Questionnaire: Kathleen Elaine Angione, candidate for Broward County Court Judge Group 16

Completed questionnaire for Kathleen Elaine Angione, candidate for Broward County Court Judge Group 16.

Name: Kathleen Angione
Date and place of birth: May 19, 1970, Chicago Illinois
Office sought: Broward County Court Judge, Group 16
Campaign website: www.AngioneforJudge.com

List in reverse chronological order each college, university and law school and indicate years of attendance.
Nova Southeastern University, Sheppard Broad Law Center, Juris Doctor, Magna Cum Laude,
1996-1999
Florida Atlantic University, B.A. with Honors, 1987 – 1991

List in reverse chronological order your work history for the past 15 years.
Angione Law Firm, LLC, Shareholder, Managing Member
Kahane & Associates, P.A., Managing Litigation, Appellate and Compliance Attorney
McGlinchey Stafford, PLLC, Managing Attorney – Fort Lauderdale Office

As a lawyer, judge, or both, describe what types of cases you have typically handled?
As a civil trial lawyer, I represent clients in contract disputes, auto and property damage cases, and real estate litigation statewide. I have also represented clients in code enforcement
hearings, and family law matters. I have appeared before judges in most (if not all) of the 67
counties throughout the State of Florida over my 25 years of practice. I now continue much of
my out of county practice via Zoom, but still appear in person in Broward County before our
County and Circuit Court judges on a daily basis. I handle cases through all phases of litigation,
including pleading and discovery practice, depositions, hearings of all kinds including
evidentiary, mediation, trial, and appeal.

As an appellate lawyer, I represent clients appellants and appellees in cases that I personally
tried on the lower court level, and some that were tried by other lawyers. This includes drafting
initial, answer and/or reply briefs depending on my client’s role. I have represented clients
before all 5 District Courts of Appeal, and have many PCAs as well as some published decisions.
I have engaged in oral argument before 2 of the 5 DCAs.

As a judge appointed attorney/guardian ad litem, judges throughout the State of Florida
have appointed me to represent specific clients or classes of clients in contract and property
dispute cases to safeguard their interests throughout the course of ongoing litigation. I have
served in this capacity for at least the past 5 years. I have been appointed in well over 50 cases
statewide.

As a real estate transactional attorney I have acted as a title agent, as well as represented
sellers in real estate transactions. I also have extensive experience in curative title issues that
have been resolved either transactionally or through litigation.

As a Hearing Officer for the St. Petersburg Housing Authority, I preside over matters involving disputes between participants in the housing program and the case managers charged
with the responsibility of insuring that the requirements of the program are being followed. I
have served in this capacity for the past 3 1/2 years.

If you are an attorney, how many cases have you tried in the past five years? Of those cases, how many were tried before juries to verdicts and how many were tried before a judge?
I have been a trial lawyer for almost all of my 25 years of practice. I have tried hundreds
of trials over the course of my career. The trials have ranged from 1/2 a day to 4 or 5 days
depending on how complicated the issues are in the case. In the last five years I have probably
tried in the range of 75 to 100 cases. I generally attend bench trials given the nature of the cases,
and either statutes or contracts in which the right to a jury trial waived in favor of a bench trial
or arbitration.

If you are a judge, how many jury trials have you presided over that resulted in verdicts and judgments?
Not applicable.

Have you been a party to a lawsuit, including bankruptcy or foreclosure? If so, provide details, including case style, jurisdiction and details of disposition.
I was named, in my professional capacity as an attorney, as a party in two lawsuits in the past,
both frivolous, and dismissed without recovery to the filers.

The first was many years ago, and I can not find the case on the Broward County Clerk of Court’s
website to provide that information. The facts of the case, as I today recall them, are that an
individual sent a check to the law firm I worked at at that time. The check was then sent to the
client. When the defendant did not believe our client took action quickly enough to resolve the
matter, he suggested his funds were taken. The check was payable to the firm’s client, and I at
no time had access to the funds. I hired counsel and was dismissed from the action after these
facts were explained to the presiding judge.

The second was a case filed by Antonio Steele in federal court against me and my client,
Midland Credit Management. My client was a company of substantial means, and the attorney
was overheard telling his client that he was “going to get rich” because of his perceived value of my client. I was just a necessary party to get to my client. The allegation was that a “mini miranda”
warning was not provided to the opposition before a mediation that was scheduled to, but never
actually took place. In reality the alleged violation was one of the Fair Debt Collection Practices
Act, and it was a $1,000 statutory violation. The case was ultimately dismissed by the federal
court, without recovery to the plaintiff or plaintiff’s counsel.

Have you been charged or convicted of a felony or misdemeanor, including adjudications of guilt withheld? If so, provide charges, dates of conviction and terms of sentence.
No

Have you ever been disciplined by the Florida Supreme Court as a result of a recommendation by the Florida Bar? If so, provide details.
No

List three cases in which you were lead or co-counsel and why they are significant.
In the first case, I represented an individual in a dissolution of marriage action. I was lead counsel. The significance of this action was that my client had significant health challenges, and was trying to get health insurance. My client was also financially challenged. Each time my client tried to get health insurance quotes, the insurance company would only provide “family” coverage as my client was legally married. My client could not afford the policy premium, and was going without urgently needed medical care. I took this case on a pro bono basis given my client’s circumstances, and worked as quickly as possible to file and have the dissolution finalized. Fortunately with a wonderful judge assigned to this case, we were able to make this happen, and my client got the much needed insurance coverage. My client was exceptionally grateful, and is now thriving.

