On July 29, 2026, Magistrate Judge Marty Fulgueira Elfenbein issued a Report and Recommendation in the case Fontainebleau Florida Hotel, LLC v. Rabbi Shmuley Boteach. The lawsuit stems from an incident in December 2024 involving Boteach and hotel guest Faiz Akbar in the lobby of the Fontainebleau Florida Hotel.

The plaintiff's First Amended Complaint alleges that Boteach published false statements about the incident and the hotel's response, accusing the hotel of discrimination based on Boteach's Jewish identity, permitting an antisemitic assault on its premises, removing Boteach instead of the alleged aggressor, and refusing to cooperate with law enforcement.

Central to the dispute are Boteach's actions during litigation, particularly his violation of a protective order issued by the District Court on February 20, 2026. Prior to the protective order, on April 2, 2025, Boteach posted an excerpt of surveillance footage from the incident to his public Instagram account, which had over 90,000 followers. Despite the protective order, he reposted the footage on April 10, 2025, to his social media accounts.

Although the plaintiff sought severe sanctions, the magistrate initially found that harsher penalties were unsupported due to the absence of prior sanctions for the violation. The court later ordered Boteach to pay $15,000 to the plaintiff by April 26, 2026.

Plaintiff contends that Boteach continued to publish social media content referencing the plaintiff, its counsel, and the litigation soon after the February 20 order. The District Court warned that sanctions would be imposed if such conduct persisted. Judge Elfenbein agreed with the plaintiff that the matter should now proceed toward resolution, recommending substantial sanctions against Boteach for violating the court order.

Sources