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What ever happened to that case over...

By Scott Barancik, Litigation Nation
Published April 14, 2007

We've covered a lot of local lawsuits in the past six months. What ever came of them? Here are some updates:

Case: Volume on Bluetooth headsets said to make eardrums red reported Oct. 20
Background: Bay area plaintiffs sued manufacturers of Bluetooth wireless headsets, claiming the popular devices could cause hearing loss but lacked consumer warnings.
Update: Nearly identical suits filed by the same lawyers in eight states were consolidated into a single federal case in central California. The chairman of the judicial panel behind that decision, a Bluetooth user, renounced any personal claim so that he wouldn't be disqualified for having a conflict of interest.

Case: Name game gets local mortgage company in trouble (Nov. 1)
Background: Industry giant Ohio Savings Bank, which trademarked the name AmTrust in 1987, wasn't pleased when Dan Hicks formed Brandon mortgage company Amtrust Funding Services in 2002. A suit was filed.
Update: Hicks, who plays competitive poker, settled in December. He renamed his company Epix Funding Group and turned over Internet domain names containing the word "Amtrust."

Case: Homeowner evades foreclosure for nine years (March 3)
Background: A mortgage lender sued Palm Harbor resident Sandra Mann-Stack in 1998 for nonpayment. Acting as her own attorney, she and ex-husband Peter Stack thwarted at least 10 scheduled auctions and wear out several judges.
Update: Local law enforcement evicted Mann-Stack last month, paving the way for Clearwater real estate investor and new owner Robert A. Binder to begin renovations. Mann-Stack continues to fight the sale and is demanding the current judge recuse herself.

Case: Restaurant entrepreneurs see other investments sour (Jan. 20)
Background: Tampa restaurateur James Lanza issued a five-year, $500,000 personal loan to a New York chemical coatings company in October but got stiffed. Separately, former National Restaurant Association chairman Burton Sack accused a Connecticut company of defaulting on a $371,000 loan.
Update: Lanza may at least recover most of his principal. Under a proposed settlement, the co-owner of several bay area eateries would receive a $460,000 lump-sum payment or, failing that, the title to a Manhattan condo owned by the borrower's president. Sack may have a tougher time collecting. In a countersuit, Host America Corp. says it stopped payment on Sack's note only because an asset he sold it had title problems. The company is demanding he pay at least $475,000.

Scott Barancik can be reached at barancik@sptimes.com or 727-893-8751.

[Last modified April 13, 2007, 22:54:44]