Nevada's national embarrassment is back in the headlines today after her attorneys asked to withdraw from representing her, citing irreconcilable differences. (Review-Journal) Attorneys Dominic Gentile, William Gamage and John Arrascada won't say what "irreconcilable differences" have arisen, but the San Jose Mercury News is reporting that what is irreconcilable is Halverson's refusal to pay her legal bills:Halverson said she was told by the lawyers that she owed them more than $90,000 and to go to trial would cost "upwards of an additional $125,000." The judge added that she can't pay since "over the last year I have paid or incurred in excess of $120,000 in legal fees."
But Halverson, in her response to the motion, said the real issue is her inability to pay the attorneys' fees. Halverson told the commission she has no choice but to proceed with the case on her own.
But she has also asked the commission to delay the hearing for five months because of the need to take over as her own attorney. Halverson's attorneys and Dorothy Nash Holmes, special prosecutor for the Judicial Discipline Commission, have asked the commission for a quick decision on the motion because of the impending hearing.
A hearing on the various motions has been set for Thursday in Reno.
Halverson failing to pay her bills? Shocking. Wait, no . . . par for the course. Weird that a judicial candidate and sitting (although suspended) judge who has a passion for what is right and a commitment for what is just would refuse to pay her bills.
[hat tip to SG for the SJ Mercury News article]
Not only does Elizabeth Halverson serially fail to pay her lawyers; she doesn’t like to pay judgments against her either.
ReplyDeleteBack in the day before the 500 pound jurist met her husband Ed Halverson a/k/a, “Evil Ed” (Halverson’s name for him, not mine), she was known as Elizabeth LaMacchia, member of the California Bar.
Elizabeth let CA to find greener pastures in Vegas Law, put her Cal Bar license on inactive status, married Evil Ed, bought a house in Vegas, registered to vote in Vegas, passed the Bar in Nevada, and got a Nevada drivers license but kept her SF rent controlled apartment for her sister to live in, telling the landlords she was only temporarily in Vegas.
Three years later, the landlords evicted the sister, and Elizabeth took the landlords to court, lost, then appealed to the California Court of Appeal (where she filed her legal briefs in all capital letters and without record citations), lost, and ultimately wound up with a $40,000 California judgment against her.
Landlords tracked Halverson (formerly LaMacchia down, got a Nevada sister state judgment for $40K against her from the Clark County court (where Halverson used to sit) and Halverson’s judicial pay (she is suspended WITH pay) is being garnished.
Not a terribly good credit risk for Gentile et al., but lets face it, they took the case because it was high profile, they won one and lost one, but now it looks like Halverson is going down for the count, and her attorneys have no upside by continuing to represent her.
Ironically, with Halverson’s two opponents on the November ballot with baggage of their own (one of them lost $2 Million Dollars in 24 hours in a Vegas casino betting 4 Black Jack hands at $10,000 a hand then filed BK—even though he made $500K a year), and with the possibility that the Nevada Supreme Court might buy her pending argument that the state constitution requires her term to continue for ANOTHER 4 years, we may have Halverson around for a long, long time.
Wow, beat us to the punch by 10 minutes. We will have a post up at 10:10 on Halverson's failure to pay her debts in San Francisco and a critique of her legal abilities in that case.
ReplyDeleteCan't the Attorney General simply argue that allowing Judge Halverson to continue to be a judge is a Constitutional violation?
ReplyDeleteHow pathetic you are legal eagle the paralegal with too much time an her hands and not enough legal knowledge to be a real lawyer. Anonomyous #1- what a liar- um lawyer you must be. I have read the whole Nevada file on Halverson and the California case. Did you mention that the sister was given the landlord's permission to live in the apartment? Or that 5 years had past without notice or that Halverson's possessions were still in the apartment? Did you bother to mention that Halverson never said that she was leaving the apartment? Is there a law that says that people can't have homes in two or more states? Did you bother to mention that Halverson did not try the apartment case but that she was represented by lawyers? Lastly, the judgment is for the landlord's lawyers, not her own. BTW, that lawyer, Stanley Hilton is under investigation by the CA Bar for incompetence.
ReplyDeleteSo who wasn't paid? Spretnak got his money as stated in the court filing in that case. Do you have $90,000 to pay all at once? Let's hope that you don't get sued any time soon, because we would not want you to part with all that money you have sitting around your house.
Halverson is fat and a cripple but what's fair is fair. Read the FACTS and report them all and not just your version of the facts.
P.S. You are overly obsessed with Halverson. Seek professional help.
Dear May 30, 2008 10:17 AM:
ReplyDeleteThe SF rent control ordinance (under which Halverson falsely claimed rights) only applies to one’s PRIMARY RESIDENCE. It does not matter what you have there, if it is not your primary residence, it is not protected under rent control—as Bianca Jagger found out recently when she was evicted from her NYC park Avenue digs—because her primary residence was in London. (Biancca’s Park Avenue apartment was fully furnished with Jagger;s things and she was the only one who lived there.
Elisabeth LaMacchia (Halverson) testified under oath in that matter that she was only temporarily residing in Las Vegas, and that her permanent residence was the San Francisco rent controlled apartment.
The issue of where Halverson was primarily residing for the several years at issue was resolved against her by the trier of fact and the court of appeal.
And the evidence was overwhelming:
She put her Cal Bar license on inactive status. She bought a house in Law Vegas. She got married and lived in Las Vegas with her husband. She registered to vote in Las Vegas. She obtained a Nevada drivers license. She became licensed to practice law in Nevada. She took a permanent full time job in Nevada. She lived continuously in Nevada for years and never returned to SF.
Second, she has a $42,000 judgment against her.
Third, just as her court of appeal briefs were typed in all caps, her appeal from the Clark County citation declaring her filthy house and cesspool back yard pool a nuisance and a health hazard was typed in all caps.
Fourth, if you know Halverson had things in the SF apartment and the other things you mention you are probably the fat cow herself.
If so, good luck in 67 days.
Regarding Halverson's (alleged) penchant for producing the SF appellate briefs in all caps, I proffer the fact that when Clark County cited her fatness for a home so filthy that it was declared a public nuisance and a health hazard--she typed her appeal in all caps.
ReplyDeleteIncidentally, I watched video footage of Halverson’s yard and pool. I am providing the link below, complete with neighbor interviews about the mosquito problem.
In the video Halverson’s backyard pool looks like a cesspool—garbage floating in it, green color, layer of scum on the surface.
Here is the link for this trailer trash judges disgraceful yard:
http://www.ktnv.com/global/video/popup/pop_player.asp?ClipID1=1480138&h1=Judge%20Halverson%20May%20Face%20Clean%20Up%20Charges&vt1=v&at1=News&d1=121667&LaunchPageAdTag=News&activePane=info&playerVersion=1&hostPageUrl=http%3A//www.ktnv.com/Global/story.asp%3FS%3D6595309&rnd=77846733
PS: I am rooting for halverson to STAY on the bench so we can all have a good laugh every week for the next four years.