Frivilous Lawsuit Backfires Big Time

    SARASOTA, FL, November 27, 2012 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Sarasota attorney Dennis Plews and his clients, a Bradenton woman and an Osprey man, are facing hundreds of thousands of dollars in sanctions and costs from the former Chief Circuit Judge in Sarasota. Judge Lee Haworth ruled that a lawsuit Plews filed against Jeffrey Luhrsen in 2009 was "grasping at air," and ordered Plews to personally pay Luhrsen's attorney's fees, which court papers indicate are about $300,000.00. Plews' clients, Jeanester Bryant and Jack LaRoe, must pay Luhrsen tens of thousands in costs, but they have even bigger problems. Both are facing a lawsuit that could result in paying Luhrsen millions of dollars for harm done to his business and reputation because of their frivolous lawsuit.

In 2009, Bryant, LaRoe and Plews accused Luhrsen of taking over the local MADD organization and illegally soliciting legal business. Plews helped Bryant and LaRoe complain to The Florida Bar about Luhrsen, but the Supreme Court of Florida ruled in Luhrsen's favor regarding their solicitation allegations. Bryant, LaRoe and Plews did not accept the Supreme Court's ruling, and they made the same allegations against Luhrsen in a civil case. Sarasota Circuit Judge Lee Haworth dismissed the civil case against Luhrsen in January, 2012, finding that it had no valid basis. Judge Haworth went a step further in September, finding that the case was frivolous and ordering Plews to personally reimburse Luhrsen for the money spent defending the charges, which court papers show is about $300,000.00. In October, after winning in both the Supreme Court and the local Circuit Court, Luhrsen sued Bryant and LaRoe for filing and pursuing a frivolous lawsuit that harmed his business and reputation. Luhrsen's attorney says that Bryant and LaRoe tried a "common shakedown" using the legal system as a figleaf, and that they owe Luhrsen "millions of dollars."

Luhrsen's attorney, Dan DeLeo of Shumaker, Loop & Kendrik, feels Judge Hayworth's ruling rights a wrong. "Plews and his clients never had a valid case and were told as much over and over. Judge Hayworth's extraordinary ruling is a vindication of that fact," said Mr. DeLeo.

Website: http://www.luhrsen.com

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