Stuart judge off case involving Martin Memorial
January 23rd, 2009 by TCPalm.comSTUART — Chief Circuit Judge William Roby has removed himself from an upcoming trial pitting the guardian of a brain-damaged Guatemalan native against Martin Memorial Medical Center over his 2003 deportation after having lived at the hospital’s acute care unit for two years.
Roby ordered his disqualification to preside over the civil kidnapping and false imprisonment case after Luis Alberto Jimenez’ cousin, Montejo Gaspar Montejo of Indiantown, filed court papers Thursday noting that Roby once worked for the Stuart law firm that had assisted Martin Memorial gain a court order allowing the hospital to fly Jimenez back to Guatemala.
It’s the latest of many twists in the lawsuit that was initially dismissed by a judge, but reinstated by an appeals court, which ruled the original trial court had no jurisdiction to enter a ruling that amounted to an order of deportation.
Jimenez, an illegal alien who suffered devastating brain injuries in a 2000 car crash, racked up $2 million in unpaid medical bills while in the hospital’s care.
Roby order the trial — scheduled to begin May 4 — be reassigned to Circuit Judge Burton Conner.
West Palm Beach attorney Jack Scarola, who represents Montejo, said a trial judge already ruled Jimenez’ deportation “amounted to false imprisonment.”
Still to be determined is how much Jimenez should be awarded in compensatory and punitive damages.
Returning him here, he said, is not an option.
The only alternative, Scarola said, is to get Jimenez the money he needs for medical care in Guatemala.
“What he lost as a result of his having been falsely imprisoned, kidnapped and placed on an airplane in the early morning, predawn hours and flown back to Guatemala against his will,” Scarola said, “was the medical care that he was receiving and is no longer receiving.”
–Melissa Holsman
Scripps-Treasure Coast Newspapers
Tags: Guatemalan, Jack Scarola, judge, Martin Memorial Medical Center, William Roby
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January 24th, 2009 at 12:52 pm
AHHHHH, what a load of mess this is. We need to collect the money used for this guys hospital stay and for the plane ticket home to the land from which he came here illegally. We need to say that you are not a citizen or here in OUR country legally and you dont have any rights to anything and why should you suck up our citizens money which we pay taxes on to support someone who sneaks into our country, takes our jobs and gets free medical care. The 2 million has been paid by me and you who are citizens. Lets get his address and send him the bill!! how dare this guy sue for being sent home. he should have never been here in the first place. If this case earns him money, this would be the only crime in this case.