Menu

Search

(/dailybusinessreview/search/)

(/dailybusinessreview/)

POWERED BY LAW.COM (/) promoCode=FLM&source=https://www.law.com/dailybusinessreview/sites/dailybusinessreview/2017/12/14/criminal-

PROMOCODE=FLM&SOURCE=HTTPS://WWW.LAW.COM/DAILYBUSINESSREVIEW/SITES/DAILYBUSINESSREVIEW/2017/12/14/CRIMINAL-

Publications (/publications) Law Topics (/topics) Real Estate (/dailybusinessreview/real-estate-news/) Business of Law (/dailybusinessreview/business-of-law/)Columns (/dailybusinessreview/columns/) Special Sections (/dailybusinessreview/special-sections/) Public Notices (/dailybusinessreview/public-notices/)

Events (/dailybusinessreview/events/) More + (/dailybusinessreview/sitemap/)

By Celia Ampel (/author/profile/Celia Ampel/) | December 14, 2017 at 03:58 PM

Criminal Contempt Proceedings Go ForwardAgainst Boca Raton Attorneys

!

"

#

+

% (http://www.almreprints.com)

Circuit Judge Beatrice A. Butchko. Photo: J. Albert Diaz/ALM.

Criminal contempt charges are still a possibility for two Boca Raton attorneys who

drew the ire of a judge(https://www.law.com/dailybusinessreview/sites/dailybusinessreview/2017/12/08/loan-servicers-attorneys-face-criminal-contempt-arraignment-in-miami/?back=law)for not producing documents in a foreclosure case.

Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Beatrice Butchko decided Thursday that she would hold an

arraignment for Amina McNeil and Yacenda Hudson of Tromberg Law Group, who

represent loan servicer Ditech Financial Services LLC. The arraignment was not

scheduled, pending an appeal.

Trending Stories1 Meet Matthew Petersen, DC

Court Nom Who FlunkedSenator's Pop Quiz(/nationallawjournal/sites/nationallawjournal/2017/12/15/meet-matthew-petersen-dc-court-nom-who-flunked-senators-pop-quiz/)NATIONAL LAW JOURNAL(/NATIONALLAWJOURNAL/)

2 Big Law Helping Homer andMickey Tie Knot in Disney-FoxDeal(/americanlawyer/sites/americanlawyer/2017/12/14/big-law-helping-homer-and-mickey-tie-knot-in-disney-fox-deal/)THE AMERICAN LAWYER(/AMERICANLAWYER/)

3

“I’ve been on the bench 12 years and I’ve never found myself in this position — and I

sanction people a lot,” Butchko said at the hearing. “This is very, very serious.”

But she ruled Ditech representative Christopher Ogden will be dropped from the

criminal contempt proceedings initiated by Judge Pedro Echarte. Echarte recused

himself after asking McNeil to identify whose decision it was to not turn over

documents, “because I want to know who goes to jail.”

Let's Talk About Kozinski'sVictim: Heidi Bond(/americanlawyer/sites/americanlawyer/2017/12/13/lets-talk-about-kozinskis-victim-heidi-bond/)THE AMERICAN LAWYER(/AMERICANLAWYER/)

4 Staten Island 'Trial-by-Combat'Attorney Charged With Fraud,Kidnapping Conspiracy(/newyorklawjournal/sites/newyorklawjournal/2017/12/15/staten-island-trial-by-combat-attorney-charged-with-fraud-kidnapping-conspiracy/)NEW YORK LAW JOURNAL(/NEWYORKLAWJOURNAL/)

5 Here Are The Ten Highest PaidFemale GCs In The U.S.(/corpcounsel/sites/corpcounsel/2017/12/05/here-are-the-ten-highest-paid-female-gcs-in-the-u-s/)CORPORATE COUNSEL(/CORPCOUNSEL/)

Ogden testified in a deposition about Ditech’s process for verifying mortgages that

originated with another company. After he referred to training manuals that

mention a “red-flag” process, Echarte ordered Ditech to turn over the manuals

before a second deposition. The lawyers showed up for that deposition — scheduled

at midnight on a Saturday after they failed to agree on a time — but Ditech did not

have the training manuals.

Thursday’s hearing before Butchko was scheduled as an arraignment for Hudson,

McNeil and Ogden, but the judge wanted to sort out a procedural issue first: Without

any sworn testimony, can judges start criminal contempt proceedings for

behavior they didn’t see?

Ditech’s legal team, led by former Florida Supreme Court Justice Raoul Cantero of

White & Case (https://www.law.com/law-firm-profile?id=321&name=White-%26-Case) and Bast Amron special counsel Brian Tannebaum, argued Echarte did

not follow procedure. The judge made the decision on his own after the borrowers’

attorney, Bruce Jacobs of Jacobs Keeley, moved for civil sanctions.

