Foreclosure Attorney Arrested for Contempt

By Ansley Owens, Contributing Writer and Intern for the NACTT Academy (Nashville, TN)

A heated dispute between a judge and foreclosure attorney ended with the 70-year-old attorney handcuffed, charged with two felonies, and incarcerated overnight.

On November 14, 2014, Palm Beach Circuit Senior Judge Howard Harrison found attorney Stuart Golant in contempt and issued a $500 fine. The transcript from the hearing in GMAC Mortgage, LLC v. Philip Joseph Maszak, et. al., reveals Golant and other attorneys accusing Judge Harrison of denying a motion “as a sanction” against their firm.

When Golant refused to stop yelling in opposition, Judge Harrison ordered bailiffs to remove Golant from the courtroom and a tussle ensued.

The arrest affidavit alleged that Golant violated the law “by grabbing [the officer’s] collar and throat . . . causing [him] to defend [himself].” Golant was charged with resisting arrest with violence and battery on a law enforcement officer.

A video of this altercation shows the events alleged in the affidavit. Golant’s wife and law partner, Margery, is heard in the background pleading with the officers to stop as Golant had a heart condition.

Judge Harrison entered an Order and Judgment finding Golant guilty of Contempt of Court and assessing him a $500 fine on January 7, 2015. Golant filed a Notice of Appeal on January 31, 2015 with Judge Harrison’s order attached.

According to the Clerk and Comptroller of Palm Beach County, the state attorney’s office dropped the charges against Golant on January 8, 2015.

Despite the charges being dropped, the incident had after shock effects. In an unrelated case, married clients of Golant & Golant, P.A., filed a writ of prohibition to disqualify Judge Harrison from their foreclosure case. Clients Richard and Meryl Cannon cited their fear of bias was due to Golant’s previous confrontation with Judge Harrison.

The petition was denied June 10, 2015 in an unsigned opinion. Judge Martha Warner dissented concluding that the “motion was technically sufficient,” and “the facts alleged were sufficient to require disqualification.”

____________________

HeadshotAnsley F. Owens is a contributing writer and intern with the National Association of Chapter Thirteen Trustees Academy in Nashville, Tennessee. Ms. Owens graduated from Middle Tennessee State University with a Bachelor of Science in Public Relations, and expects her Juris Doctor from Belmont University College of Law in May 2016.

While at Belmont University College of Law she serves as a Student Bar Association Senator and the Vice President of the Family Law Society. She is trained in the Harvard Negotiation Model and participates as a member of other law-related student associations. Outside the classroom she interned with MTR Family Law in Nashville, Tennessee, and was a judicial clerk for Judge Lynda Jones in General Sessions Court, Division IX in Nashville, Tennessee.

No Author Biography has been linked to this Article.

Related Articles

September 26, 2021
By Lawrence R. Ahern III, Brown & Ahern (Nashville, TN) "Equity is not an old man, with a long grey beard, sitting under a tree. Equity has rules."1 Introduction Section 105 When enacted in 1978, the Bankruptcy Code in section 105 included an "all writs" statute for the Bankruptcy Courts: The court may issue any order, process, or judgment that...
Members
January 10, 2021
By Rachel Jones, Staff Attorney to Chapter 13 Standing Trustee Chris Micale, Western District of Virginia (Roanoke) The events of 2020 have had a devastating impact on the very low-income population. The working poor are struggling, particularly those working in sectors such as hospitality and tourism. State and Federal funding and local programs such as food banks and community action...
Copy of Hildebrand-2016
Chapter 13 debtor has no obligation to voluntarily disclose changes in income or the acquisition of post-petition assets absent a request from a party in interest for such information.  (Kendig) In re Poe, 2022 WL 3639415, (Bankr. N.D. Ohio August 22, 2022) Case Summary Mr. Poe filed a Chapter 13 petition in March of 2019.  At the time of filing,...
Members
September 20, 2020
By Henry E. Hildebrand, III, Chapter 13 Standing Trustee for the Middle District of Tennessee (Nashville) A Non-Governmental Private Student Loan Obligation is not always excepted from discharge by § 523(a)(8). (Holmes) McDaniel v. Navient Solutions, LLC, 2020 WL 5104560 (August 31, 2020) Case Summary Bryon and Laura McDaniel filed a Chapter 13 petition in 2009. They acknowledged that, among...
Members
moran_cathy
March 27, 2022
I’ve been having nightmares about the 9th Circuit’s decision in Siegel for 20 years. Broad strokes, Siegel (143 F.3d 525 (9th Cir. 1998) holds that a filed claim in a no asset bankruptcy case to which no one objects is entitled to preclusive effect in subsequent litigation by . . . It looks like you are not signed in or...
Members
August 2, 2020
By The Honorable William Houston Brown (Retired) Dismissal with 180-day bar affirmed. The debtors had filed eight Chapter 13 cases over eight years, with each dismissed, and in 2019 the spouses filed three more cases. A mortgage creditor moved for relief from the automatic stay and dismissal in each of the cases. The cases were dismissed with a 180-day bar...
Members
May 3, 2020
On April 30, 2020, Frank M. Pees will retire from his position as the Chapter 13 Standing Trustee (Worthington) for the Southern District of Ohio, Eastern Division. Mr. Pees has been a Trustee since his appointment in 1978. Throughout his career, he has been actively involved in the National Association of Chapter 13 Trustees, serving as President (in 1987), and...
Members
November 14, 2021
By Mary Beth Ausbrooks, Rothschild & Ausbrooks PLLC (Nashville, TN) With the prolonged decline in case filings, I found that sending a mass emailed newsletter has been very beneficial. In order to send a mass email to a group of people, it was necessary to find software that would send the emails out in such a fashion that the email...
Members
Copy of Hildebrand-2016
Bankruptcy courts lack jurisdiction to apply “innocent spouse” relief to determine the amount of a tax claim to be paid in a Chapter 13 case.  (Taddonio) In re Geary, 2023 WL 2996720 (Bankr. W.D. Pa. April 19, 2023) Case Summary When a taxpayer signs a joint tax return with their spouse, the Internal Revenue Code is very clear.  Both signatories...
Members
January 13, 2019
By Kathryne M. Shaw,1 Boleman Law Firm, P.C. (Virginia Beach, VA) Click here for Part 2 The bankruptcy system requires good faith on the part of a debtor in exchange for the promise of a fresh start, and responsible members of the bankruptcy bar constantly work to ensure that no one “games” this powerful system. So, how does a debtor...
Members