Filing # 49470997 E-Filed 11/30/2016 05:39:36 PM

IN THE CIRCUIT COURT FOR THE THIRTEENTH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT

IN AND FOR HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, FLORIDA
CIVIL DIVISION
SEAFARER EXPLORATION CORP.,

CASE NO.: 14 CA-8902

Plaintiff,
vs.

DIV: L

DARRELL VOLENTINE,
Defendant.
_____________________________________________/

DEFENDANTS MOTION TO ABATE HEARING ON PLAINTIFFS MOTION FOR

ATTORNEY DETERMINATION OF ATTORNEYS FEES FOR MOTION FOR SHOW
CAUSE SET FOR DECEMBER 7, 2016
Defendant, DARRELL VOLENTINE, by and through his undersigned counsel,
hereby files this Motion to Abate Hearing on Plaintiffs Motion for Attorney Determination
of Attorneys Fees for Motion to Show Cause, currently set for December 7, 2016
(hereinafter Plaintiffs Motion), and states as follows:
1.

Plaintiffs Motion to assess attorneys fees stems from the Court awarding

attorneys fees to Plaintiff on Plaintiffs Motion which was heard on April 7, 2016. The
transcript of the hearing is incorporated herein and is filed with the Court simultaneous
with this Motion.
2.

While the Court did not find the Defendant in contempt, the Court did

determine, based upon the testimony of Kyle Kennedy, the CEO of Plaintiff, that the
Motion was justified and that an award of attorneys fees was appropriate. On Page 57,
lines 15 through 21, of the hearing transcript, the Court stated:
And as a result, the things that the gentleman read to me while under oath
are the kinds of things that youre just not allowed to do. So those findings
are good enough to bring a proceeding to enforce the injunction and falls
within the exception of the attorney fee shifting rule. (Emphasis added).

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3.

The testimony of Kyle Kennedy at the April 7, 2016 hearing was either an

intentional misrepresentation or, giving Mr. Kennedy all benefit of the doubt, a serious
mistake. And it was the misrepresentation or mistake by Mr. Kennedy that caused or
substantially contributed to the Courts award of attorneys fees in favor of Plaintiff.
4.

The misrepresentation or mistake by Mr. Kennedy was made clear more

than 6 months later by Plaintiffs stipulation (set forth in the Joint Pre-Hearing Conference
Report executed by Plaintiffs counsel on October 18, 2016) which reads as follows:
The parties have stipulated that none of the posts on Plaintiffs Exhibit
A used at the April 7, 2016 hearing were posted on the actual Seafarer
Exploration Board on Investorshub.com. (Emphasis added).
5.

There were other misrepresentations or mistakes made in the presentation

of evidence by the Plaintiffs at the April 7, 2016, as evidenced by Plaintiffs Notice by

Counsel of Correction, filed on October 18, 2016 (more than 6 months after the hearing)
in which Plaintiffs counsel stated:
3. A review of the source of those matters made by Counsel on this day
showed that the matters included were mislabeled by the undersigned
Counsel as being from Investorshub, when they actually had been sent
to counsel in July 2015 by the source of information, Gregory J. Petrakis.
Mr. Petrakis had communicated to Counsel that such posts of messages to
a third party by Volentine had actually been from Facebook sources.
Counsel did not review the emails from Mr. Petrakis providing these matters
to counsel when the Exhibit was prepared and filed later in 2015. Counsel
mistakenly placed in the Note that the matters had been posted through

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Investorshub. In either situation, the Defendant violated the injunction

conditions no matter where such material and how it was placed to third
parties. That is no excuse for Counsel not rechecking the source of the
matters, but is simply a comment that it was not necessary to show that the
comments or communications were through Investorshub in order to prove
violation of the injunction, thus there was no nefarious intent at all.
4. Such was not done to mislead the Court in any fashion, and Counsel is
presenting this filing to state such to the Court when the matter was realized
this day. (Emphasis added).
6.

It should be noted that the error described by Plaintiffs counsel on October

18, 2016, was pointed out to the Plaintiff in Defendants pleadings many months earlier.
7.

Simultaneously filed with the Motion to Abate is Defendants Motion to

Vacate the Courts Order Granting Award of Plaintiffs Attorneys Fees for April 07, 2016
Hearing, requesting that the Court vacate, among other things, the award of attorneys
fees to Plaintiff based upon the above described actions of Plaintiff.
8.

This motion is made in good faith to avoid further injustice in this action, and

to allow Defendants new counsel the opportunity to present to the Court the reasons that
Plaintiff should not be awarded attorneys fees for a matter in which the Court based such
award on misrepresentations or mistakes on crucial matters relating to the contempt issue
at the hearing on April 7, 2016.
WHEREFORE Defendant, DARRELL VOLENTINE, by and through the
undersigned counsel, respectfully requests this Honorable Court grant this Motion, enter
an order abating the hearing on December 7, 2016 on Plaintiffs Motion for Attorney

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Determination of Attorneys Fees for Motion to Show Cause, currently set for December
7, 2016, award Defendant attorneys fees for having to bring this action, and such other
and further relief this Court deems just and proper.

CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE
I HEREBY CERTIFY that a true and correct copy of the foregoing Motion was served by
e-mail and JAWS upon all parties of record this 30TH day of NOVEMBER, 2016.
Respectfully Submitted,
/s/ Nathaniel C Griffin
NATHANIEL C GRIFFIN

123820
Fla. Bar No.

The Janus Law Group, P.A.

Counsel for DEFENDANT
1110 Pinellas Bayway S, #202
Tierra Verde, FL 33715
(e) nglaw@yahoo.com
(c) 727.459.7891

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