A Palm Beach County circuit judge this week threw out a sexual assault lawsuit the daughter of developer E. Llwyd Ecclestone Jr. filed against her powerful father, ruling that she, her husband and her lawyer committed a fraud upon the court.
, Circuit Judge Joseph Curley blasted the actions of Wendy and Joshua Mendelsohn and their attorney, Rod Coleman, saying they had exhibited a 鈥渄eliberate and contumacious disregard of the court鈥檚 authority.鈥�
Throwing out a lawsuit before trial is rare. But, Curley said, he had no choice.
鈥淭he court after much deliberation has determined that the ultimate sanction is unfortunately appropriate,鈥� Curley wrote.
Joshua Mendelsohn expressed shock at the ruling. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not over until both sides say it鈥檚 over,鈥� he said, after the ruling was signed Tuesday, three days before jury selection was to begin.
Coleman said he would first ask Curley to reconsider his decision and, failing that, would file an appeal.
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鈥淭he ruling is full of half-truths and total mistruths,鈥� he said. Contrary to Curley鈥檚 order, neither he nor his clients ever lied to the judge or tried to hide information, he said.
Prominent Miami attorney Roy Black and his partner, Lance Shinder, applauded Curley鈥檚 ruling.
鈥淥ur judicial system cannot allow the type of misconduct, lack of candor, waste of judicial resources and manipulation committed by the plaintiffs and their lawyer in this case,鈥� said Black. 鈥淭hankfully, the judge鈥檚 decision puts a conclusive end to the many years of hardship Mr. Ecclestone has endured fighting to prove his innocence.鈥�
Shinder said he and Black would seek 鈥渁ll available remedies for the harm our client suffered to his reputation and dignity by this case.鈥� That includes forcing the Mendelsohns to pay the legal bills Ecclestone incurred during the long legal battle.
Ecclestone earned millions developing such landmarks as PGA National, Old Port Cove, Lost Tree Village and office buildings throughout the county. He engineered the location of the Kravis Center, transformed Palm Beach International Airport and fought to make single-member County Commission districts reality.
said the 7-year-old lawsuit that was handled by roughly a half-dozen prior judges, was punctuated with significant and disturbing ethical lapses.
Even though another judge ruled that the Mendelsohns illegally videotaped a 2016 family meeting and barred them from using it, Coleman ignored the order, Curley said.
Coleman continued to refer to the recording where Ecclestone and his daughter heatedly discussed her claims that she had recovered memories that her now 88-year-old father molested her when she was 10.
Shortly before the meeting, the now 56-year-old Mendelsohn said she began having flashbacks of her father kissing her with his tongue and rubbing his body against her 鈥� a claim Ecclestone denies.
鈥楢 year of unnecessary delay鈥�
But the bulk of Curley鈥檚 order was directed at what he described as a 鈥渇raudulent scheme鈥� to deceive him and Ecclestone鈥檚 lawyers about a psychiatrist Coleman hired to shore up Mendelsohn鈥檚 claims that her memories of decades-old abuse were valid.
The deceit was particularly egregious, Curley wrote. It delayed the trial for 13 months, wasting valuable court time and potentially robbing Ecclestone of his right to a fair trial.
On Friday, Curley was to decide whether Ecclestone was competent to testify. His lawyers claimed he is not.
The unnecessary delay caused by 鈥渇alsehoods鈥� told by Coleman and the Mendelsohns was grossly unfair to Ecclestone, Curley wrote.
鈥淚ndeed it is possible (Ecclestone) is now unable to testify due to competence or to meaningfully participate in the defense of the highly personal claims against him alleging actions of sexual abuse of more than 30 years ago,鈥� Curley wrote. 鈥淎 year of unnecessary delay is unfairly prejudicial.鈥�
Why did the psychiatrist withdraw?
Curley and Ecclestone鈥檚 legal team agreed to delay the trial from July 2023 to this month after Dr. Richard Loewenstein, a longtime professor of psychiatry at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, said he no longer wanted to testify on Mendelsohn鈥檚 behalf.
In court papers, Coleman blamed Loewenstein鈥檚 abrupt departure on Black, claiming the psychiatrist felt he had been treated unfairly by Ecclestone鈥檚 attorney during a deposition, Curley wrote. But, Coleman said in a June 2023 motion, that his own actions may have contributed to Loewenstein鈥檚 decision.
Still, Curley said, Coleman only blamed Black. Last month, the judge wrote, it became clear that Coleman鈥檚 claims, which were confirmed under oath by the Mendelsohns, were false.
Records provided by Loewenstein on July 11 showed he withdrew from the case because Coleman deceived him.
