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Divorce

Ferraez In CUSTODY!

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Local Hattiesburg Attorney Corey Ferraez was taken into custody for civil contempt today after an on-the-record-hearing in Forrest County before Judge Sheila Smallwood.

Ferraez was held in Civil Contempt for being found to have knowingly and willfully violated a valid Chancery Court Order requiring that he tender settlement proceeds from a wrongful death/estate matter unto the registry of the Court.

The widow of the estate, Ms. Weatherford, was present and testified at the hearing as was Mr. Ferraez. Hat tip to the Hattiesburg Patriot which Facebook Live – streamed the entire hearing. Mr. Ferraez sought to exclude the media at the outset of the Hearing and the Court denied this ore tenus motion.

Mr. Ferraez argued before the Court that he had substantially complied with the Court’s Order when he recently tendered some $215,000.00 of $450,000.00 ordered. Ferraez argued that he was entitled to a recovery of attorney’s fees and there were liens and pre-settlement payments to Ms. Weatheford, that when totaled up justified his figures. He also alleged to be having personal issues related to depression and substance abuse.

The Court reminded Mr. Ferraez that the Court, and Weatherford, had been seeking to get this matter resolved since Fall of 2024, that Ferraez was non responsive to the Court, missed Court appearances and never tendered all of the sums ordered. The Court was not unsympathetic, however the Court expects and requires that it’s Orders be complied with and followed.

Mr. Ferraez was taken into custody by the Perry County Sheriff, as the case was originally filed in Perry County.

One of the most interesting issues in this case is that Mr. Ferraez has the keys to the jail cell he is in. All he has to do is comply with the Court’s Order to be released from civil contempt. The Court Ordered that he is to be incarcerated until he pays the outstanding $195,000.00 +/- unto the registry of the Court.

Matthew Thompson is a family law/civil law attorney in Mississippi and shines the light on unethical and illegal conduct when it needs to be; whether it’s a Judge, a party or a lawyer.

Crime, General Legal, Opinion

Hattiesburg’s Most Wanted

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Attorney, Corey Ferraez is being pursued by law enforcement and has a warrant for his arrest for Civil Contempt. This is circulating the blogosphere in Hattiesburg and the Jackson area.

This all stemmed from a wrongful death matter and the corresponding estate matter. See Weatherford, Stephen Ray “Fuzzy” 56CH1:22-pr-00021-SM

Ferraez was the attorney for the estate and settled the wrongful death claim for $450,000.00. These sums were to be held in trust until the Court approved the settlement, attorney fees, disbursement and liens were handled.

Delays for various reasons caused the matter to drag on. Eventually the Court set a hearing and required Ferraez to attend. He did not.

Thereafter, the Court entered a Show Cause Order requiring Ferraez to attend, explain why he should not be held in contempt and to tender all of the $450,000.00 into the registry of the Court.

Ferraez did not attend this hearing and did not pay any sums by the date of the hearing.

In a surprising turn of events however, he did file a response with the Court, indicated he had been ill, and eventually tendered about $215,000.00 of the $450,000.00, claiming the difference in the value was due to attorneys fees and liens (or loans) that the client took out against the settlement. This was surprising because the attorney filed a response with the Court despite not appearing.

It also came to light that he had previously written a $25,000.00 check to the client that bounced for insufficient funds.

Regardless of anything else, this does not end well for Mr. Ferraez.

He will have to answer to the Court for the handling of the proceeds, the Mississippi Bar about concerns of unethical conduct and very likely criminal ramifications…Mr. Ferraez should turn himself in as time is not on his side.

*In criminal courts a defendant enjoys a presumption of innocence. Civil Courts have a differing standard. Refusal to appear, answer, cooperate can and will be used against you.

All lawyers that handle “unearned fees” are required to have Trust accounts with banks. These Trust account records are relatively easy to obtain and determine when monies came in, when they went out, where they went and what is left, if anything…

Matthew Thompson is a family law/civil law attorney in Mississippi and acknowledges unethical and illegal conduct when it needs to be; whether it’s a Judge, a party or a lawyer.

General Legal, Opinion

NOT SO FAST! How Mississippi House Bill 1089 Affects Radar Laws for Sheriffs

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Mississippi House Bill 1089

There is proposed legislation to allow the Sheriff’s department to have the use of radar. It may come as a surprise that most Sheriff’s departments do not and are not allowed to use radar speed sensing devices.

The current law is based, in part, on the concern and stigma of speed traps as revenue generators for unincorporated areas.

The propsoed legislation seeks to AMEND SECTION 63-3-519, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO AUTHORIZE ANY COUNTY SHERIFF OR DEPUTY SHERIFF TO UTILIZE RADAR SPEED DETECTION EQUIPMENT UPON THE APPROVAL OF THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.

  The Current law states;

     63-3-519.  It shall be unlawful for any person or peace officer or law enforcement agency, except the Mississippi Highway Safety Patrol, to purchase or use or allow to be used any type of radar speed detection equipment upon any public street, road or highway of this state.  However, such equipment may be used:

          (a)  By municipal law enforcement officers within a municipality having a population of two thousand (2,000) or more according to the latest or a previous federal census upon the public streets of the municipality, but in no case where the latest federal census population for the municipality is less than one thousand five hundred (1,500) * * *.

          (b)  By any college or university campus police force within the confines of any campus wherein more than two thousand (2,000) students are enrolled * * *.

          (c)  By municipal law enforcement officers in any municipality having a population in excess of fifteen thousand (15,000) according to the latest federal census on federally designated highways lying within the corporate limits

…

Proposed, new legislation includes:

          (e)  By any county sheriff or deputy sheriff upon the county roads of their respective county with board of supervisors approval.  Such approval shall be voted on and approved by a majority vote, and the approval shall be spread upon the board minutes of the county.

    …

     SECTION 2.  This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2025.

Will this pass? Is this about public safety and protecting and serving? Is this necessary? Or, is this about generating revenue? Will it be abused if passed?

Matthew Thompson is a family law and civil litigation attorney in Mississippi and is keeping an eye on proposed legislation this session.