various transactions made using money purportedly originating with Zuma's loans. The judge wrote the defendant demonstrated "willful and deliberate disregard for this court's authority," and rejected his explanations for not complying with discovery orders.
"Defendant had been provided ample opportunity to provide the records requested, and failed in every aspect without providing a credible legal excuse," Butcko found. "The discovery delays caused by Franco have created significant problems with the judicial administration of this case. This case has been pending since September 2017, and the court is still adjudicating compliance matters pertaining to the first series of discovery requests."
The judge added the case "ranks among the most egregious examples of discovery violations that the court has confronted."
Miami-Dade lawyers Alexander F. Fox and Simon Ferro Jr. represented the Lauricellas. A joint statement from the attorneys signaled their intent to appeal the ruling.
"We have a great deal of respect for Judge Butchko, but we disagree with her decision here, and will be seeking appellate review," the emailed statement said.
Zuma's legal counsel, Coral Gables-based solo practitioner Carlos Sardi, did not respond to requests for comment Wednesday.
Related stories:
This content has been archived. It is available through our partners, LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law.
To view this content, please continue to their sites.
Not a Lexis Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
Not a Bloomberg Law Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
NOT FOR REPRINT
© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
You Might Like
View All'They Got All Bent Out of Shape:' Parkland Lawyers Clash With Each Other
Courts of Appeal Conflicted Over Rule 1.442(c)(3) When Claims for Damages Involve a Husband and Wife
Families Settle Court Battle Over Who Owns Parkland Killer's Name, Likeness
4 minute readCOVID-19 Death Suit Against Nursing Home Sent to State Court, 11th Circuit Affirms
Trending Stories
- 1Infant Formula Judge Sanctions Kirkland's Jim Hurst: 'Overtly Crossed the Lines'
- 2Election 2024: Nationwide Judicial Races and Ballot Measures to Watch
- 3Guarantees Are Back, Whether Law Firms Want to Talk About Them or Not
- 4How I Made Practice Group Chair: 'If You Love What You Do and Put the Time and Effort Into It, You Will Excel,' Says Lisa Saul of Forde & O'Meara
- 5Abbott, Mead Johnson Win Defense Verdict Over Preemie Infant Formula
- 6How Much Does the Frequency of Retirement Withdrawals Matter?
Who Got The Work
Michael G. Bongiorno, Andrew Scott Dulberg and Elizabeth E. Driscoll from Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr have stepped in to represent Symbotic Inc., an A.I.-enabled technology platform that focuses on increasing supply chain efficiency, and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The case, filed Oct. 2 in Massachusetts District Court by the Brown Law Firm on behalf of Stephen Austen, accuses certain officers and directors of misleading investors in regard to Symbotic's potential for margin growth by failing to disclose that the company was not equipped to timely deploy its systems or manage expenses through project delays. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton, is 1:24-cv-12522, Austen v. Cohen et al.
Who Got The Work
Edmund Polubinski and Marie Killmond of Davis Polk & Wardwell have entered appearances for data platform software development company MongoDB and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The action, filed Oct. 7 in New York Southern District Court by the Brown Law Firm, accuses the company's directors and/or officers of falsely expressing confidence in the company’s restructuring of its sales incentive plan and downplaying the severity of decreases in its upfront commitments. The case is 1:24-cv-07594, Roy v. Ittycheria et al.
Who Got The Work
Amy O. Bruchs and Kurt F. Ellison of Michael Best & Friedrich have entered appearances for Epic Systems Corp. in a pending employment discrimination lawsuit. The suit was filed Sept. 7 in Wisconsin Western District Court by Levine Eisberner LLC and Siri & Glimstad on behalf of a project manager who claims that he was wrongfully terminated after applying for a religious exemption to the defendant's COVID-19 vaccine mandate. The case, assigned to U.S. Magistrate Judge Anita Marie Boor, is 3:24-cv-00630, Secker, Nathan v. Epic Systems Corporation.
Who Got The Work
David X. Sullivan, Thomas J. Finn and Gregory A. Hall from McCarter & English have entered appearances for Sunrun Installation Services in a pending civil rights lawsuit. The complaint was filed Sept. 4 in Connecticut District Court by attorney Robert M. Berke on behalf of former employee George Edward Steins, who was arrested and charged with employing an unregistered home improvement salesperson. The complaint alleges that had Sunrun informed the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection that the plaintiff's employment had ended in 2017 and that he no longer held Sunrun's home improvement contractor license, he would not have been hit with charges, which were dismissed in May 2024. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Jeffrey A. Meyer, is 3:24-cv-01423, Steins v. Sunrun, Inc. et al.
Who Got The Work
Greenberg Traurig shareholder Joshua L. Raskin has entered an appearance for boohoo.com UK Ltd. in a pending patent infringement lawsuit. The suit, filed Sept. 3 in Texas Eastern District Court by Rozier Hardt McDonough on behalf of Alto Dynamics, asserts five patents related to an online shopping platform. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Rodney Gilstrap, is 2:24-cv-00719, Alto Dynamics, LLC v. boohoo.com UK Limited.
Featured Firms
Law Offices of Gary Martin Hays & Associates, P.C.
(470) 294-1674
Law Offices of Mark E. Salomone
(857) 444-6468
Smith & Hassler
(713) 739-1250