Central Florida Judge Sues Crackpot Homeowner Who Filed $2.4 Million Retaliatory Lien Against Him After Issuance Of Adverse Ruling In Foreclosure Action

In Central Florida, the Tampa Bay Times reports:

• A Pinellas circuit judge presiding over a foreclosure action is suing the homeowner in that case, claiming she filed "false, fictitious and fraudulent" documents against the judge in his own court.
  
  The lawsuit stems from the 2013 foreclosure of a Clearwater home [...]. Homeowners Leslie and Martin Armstrong stopped making mortgage payments in October 2011, according to court records. Circuit Judge Thomas Minkoff ruled in favor of Wells Fargo on Sept. 4.
  
  Later that month, Leslie Armstrong, 58, filed records against Minkoff in federal court, outlining in a document titled "Criminal Complaint" a list of allegations against the judge and the bank. She demanded a jury trial in the foreclosure, Armstrong wrote, but "Judge Minkoff conspired with Wells Fargo Bank and the trespassing attorneys to steal my property."
  
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  She also claimed liens against the judge, the bank and the bank's attorneys, calculating that they owed a total of $2.4 million. [...] Armstrong, who still lives at her Clearwater home, could not be reached for comment.
  
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  Pinellas-Pasco Judicial Circuit spokesman Stephen Thompson said Minkoff filed the lawsuit because the records could "impugn his reputation as a judge."
  
  Minkoff asked the Pinellas clerk of court to remove the offending filings from the record. In the lawsuit filed in Pinellas court on July 8, he explained that Armstrong's filings affect him due to the "false appearance of a secured debt or an outstanding lien" against him.
  
  Minkoff is being represented by an attorney from the Office of the Attorney General, which, under Florida law, is authorized to represent public officials in state court to defend them against false liens.
  
  Pinellas Clerk of Court Ken Burke, who is also named in the lawsuit, said the civil action is a necessary step for the records to be expunged.
  
  "I have no authority to seal records," he said. "I need some type of direction from the court to do so. This lawsuit would give me that type of direction."

For the story, see Pinellas judge in foreclosure case sues homeowner for 'false, fictitious, and fraudulent' filings.