Where we grew up it was widely known that in a bar fight, the person who got hit the most was the guy in the middle trying to break it up.
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| The Guy in the middle- Judge Hanzman |
Which leads us to this El Herald article (good luck getting behind the firewall) about Judge Michael Hanzman and what the paper and some litigants call his "legacy case" the one-billion-dollar settlement in the Surfside Condo collapse and tragedy that took the lives of 98 innocent people.
While receiving near uniform praise, Hanzman has come in for some criticism as well, mostly from the victims and next of kin who are unhappy with his sometimes brusque manner in quickly facilitating a settlement by pushing the lawyers, cajoling, and using the bully-pulpit of the bench. Not everyone is happy, and as we all say in the law, that makes for a good settlement.
Coming up next, Hanzman's ruling on legal fees. From the beginning he was clear that the court would not approve the standard 25-45% recovery fees in civil cases. The rumor is the lawyers are seeking ten percent, which still rolls in at one ...hundred...million....dollars. A legal fee that even causes Rumpole to standup and take notice that maybe there might be something to this civil business after all.
The case has seen the donation of the mediator and his time without any legal fees, and reduced fees for a "receiver" and a "receiver's attorney" whatever that may be. The only Miami receivers we know anything about are Tyreek Hill and his compatriots for the Dolphins.
Is this Hanzman's legacy case? Has he created the blueprint for how future judges will handle mega tragedies like this? Did he do a great job, or is some of the criticism about him "forcing a settlement" well taken? Are litigants tired of the Judge repeating that desire for perfection should not stand in the way of a good settlement?
Judge Hanzman brings a wealth of knowledge to the bench about complex civil litigation. But here is a fact we know about him - after taking the bench he served a rotation in perhaps the hardest and most heart wrenching division- dependency court. He didn't have to do that, but he brought his considerable skills to families and children in crisis. That speaks volumes for the type of dedicated judge he is.
29 comments:
The Herald article on Judge Hanzman was amazing. He is our number 1 Judge. Only with his brilliance and command of America’s top trial lawyers could a billion dollar plus settlement been accomplished in the Surfside collapse case. He came from such humble beginnings and became a true public servant. God bless him.
"Are litigants tired of the Judge repeating that desire for perfection should not stand in the way of a good settlement?"
Yeah, they are. For judges, a "good settlement" is any settlement that takes the case off their docket.
532 pm. Didn’t we tell you at the last Hanzman fan club meeting to stay off of social media ?
Ok. Rumpole. This is for you. Tell me just one other Judge that could have successfully resolved this matter for over $1 billion in less than a year? Rumpole?
The Master painted his Masterpiece.
I’ll answer that for Rumpole. In his day the incomparable Arthur Winton. Also May Cain. Marshal Ader. And currently Maria Conchita Gonzalez Schwart-Rivero -Mendez -Goldstein. Also Who is that Judge that sits outside that restaurant opposite the courthouse with his cigar and squeeze ball? He could do it. Hanzman is a cheap suit with a bunch a bluster compared to these legal geniuses.
Anonymous June 22, 2022 at 9:01PM, could you be more condescending about the Hispanic Female Judges on the bench? and bigoted? and racist? Misogynous much?
If you know Judge Hanzman, you like him and you respect him. I wish we had more of him and less of Venzer, Fernandez, Hirsch, etc. to name a few.
I’ve appeared before Judge Hanzman in many cases during his current tenure in the CBL division. He is, by far, the smartest judge on the State bench and a very good argument can be made that he is the smartest trial-court judge across both State and Federal judges in S. Florida. The man is a legal machine.
Is he demanding? Yes. Does he suffer fools? No. Could he benefit from a dose of humility on occasion? Probably. Would I want to grab a beer with the guy? Probably not. But the man is lights out smart and he is always prepared. I’ve had clients who have attended hearings and lost, and they still compliment him to me because it was clear to them that he was prepared and asked good questions.
Michael Hanzman is one of he most brilliant judges to serve on the Court. He is also efficient, fair, and does not suffer fools kindly. It is a shame that we cannot close him. The fact that he was able to resolve the Surfside case in one year is a blessing to the survivors and a tribute to our court system. This man is a multi-millionaire who serves the public willingly and unnecessarily. Like too many of our judges, he did not take the job to make more money. We are blessed to have him.
The cigar smoking judge that sits on a balcony that use to be Sally Russells is the former state farm subrogation attorney, Judge Jose Rodriguez. Not the worst, at least he has a sense of humor and did not come from the SAO.
It’s an outrage Hanzman got the case. Another example of white male privilege. Sure he was the best prepared judge to handle this case because of his experience in private practice. And sure the victims got the most money quickly because of him. But weren’t there any female Hispanic or black or Asian or Native American or Afghan judges who could have been assigned the case and given the chance ? We are well past the stage of competence and ability being the only factors to consider. Race and sex and ethnicities should have been considered in assigning this case. There are plenty of traffic tickets that are on a backlog that Hanzman could handle if he wants to be MR Helpful. Give another judge a chance will ya? I know if I was dying and needed a heart surgeon I’d ask for a minority to get the chance to save me if the best doctor was a white male dripping with privilege and getting all the chances to be a hero. This case disgusts me. all the players were white privileged men. That mediator who donated his time was a white male. Boo hoo hoo he didn’t get paid. The receiver and his lawyer were white men. The lawyers were mostly white men. It’s disgusting the display of racism in this case. This is what you should be blogging about. Oh wait. You’re some privileged white male as well. You should give the blog to an Asian woman from New Zealand to blog. Or a teen from Chad. Or a male from Papa New Guinea and give them a chance since you had all the chances you stuffy privileged jerk. F off.
