By Elliott Jones

FORT PIERCE — A federal district judge denied the U.S. Department of Justice’s attempt to make an Indian River County man pay about $3.5 million in financial damages to two young women in child pornography images he found on the Internet, according to court files. (more…)

STUART —A wrongful death suit brought by the estate of an illegal immigrant against the Martin County Sheriff’s Office was settled prior to opening statements at the Martin County Courthouse Tuesday.

Just before bringing in the three-man, four-woman panel, attorneys for the Sheriff’s Office and Port St. Lucie resident Brenda Gonzalez, 33, the personal representative of Matias F. Alonzo’s estate, told Circuit Judge Elizabeth Metzger that a $15,000 settlement had been reached. (more…)

VERO BEACH — A high-level financial struggle over the troubled Vero Fashion Outlets now may reach into an owner’s family trust, court records show.

In early October the outdoor mall filed for bankruptcy in federal court, a move that halted a foreclosure lawsuit filed by the mall’s creditor, LNV Corp. of Nevada, in Indian River Circuit Court. LNV Corp.’s attorney Kenneth Curtin contends the mall defaulted on a $32 million loan for purchase of the 329,000-square-foot mall in 2007. (more…)

VERO BEACH — A city clerk’s employee on medical leave is suing the city, contending she was sexually harassed while the city did nothing to help her, according to court files.

Janet Bickford said that starting in November 2007 an unnamed city board member began making repeated “sexual innuendoes,” culminating with the man allegedly kissing her on her lips against her will, according to a civil lawsuit filed in Indian River Circuit Court on Sept. 16.

Then, she said, city officials belittled her complaints, causing her distress.
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STUART — The public records at the center of a lawsuit were not removed in the middle of the night, Martin County Schools Superintendent Nancy Kline said Wednesday.

Florida Mechanical, which has filed two lawsuits including one filed Monday claiming the district is not complying with public records laws, alleged that the records were removed from Martin County School Board Attorney Doug Griffin’s computer “surreptitiously, under the cover of night and without notice to Mr. Griffin.”

But Kline said the records were remotely taken from Griffin’s office during office hours on Sept. 11, and district staff tried to tell Griffin beforehand. The records were related to a public records request from Florida Mechanical.
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VERO BEACH — If the owner of Vero Fashion Outlets mall doesn’t answer a $32.15-million mortgage foreclosure lawsuit by Sept. 16, it could lose the right to defend itself in the case, according to attorneys.

If so, a judge could order the outdoor mall at Interstate 95 and State Road 60 — the first large mall in the county — to be sold.

“We plan to stay open during the foreclosure and after,” said West Palm Beach attorney Kenneth Curtin, who represents the mortgage holder, LNV Corp., of Nevada. “The mall will stay the same as it is now, with tenants.” (more…)

VERO BEACH — A Nevada corporation that holds the mortgage for Vero Fashion Outlets is seeking to foreclose on the mall, according to civil lawsuit filed in Indian River Circuit Court.

LNV Corp. of Nevada is seeking $32.15 million, including principal and interest, because the mall defaulted on payments, according to the lawsuit.

“Vero (Fashion Outlets) has defaulted,” wrote attorney Kenneth Curtin, of West Palm Beach, in a lawsuit filed Aug. 26. It is assigned to Circuit Judge Paul Kanarek. No action has been taken in the civil lawsuit and the mall’s owners have not responded to the allegations. Curtin did not return calls Wednesday.
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Alex Barton with his mother, Melissa Barton

A mother whose autistic son was voted out of kindergarten in St. Lucie County last year is planning a press conference this afternoon to announce the filing of a federal lawsuit against the school district, several school officials and the local teacher’s union.

The complaint submitted in federal court alleges 5-year-old Alex Barton suffered irreparable damage when his teacher Wendy Portillo “orchestrated a ‘Survivor-style’ vote” asking the boy’s classmates whether or not he should be allowed to return to the class after he’d been repeatedly disruptive. The class voted him out 14-2.

Alex has since been diagnosed with a form of autism called Asperger’s syndrome.

Wendy Portillo answers questions during an administrative hearing.

The school board initially suspended Portillo one year and stripped her tenure, but in June they restored her tenue and said she will be allowed to return to the classroom in November.

St. Lucie County Schools spokeswoman Janice Karst this afternoon said the district does not comment on active livitgation.

Barton this morning declined to discuss the specifics of the lawsuit, reserving comment for the press conference scheduled for 3:30 p.m. at her attorney Paul Sopp’s office in West Palm Beach.

She did say that her son now attends a private school in Palm Beach County through a scholarship.

“He’s doing so well,” she said. “His teacher’s a sweetheart.”

Sopp said that that while Barton is seeking monetary damages from the suit, a victory in the case would help other students.

“What we’re trying to do is ensure that no one in the St. Lucie County school district is denied education based upon their disability,” Sopp said.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.

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