“The way that Judge Echarte gained knowledge of the conduct outside of Mr. Jacobs’

motion was to interrogate counsel, future defendants in the criminal case, and ask

them to give unsworn testimony about what happened,” Tannebaum argued.

Butchko found the rule allowed Echarte to make the order sua sponte, without any

sworn affidavit, based on his conversation with McNeil during last month’s

hearing. McNeil told the judge Ditech decided not to produce the documents

because they believed they were privileged. Butchko also held Hudson accountable

for the conversation as McNeil’s supervisor.

But a sworn affidavit would be required to pursue criminal contempt proceedings

against Ogden, Butchko found, as the hearing before Echarte did not address

Ogden’s role.

Ogden’s attorney, Patrick Broderick of Greenberg Traurig(https://www.law.com/law-firm-profile?id=126&name=Greenberg-Traurig) inWest Palm Beach, argued the Ditech witness was not involved in decisions about

whether to comply with court orders.

“He just works for a place,” Broderick said. “These documents we’re talking about are

not his.”

Jacobs argued Ogden’s conduct was part of a broader problem of loan servicers

training witnesses to lie under oath about their loan-boarding process, and Butchko

said he could make that argument later in the case — as long as he had clear

evidence.

“I’m not engaging in some conspiracy theory,” Butchko told Jacobs. “I’m not doing it.

It’s a brand-new case to me. … I need to be able to see it, smell it, touch it, feel it, or

else I’m not ruling on it.”

Butchko ruled Ogden was ”operating at the will of the lawyers” and dismissed him

from the criminal contempt proceedings. She also declined to rule on whether

Ditech itself would face charges.

She agreed to grant a stay of the arraignment to allow appeals from McNeil’s

attorney, David Weinstein of Hinshaw & Culbertson in Coral Gables, and Hudson’s

attorney, Zena Duncan of the Law Office of Zena X. Duncan in Miami. But discovery

Legal Ethics and Attorney Discipline (/topics/legal-ethics-and-attorney-discipline/)

Litigation (/topics/litigation/) Financial Services and Banking (/topics/financial-services-and-banking/)

Real Estate (/topics/real-estate/)

in the underlying case will go forward, the judge said.

Hudson, McNeil and Ogden did not attend Thursday’s hearing.

Dig Deeper

! SHARE ON FACEBOOK # SHARE ON TWITTER

Celia Ampel

( /author/profile/Celia Ampel/)

Celia Ampel covers South Florida litigation. Contacther at campel@alm.com or on Twitter at@CeliaAmpel.

More from this author › (/author/profile/Celia Ampel/)

SPONSOR CONTENTBy Grove Bank & Trust

Business Succession Planning(https://www.law.com/native?mvi=da5fbce9e65d46de995a8c108c56c580)One of the important decisions a business owner must face iswhen and how to step out of the business — in other words,business succession planning. Once you choose to either sellor gift, you can structure your plan to go into effect duringyour lifetime or at your death.

Recommended StoriesNEW YORK LAW JOURNAL (/NEWYORKLAWJOURNAL/)

Judge Kozinski: Will Due ProcessEmerge?(/newyorklawjournal/sites/newyorklawjournal/2017/12/14/judge-kozinski-will-due-process-emerge/)JOEL COHEN | DECEMBER 14, 2017

Judge Kozinski, from the currently available one-sidedaccusations, may indeed have been a bad actor. But if thesystem put in place to adjudicate the issue is to work properly—assuming he chooses to fight—due process must remain as abulwark against a rush to judgment against him and his conduct.

(https://www.law.com/native?mvi=da5fbce9e65d46de995a8c108c56c580)

NATIONAL LAW JOURNAL (/NATIONALLAWJOURNAL/)

112 Companies Back Microsoft,Princeton in Immigration Suit Against

Featured Firms

Presented by BigVoodoo &

Law Offices of Mark E. Salomone2 OLIVER ST #608BOSTON, MA 02109857-444-6468www.marksalomone.com

Gary Martin Hays & Associates P.C.235 PEACHTREE ST NE #400ATLANTA, GA 30303800-898-4297www.garymartinhays.com

The Law Firm Of Jonathan C. Reiter350 5TH AVENEW YORK, NY 10118212-736-0979www.jcreiterlaw.com

Sign Up Today and Never Miss Another Story.As part of your digital membership, you can sign up for an unlimited number of a wide range ofcomplimentary newsletters. Visit your My Account (https://store.law.com/registration/login.aspx?promoCode=FLM) page to make your selections. Get the timely legal news and critical analysis you cannotafford to miss. Tailored just for you. In your inbox. Every day.

