A South Florida judge has ordered a New York law firm and its former partner to pay sanctions as a result of its failure to timely respond to a complaint asserting malicious prosecution, stemming from a spat involving a Palm Beach County country club election nearly a decade ago.

Joshua Dubin, president of Dubin Research & Consulting in New York who is representing plaintiff Laura Perlmutter, the wife of the Marvel Entertainment LLC chairman, said, "When a court orders you to do something, you must do it."

Joshua Dubin, president of Dubin Research and Consulting. (Courtesy photo)