By Lee Logan, Times Staff Writer
Thursday, December 30, 2010
TAMPA — The e-mail messages show two lawyers trying to schedule hearings and depositions for a lawsuit. They can't agree on dates, or much of anything else.
Then it gets ugly.
Tampa lawyer Nicholas F. Mooney calls his opponent a jerk and a "junior lawyer." Palmetto lawyer Kurt D. Mitchell questions Mooney's mental health. The name-calling continues over six months.
Now the Florida Supreme Court has weighed in, issuing sanctions for both lawyers.
After two complaints by the Florida Bar, Mitchell was suspended for 10 days and was ordered to attend an anger management class. Mooney gets a public reprimand and must take a class on professionalism.
All because the men refused to be civil.
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Neither lawyer answered calls for comment or responded to e-mails Thursday. But several e-mail exchanges between them included in the Bar complaints paint a ...