Subscribe Now

(https://store.law.com/registration/login.aspx?promoCode=FLM)

Privacy Policy (https://www.alm.com/privacy-policy-new/)

Publications Law Topics Rankings More Law.com

ALM Legal Publication Newsletters

(/dailybusinessreview/)

Publications (/publications) / Law Topics (/topics) / Real Estate (/dailybusinessreview/real-estate-news/)/ Business of Law (/dailybusinessreview/business-of-law/) / Columns (/dailybusinessreview/columns/)

/ Special Sections (/dailybusinessreview/special-sections/) / Public Notices (/dailybusinessreview/public-notices/)/ Editorial Calendar (/dailybusinessreview/editorial-calendar/) / Events (/dailybusinessreview/events/) / More + (/dailybusinessreview/sitemap/)

About Daily Business Review (/dailybusinessreview/static/about-us/) / Contact Us (/dailybusinessreview/static/contact-us/) / Site Map (/dailybusinessreview/sitemap/)/ Advertise With Us (http://mediakit.alm.com/) / Customer Care (https://www.alm.com/contact-us/) / Terms of Service (https://www.alm.com/terms-of-use/)

/ FAQ (https://store.law.com/Registration/myAccount.aspx?promoCode=lc#/Help) / Privacy Policy (https://www.alm.com/privacy-policy-new)

(/)

FOLLOW US (https://www.facebook.com/LawdotcomALM/) (https://twitter.com/lawdotcom) (https://plus.google.com/105568464779205123032/posts)

(https://www.linkedin.com/company/25021727/) (http://feeds.feedblitz.com/law/law-com-newswire)

Trump(/nationallawjournal/sites/nationallawjournal/2017/12/15/112-companies-back-microsoft-princeton-in-immigration-suit-against-trump/)MIKE SCARCELLA(/NATIONALLAWJOURNAL/AUTHOR/PROFILE/MIKE SCARCELLA/)| DECEMBER 15, 2017

"In addition to these invaluable intangible benefits, DACA hasproduced—and is continuing to produce—important benefits forAmerica’s companies and for our economy as a whole," thebrief, filed by teams from Wilmer Hale and Mayer Brown,argued.

DELAWARE BUSINESS COURT INSIDER (/DELBIZCOURT/)

Del. Justices Uphold Dismissal of$145M Duke Energy Derivative Suit(/delbizcourt/sites/delbizcourt/2017/12/15/del-justices-uphold-dismissal-of-145m-duke-energy-derivative-suit/)TOM MCPARLAND(/THELEGALINTELLIGENCER/AUTHOR/PROFILE/TOMMCPARLAND/) | DECEMBER 15, 2017

The Delaware Supreme Court in a 4-1 decision Friday upheld thedismissal of a derivative suit seeking more than $145 millionfrom the directors of Duke Energy Corp. over the handling ofcoal ash releases in North Carolina.

The American Lawyer(/americanlawyer/)

Corporate Counsel (/corpcounsel/)

National Law Journal(/nationallawjournal/)

New York Law Journal(/newyorklawjournal/)

New Jersey Law Journal(/njlawjournal/)

The Recorder (/therecorder/)

More Publications › (/publications/)

Litigation (/topics/litigation/)

Transactional Law(/topics/transactional-law/)

Law Firm Management (/topics/law-firm-management/)

Legal Practice Management(/topics/legal-practice-management/)

Cybersecurity (/topics/cybersecurity/)

Intellectual Property(/topics/intellectual-property/)

More Law Topics › (/topics/)

AmLaw 100(/americanlawyer/rankings/am-law-

100/)

AmLaw 200(/americanlawyer/rankings/am-law-

200/)

Global 100(/americanlawyer/rankings/global-

100/)

National Law Journal 500(/nationallawjournal/rankings/the-nlj-

500/)

Pro Bono Scorecard(/americanlawyer/rankings/pro-bono/)

The A-List(/americanlawyer/rankings/a-list)

More Rankings › (/rankings/)

Events (/events/)

ALM Intelligence (/alm-intelligence/)

Editorial Calendar (/editorial-calendar/)

Resources (/resources/)

Legal Dictionary(https://dictionary.law.com/)

Jobs (http://lawjobs.com/)

Law Firms (/law-firms/)

Law Schools (/topics/legal-education/)

About Us (/static/about-us/)

Contact Us (/static/contact-us/)

Site Map (/sitemap/)

Advertise With Us(http://mediakit.alm.com/)

Customer Support(https://www.alm.com/contact-us/)

Terms of Service(https://www.alm.com/terms-of-use/)

FAQ(/sites/almstaff/2017/10/20/frequently-

asked-questions/)

Privacy Policy(https://www.alm.com/privacy-policy-

new/)

Copyright © 2017 ALM Media Properties, LLC. All Rights Reserved.