Info Request

In my opinion, this is a serious situation, involving the integrity of the judicial process, and ought to be dealt with harshly. It is incomprehensible to me that these people have thus far been treated as leniently as you describe. They ought to be going to jail.

That said, please clarify a couple of things:

1) What authority/government agency fined this people and awarded you expenses and attorney's fees? Was this a result of an administrative proceeding?

2) Same question with respect to their year's probation -- is this an administrative probation or court probation? Since you say there was "no prosecution", I suspect the former, but want to be sure.

You have already taken one of the further actions you can pursue -- filing a criminal complaint with the sheriff's department. Were all of the forged signatures on documents submitted to courts in the same county? If more than one county is involved, you can file a complaint in each county.

Your other thought -- contacting the Chief Judge -- is an excellent idea. Since this does involve the integrity of the court process, the judges in all of the cases involved ought to be notified, as well as the attorneys for the litigants. It is possible, if not likely, that in some of these cases action has been taken on the basis of the forged affidavits of service (for example, entry of default judgement). I suggest advising the court at the earliest opportunity.

If you get no satisfaction from the sheriff's department or the courts involved, then I would contact the Florida attorney general's office. They have the legal authority to pursue criminal charges that local authorities cannot or will not undertake.

Jim Reilly

Edited by RunTam38 CA Lawyer on 8/22/2008 at 6:15 PM