Florida Probate & Trust Litigation Blog : Florida Probate Litigation, Will Contest Lawyer & Attorney : Juan C. Antúnez : Serving Miami, Jacksonville, Tampa Saint Petersburg, Orlando, Fort Lauderdale

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The histrionics we see on television are almost never allowed in a real courtroom. If something truly appalling is going to happen, it's going to happen outside of the courtroom. Prime example: toxic e-mail feuds.

Sooner or later we all run into opposing counsel who try to provoke us into some kind of angry e-mail exchange. My policy: do NOT engage.

These sorts of soul crushing e-mail feuds do nothing to help the clients, move the focus of the case away from the substance of the matter (where it should be) to the lawyers (where it shouldn't be), and are ultimately demeaning as well as psychologically damaging for all concerned.

The St. Petersburg Times recently reported on an e-mail feud between two litigators that resulted in sanctions for both sides. Here's an excerpt from Court punishes bay area lawyers who called each other 'hack' and 'loser' — and worse:

TAMPA — The e-mail messages show two lawyers trying to schedule hearings and depositions for a lawsuit. They can't agree on dates, or much of anything else.

Then it gets ugly.

Tampa lawyer Nicholas F. Mooney calls his opponent a jerk and a "junior lawyer." Palmetto lawyer Kurt D. Mitchell questions Mooney's mental health. The name-calling continues over six months.

Now the Florida Supreme Court has weighed in, issuing sanctions for both lawyers.

After two complaints by the Florida Bar, Mitchell was suspended for 10 days and was ordered to attend an anger management class. Mooney gets a public reprimand and must take a class on professionalism.

All because the men refused to be civil.

• • •

In October, the insults got truly personal. Mitchell said he was looking online for a mental disability based on Mooney's "symptoms," such as "closely spaced eyes, dull blank stare, bulbous head, lying and inability to tell fiction from reality." Mooney, who said his son has a birth defect, called Mitchell a jerk and suggested he look in the mirror for signs of mental disability. "Then check your children (if they are even yours. … Better check the garbage man that comes by your trailer to make sure they don't look like him)."

Mitchell's reply: "While I am sorry to hear about your disabled child; that sort of thing is to be expected when a retard reproduces. … Do not hate me, hate your genetics. However, I would look at the bright side, at least you definitely know the kid is yours."

If you're dealing with opposing counsel that just doesn't get it, you may want to send him or her a copy of the Florida Bar Complaints filed against the lawyers in this case [click here, here], and note that toxic e-mails can actually get them sanctioned, as noted in the concluding paragraph of both Florida Bar Complaints:

By reason of the foregoing, the Respondent has violated the following Rules Regulating The Florida Bar: Rule 3-4.3 (commission of any act that is unlawful or contrary to honesty and justice); and Rule 4-8.4(d) (a lawyer shall not engage in conduct in connection with the practice of law that is prejudicial to the administration of justice, including to knowingly, or through callous indifference, disparage, humiliate, or discriminate against litigants, jurors, witnesses, court personnel, or other lawyers on any basis, including, but not limited to, on account of race, ethnicity, gender, religion, national origin, disability, marital status, sexual orientation, age, socioeconomic status, employment, or physical characteristic).