Well that was refreshing.
GOOD MORNING MIAMI HEAT FANS. tonight is the NBA draft. But let me warn you Heat fans Miami DOES NOT have the first pick so they will NOT be getting the best player and that’s all you Heat fans need to know. No reason to break your date with that hottie FIU intern at the new hot Omikase place on the beach everyone is talking about. The HEAT Doesn’t draft first so why bother ? Meanwhile all you Panther fans are not watching the cup finals. So fyi Colorado went up 3-1 over Tampa. The marlins are not contending so no reason to go to the game although the Mets are in town this weekend. So hang on Miami sports fans. The nfl is coming.
See ya. Wouldn’t want to be ya. Go Celtics.
Anonymous @ 10:57:00 AM wasn't loved enough as a child.
Research shows "breastfed infants present higher scores in cognitive and intelligence tests from childhood to adolescence and more pronounced results are associated with increased duration of breastfeeding".
Moral of the story? Go drink some breast milk and lay off the "not so subtle humor" posts.
I certainly treated the comment as farcical.
3-2 Avs. But who's counting?
It was a totally farcical comment.
Thanks, and Baba Booey to y'all.
Thankfully they didn’t assign the case to Blumstein. I wonder if he would’ve worn the navy uniform he uses on all his tacky billboards while presiding over the case. The case would’ve taken 5 years to resolve. Kudos to Hanzman on this one.
You aren’t counting
In the navy
You can sail the seven seas
In the navy
You can out your mind at ease.
In the navy
You can file a motion to compel
In the navy
El Aponte could have done a better job, got more money quicker given her rather impressive background.
Farce at whose expense?
"Race and sex and ethnicities should have been considered in assigning this case."
- One of many absurd statements made in the attempt at humor
The ridiculousness of the proposition makes it seem like the legitimate push for diversity in the legal profession has turned into an expedition into idiocy.
"The law profession is one of the least diverse professional fields in America, with an 80% White, 10% Black and 8% Asian American demographic.
Law is, and has always been, one of the least diverse professional fields in America.
It's a field largely dominated by White professionals, who make up nearly 80% of all legal occupations. Black Americans make up just over 10% of the field's workforce, meanwhile Asian Americans account for about 8%."
Sure the post is sheer absurdity and what is written is never going to happen or even be suggested. But every day, real life initiatives are sought to try to find ways to bring more diversity to all aspects of our legal system.
So what is the message in the humor?
That maybe other current actual efforts to diversify the law do cross the line, make no sense whatsoever, and are just as idiotic?
It's a free country. People can say what they want. But that doesn't mean people won't thumb their noses at potentially harmful comments that masquerade as humor.
you really want to call out Judge Venzer? every single time i’m in front of her she treats everyone in her courtroom with absolute respect. she doesn’t put up with nonsense, so i guess that’s why you want to call her out. be better anonymous.
First of all 217 pm it’s a comment not a post. A harmful comment that masquerades as humor. Harmful how ? What was harmed in the writing of that comment? Explain it to me. When A black comic uses N word I wince. It’s still offensive. But it’s their humor. I accept it. When someone first said “other than that Mrs Lincoln how was the play ?” People probably winced. But who did it harm? If someone makes a joke about Hitler does it harm the memory of millions of people who died because of him?
But for you my humor about diversity and mocking it and also attacking it because if I am dying I want the best surgeon not the non white one to be given a chance- is harmful. The fact is that while your facts about the lack of diversity in the legal community are probably correct - do you want a dumb female or dumb black judge in a case where your client is charged with murder? Or do you want a brilliant jurist even if he’s a white male?
As I write this it’s so hot my ac can’t keep up with it. If the government has a billion dollars to give to one scientist to combat global warming do you want it to go to a candidate of diversity or the most brilliant mind in the field? When the most brilliant mind is a woman or a person of color then we weaken ourselves by denying them because of racism. But the opposite is also true.
So if you don’t like my humor or Eddie Murphy’s humor don’t read or watch.
But harmful ? Really? Get a set will ya ?
There is gold in them DUIs and civil cases.
2:17 here. Yeah um get your own. And try more breast milk. Bad humor still sucks. Pfft. [raspberry]
He is an exceptional judge. But make no mistake….. it was the attorneys (specific attorneys) who made this happen. The ones that have lived this case 24/7 for the last year.
Judge H is a great judge no doubt. The attorneys involved wanted the case to go to him because regardless of their personal feelings towards him, they knew he was one of the only judges experienced enough and tough enough to handle this case. Every aspect of the case has been transparent. However,the actual work on the case was done by the attorneys. Specifically, Adam Moskowitz, Gonzalo Dorta, Judd Rosen etc. Adam worked night and day on the case. He said in the beginning that he was going to find every single person responsible and hold them accountable and he did just that. All of the money added to the pot prior to the last settlement with the security company and the developer next door was Adam.
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