Charley's pernicious entrance on the Gulf coast was but the first of a series of hurricanes to hit Florida in late summer that year. I'd fielded a number of phone calls from an individual acting as liaison for a group of investors intent on establishing a venue in Florida fashioned after the one I direct here. Discussions ensued through the last few weeks in July and August and culminated in an invitation for me to visit, take a look at the area and offer consultation services. Given the threat of storms for the better part of late summer, we delayed the business trip to the Jacksonville area until the weather was more hospitable.
Naturally, my plan was to combine this series of meetings in Jacksonville with a jaunt over to Tallahassee to meet Doug once he was settled in after his return. But both August and September would see nature's wrath in full force and made travelling unwise. Hence the business trip was put off a number of times. While watching the weather forecasts, and knowing of the likelihood that I'd be in his area, I had been in touch by email with Doug. I wondered how he was faring, especially since the storms had caused a fair amount of damage in the panhandle. That's when he told me that "Folie a Deux" had been destroyed in the latest hurricane.
While storms continued to rage in the South, I felt tempest-tossed by the Defendants' apparent manipulation of Court process. Having 21 days to file an answer to the civil complaint, their answer was due the last week of July. The Defendants missed filing by the deadline. Since DF had shown utter defiance of court protocol in the past, I'd instructed my counsel to watch the filing deadline carefully, and make haste to file a Motion for Default if opportunity presented itself. Sure enough one week passed, and a Default was entered. Much to my dismay, Defendant's counsel opposed the motion and requested the judgment be set aside, using grounds that his clients were "unsophisticated laypeople" and had inadvertently mistaken the date of service.
Unsophisticated? Hardly! These were individuals who'd planned and deliberated each step in their scheme and were hoping that if they ignored the complaint it would simply and timidly go away. Arrgh! The case was set for trial. I'd be forced to wait for both the turbulence in the South and the commotion here to pass before I would be able to move onto more pleasant activities.
Naturally, my plan was to combine this series of meetings in Jacksonville with a jaunt over to Tallahassee to meet Doug once he was settled in after his return. But both August and September would see nature's wrath in full force and made travelling unwise. Hence the business trip was put off a number of times. While watching the weather forecasts, and knowing of the likelihood that I'd be in his area, I had been in touch by email with Doug. I wondered how he was faring, especially since the storms had caused a fair amount of damage in the panhandle. That's when he told me that "Folie a Deux" had been destroyed in the latest hurricane.
While storms continued to rage in the South, I felt tempest-tossed by the Defendants' apparent manipulation of Court process. Having 21 days to file an answer to the civil complaint, their answer was due the last week of July. The Defendants missed filing by the deadline. Since DF had shown utter defiance of court protocol in the past, I'd instructed my counsel to watch the filing deadline carefully, and make haste to file a Motion for Default if opportunity presented itself. Sure enough one week passed, and a Default was entered. Much to my dismay, Defendant's counsel opposed the motion and requested the judgment be set aside, using grounds that his clients were "unsophisticated laypeople" and had inadvertently mistaken the date of service.
Unsophisticated? Hardly! These were individuals who'd planned and deliberated each step in their scheme and were hoping that if they ignored the complaint it would simply and timidly go away. Arrgh! The case was set for trial. I'd be forced to wait for both the turbulence in the South and the commotion here to pass before I would be able to move onto more pleasant activities.
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