Before the deposition, Ecclestone鈥檚 legal team sought records from Loewenstein. As part of the legal process, known as discovery, they were entitled to the records to defend their client.
Coleman had told Ecclestone鈥檚 lawyers that Loewenstein would testify only in general about repressed memories, Curley wrote. However, during the deposition, Loewenstein revealed that he had spent 16 hours interviewing Mendelsohn. He had given her a battery of tests and said she suffered from dissociative amnesia caused by the trauma of being molested.
Court records show that in October 2022, Coleman told Ecclestone鈥檚 defense team that Loewenstein鈥檚 testimony would include his diagnosis of Mendelsohn. The lawyers were on notice that his role had expanded before the deposition, Coleman said.
Curley said Coleman never alerted Black. The unexpected information was crucial to Ecclestone鈥檚 defense so Black suspended the deposition.
Seeking the psychiatrist鈥檚 notes
After Loewenstein withdrew from the case, Black continued to request documents from the psychiatrist about his work with Mendelsohn.
Coleman fought his efforts vigorously. He unsuccessfully appealed Curley鈥檚 decision that ordered him to turn over all of Loewenstein鈥檚 records. Coleman falsely claimed that Loewenstein had ignored subpoenas from Black, demanding the psychiatrist turn over his files, Curley said.
On July 11, Loewenstein sent all of his documents, including his June 2023 resignation letter, to Black.
, Loewenstein blasted Coleman. He said Coleman defamed him by claiming that the psychiatrist had refused to turn over the documents. He said Coleman had promised to turn over the records and instructed him not to do so.
鈥淚t is clear that, rather than following basic principles of discovery, you were playing games with discovery materials and attempted to use me as your agent in this deception,鈥� Loewenstein wrote.
Loewenstein said this 鈥渂etrayal of trust鈥� spurred him to withdraw from the case.
鈥淚 will expect you to inform the that I have terminated my agreement to act as an expert, and the reason (your lying about me and discovery) that has led me to no longer find it possible to work with you,鈥� he wrote.
Psychiatrist鈥檚 withdrawal would 鈥榩rove disastrous鈥�
The 2023 letter exposed Coleman鈥檚 and the Mendelsohns鈥� months of deceit, Curley wrote. When they asked for the trial to be delayed, they blamed Black for Loewenstein鈥檚 departure.
But, at a hearing last month, Mendelsohn admitted she had written a letter to Loewenstein after his deposition, acknowledging that Coleman鈥檚 behavior had prompted him to withdraw. In the letter, she offered to hire a new lawyer so Loewenstein would 鈥渘ot have to talk to Mr. Coleman,鈥� Curley wrote.
鈥淭he letter, in addition to her sworn testimony, is clear and convincing evidence that Mrs. Mendelsohn knew that the motion (to continue the July 2023 trial) was false and that Loewenstein鈥檚 withdrawal had nothing to do with the defense counsel,鈥� Curley wrote.
Further, the recently obtained records showed that Coleman in a June 2023 letter pleaded with Loewenstein not to tell Eccelstone鈥檚 attorneys of his decision to withdraw from the case. Loewenstein鈥檚 departure would 鈥減rove disastrous鈥� for the Mendelsohns during talks to settle the case, Curley wrote, quoting the letter.
Coleman also threatened Loewenstein, Curley wrote.
In another June 2023 letter, Coleman admitted that without Loewenstein the lawsuit would likely be thrown out. If that happened, Coleman wrote, Mendelsohn would sue the psychiatrist 鈥渇or all the damages she could have been awarded in this case,鈥� Curley said in his order.
The deceit by both Coleman and the Mendelsohns was ongoing, Curley wrote. At a July 23 hearing, Coleman told Curley repeatedly that he didn鈥檛 know why Loewenstein withdrew. Instead, Curley said, given the 鈥渦nequivocal statements鈥� Loewenstein made in his resignation letter, Coleman knew 鈥渆xactly鈥� why Loewenstein terminated the agreement.
Coleman said he wasn鈥檛 lying. He said many reasons contributed to Loewenstein鈥檚 departure, including family and professional matters. Loewenstein鈥檚 exact reasons remain a mystery, he said.
After listing what he called 鈥渁 long history of obstruction鈥� by Coleman and the Mendelsohns, Curley said he had no choice but to throw out the lawsuit.
鈥淒espite this court鈥檚 desire to see every case tried on its merits, because the plaintiffs鈥� actions go directly to the integrity of the civil justice system, the court has no choice but to take severe action in response,鈥� he concluded.
This story was originally published by , a 港澳天下彩News partner.
