A Florida federal judge on Wednesday declined to sanction a director of a Venezuelan state-owned oil company, finding no conflict of interest by his attorneys at Diaz Reus LLP in a now-dismissed suit accusing the director and others of engaging in a campaign to smear Venezuelan civic leaders.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Marty Fulgueira Elfenbein denied a request by the plaintiffs — three Venezuelan dissidents in exile — to sanction and disqualify Diaz Reus over an alleged conflict of interest because of a meeting the firm had with one of the plaintiffs, Jorge Alejandro Rodriguez, over a separate lawsuit.
The judge concluded that the plaintiffs failed to establish that Rodriguez was ever a client of Diaz Reus, formerly Diaz Reus & Targ LLP. They had one video call in October 2023 and never spoke again, and Rodriguez never signed an engagement letter with Diaz Reus, according to the order.
