Car dealer Ed Morse sues Scott Rothstein for malpractice
South Florida big noise Ed Morse on Friday sued disbarred lawyer Scott Rothstein for juridical malpractice -- one week after the feds charged him with swindling $57 million from the noteworthy car dealer, among other fraud offenses.
Morse and his wife Carol claim Rothstein and other members of his now-bankrupt Fort Lauderdale law outfit lied to them, forged court documents and misrepresented their interests in three away state court lawsuits. In particular, the Morses accuse Rothstein of perfidious to them about the settlement of a $2 million contract dispute with the decorator of their homes in Boca Raton and Maine.
This year, Rothstein agreed to resolve and pay the decorator $500,000 -- behind the couple's back. But he told the Morses that they'd won the if it happens and could collect a $23 million judgment -- secreted away by the decorator in a Cayman Islands bank account -- if the combine posted a $57 million bond. Rothstein is accused of forging a federal court lodge and the signature of U.S. District Judge Kenneth Marra, saying the Morses could seize the decorator's specie by posting their bond in one of Rothstein's bank accounts.