In the second case, my elderly client was approached by an unscrupulous real estate investor
during evening hours, and talked into signing a contract for the sale of her home. The terms of
the contract were outrageous by any standard — hence the term unscrupulous. When the
investor wrote on the contract after my client had already signed it, and then tried to leave after
refusing to provide her with a copy, my client called her daughter. I had been friends with my
client’s daughter for many years. The daughter called me, and I immediately went over to her
mother’s home. It was 9 p.m. I was able to stop the investor from leaving with all copies of
the agreement, and insisted that we review the contract together at the table. The investor had
changed the contract to state that the investor would be purchasing the property at a price well
under market (the original price had been stricken through), and the purchase price would be
paid in monthly increments of $1,000 until the death of the seller (also added after signatures
were placed). I represented my elderly client that night to reach a reasonable agreement with the
investor, and then represented my client throughout the closing process to insure her financial
safety.

If you have provided any significant pro bono legal services in the past 10 years, please provide details.
I have served as a Hearing Officer for the St. Petersburg Housing Authority (“Housing Authority”) for the past 3 1/2 years. During COVID the Housing Authority was having a difficult time finding local attorneys that would serve in this capacity given the challenges of the pandemic. They put out a statewide call to find attorneys willing to serve. I agreed to serve and have been conducting hearings via Zoom for them ever since. I provide this service so that the the Housing Authority can to continue to offer this incredibly valuable program to individuals who are financially (and often times medically or physically) challenged, and who are often times desperately in need of the benefits of this program.

I often provide services to the elderly and individuals in underserved communities that would
otherwise not be able to help themselves. This has ranged from preparing advanced directives,
estate planning instruments, to counseling individuals on title or real estate transactions. I
often travel to these individuals who sometimes have mobility challenges, and/or intimidated by
a traditional office setting.

List current and former memberships in civic, fraternal, legal or social organizations.
Florida Bar, 1999 to present
Broward County Bar Association
Broward County Bar Association Mentorship Committee
Broward County Bar Association Women in Leadership Committee
Florida Association of Women Lawyers
Florida Bar Grievance Committee 17H – Fort Lauderdale
Broward County Bar Association, Bench and Bar Committee
Broward County Professionalism Committee
Senior Member of the ILSA/Journal of International and Comparative Law

If you are or were an officer or director or engaged in management of any business enterprise other than a law practice, list its name and business activity, your duties and whether you intend to resign upon your election.
I was a Director and held the positions of either President, Vice President, Secretary and
Treasurer over a period of about ten years of the Pom-Tor Condominium Association, Inc. In
that capacity I worked with the other Directors and Board Members to manage the business
activities of our community association. I resigned from the Board a few years ago when my
husband and I sold our home in that community.

Why are you running for this office?
I am running for Broward County Court Judge because it is my hope as a public servant to insure that all parties that enter my courtroom feel that they are heard, and have truly meaningful access to the court system. In the 25 years that I have practiced as an attorney I have observed instances where I felt that more needed to be done in order to insure that parties really understood the proceedings. I have practiced before Judges in Circuit Court, County Court, and Appellate Court. I can tell you that from my experience, County Court is the “people’s court.” Many of the litigants are pro se. Under these circumstances it is incumbent on the Court to insure that this process is effectuated fairly and impartially. As a County Court Judge I will consider myself a public servant first, and there for the benefit of all who enter my courtroom.

If you have chosen to run for judicial office against an incumbent, specify why you have done so.
Not Applicable

If you have sought appointment as a judge through a Judicial Nominating Commission, provide details, including year(s) and results.
Not Applicable

Why should voters elect you instead of your opponent(s)?
Over my 25 years of practice as a civil litigator I have seen how court decisions have affected people’s lives. I feel that I have the requisite temperament necessary to be a Broward County
Court Judge. I am an active and enthusiastic listener. I generally enjoy working with people and care about how my decisions will affect their lives. I believe everyone should be heard, be treated fairly, and have equal access to our judicial system. As a Broward County Court Judge I will make that my guiding principal.

What in your life experience best qualifies you to serve as a judge?
I have been a wife, a mother, a mentor, and I truly enjoy helping others. I have a servant’s heart
and believe it is important to positively impact the lives of others. That coupled with my extensive legal experience (as noted above) best qualifies me to serve as Broward County Court Judge.

What are three major challenges facing the justice system in Broward County, Florida or the U.S.?
The first challenge in the justice system in Broward County is that Broward is the second largest
County in the State of Florida, and the amount of cases filed has significantly increased over
time, but the funding does not appear to have kept pace with our financial needs.
The second challenge is our ability to provide equal access to the court system. Increased
funding would allow us to hire more individuals to provide legal services, allow for greater
community outreach so that individuals in our community better understand what services are
available to them, and to provide the services of interpreters in civil cases when necessary.
The third challenge involves the availability of mental health services to individuals in Broward
County, and those in custody in Broward County with mental health issues.