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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STUART — It was “bizarre” for Martin County Sheriff Robert Crowder to repeatedly pat the short, spiky haircut of Detective Jennifer Heard, her lawyer said, and he expects Heard’s sexual harassment complaint to lead to a federal discrimination suit.

“We fully expect to file a lawsuit and just litigate the matter,” said Justus Reid, a lawyer representing Heard. “The overall theme will be gender discrimination and, in effect, sexual harassment that went on in the department.”

Heard filed a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in May alleging the sexual harassment against her began shortly after she was hired in September 1996 and continued for the next 12 years in the form of sexual advances, catcalls and a suggestive nickname. She also accused Crowder of belittling her by patting her on the head.
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STUART — The owners of the historic Post Office Arcade in downtown Stuart on Tuesday filed an eviction and breach of contract lawsuit against Nature’s Way Cafe and its owner Marion Biggins, court papers show.

In the complaint filed in Martin County Circuit Court, an attorney representing Stuart Arcade Associates Inc., claimed Biggins and Nature’s Way, at 25 Southwest Osceola St., have failed to pay July’s rent and other expenses totaling $10,807. (more…)

PALM CITY — Hard financial times have turned tumultuous at a local church, with the pastor using a sheriff’s deputy to keep elders outside the sanctuary doors and the elders, in turn, filing suit to remove the pastor.

In the lawsuit filed Wednesday in Martin County Circuit Court, seven members of Palm City Christian Church charge Pastor Anthony “Pastor Tony” Galbicka with breach of fiduciary duty and seek a ruling “ousting” him and voiding the “improper and/or illegal” actions he took.

The suit also alleges Galbicka slandered one plaintiff, Edward Taudien, when the pastor told other church members Taudien had stolen money from the church. The suit counters that Taudien had donated more than $168,000 to the church and loaned it $200,000 to build the sanctuary at 6450 Martin Highway in western Palm City.

Galbicka could not be reached Thursday at his home in Palm City, at the church, via telephone or by e-mail.

Robert J. Watson, a Stuart attorney representing the plaintiffs, said he expects a hearing on his request for a temporary restraining order against Galbicka to be scheduled late this month or early August.

According to the lawsuit, the 80-member church “began to struggle financially” this year; at a May 28 meeting attended by Galbicka, the elders approved several spending cuts, including reducing the pastor’s salary “by a modest percentage.”

Watson said the cut was to be about 15 percent, adding the church paid Galbicka’s housing and car expenses plus $22,000 a year. Details of how to make the cut had not been worked out, he said. (more…)