NOTE: This piece first appeared on FLGulfNews.com.
By Richard Luthmann
Judge Steele Lowers the Boom on Danesh
A federal judge just dropped the hammer on TikTok bully Danesh Noshirvan and his lawyer, Nicholas Chiappetta. In a scathing August 12 order, U.S. District Judge John E. Steele sanctioned both men and put them on notice.
Judge Steele ordered Danesh to pay the legal fees of defendant Garramone’s team and blasted him with a stern warning: “Noshirvan is warned that if he engages in similar conduct in the future… he will be subject to more severe sanctions, which may include dismissal of his case.”
In the same breath, Steele publicly reprimanded Chiappetta – whom Danesh’s foes call “Dickless Nick” – for his role in the misconduct. The judge declared that “Nicholas Chiappetta has failed to meet the professional standards expected from officers of the court.”
This one-two punch is a brutal blow to Danesh’s floundering lawsuit. He tried to play the victim in court, but now a federal judge has effectively labeled him the bad actor. The order makes it crystal clear: Danesh’s courtroom antics crossed the line, and next time he pulls a stunt, his whole case could get tossed.
Judge Steele’s message to the TikTok terror and his hapless counsel was loud and clear – clean up your act or face the ultimate sanction.
Bad Faith and Incitement Exposed
Judge Steele’s ruling lays out, in vivid detail, just how deplorable Danesh’s behavior has been. The judge recounts how Danesh barged into a deposition he wasn’t even part of and unleashed an obscene tirade at opposing counsel.
Danesh told attorney Julian Jackson-Fannin, “I’ll remember this shit at settlement,” then proceeded to call him a “motherfucker,” “dumb shit,” and “misogynistic piece of shit.”
He even sneered, “What the fuck is wrong with you?” before parting with a final “Fuck you.”
Judge Steele found that this ugly outburst “show[ed] subjective bad faith” and was so intentional and egregious that it “could only have been committed in bad faith.”
And Danesh didn’t stop at courthouse doors – he ran to social media to amplify the attack. As Judge Steele noted, Noshirvan’s post-deposition communications were “false and intentionally made to incite followers to engage in foreseeable harassment and intimidation.”
Danesh flat-out lied about the lawyer, falsely claiming Jackson-Fannin said “black people look like monsters” and even implying a sexual assault on Danesh’s wife – claims the transcript proves utterly bogus.
He then whipped up his 2.5 million-plus followers by labeling the attorney a “low-class racist,” a “pig,” and a “misogynist.” The sole purpose of these lies was to rile up an online mob to terrorize an opponent.
Judge Steele was having none of it. He ruled that Danesh’s disgusting tactics merit serious sanctions. This judicial finding demolishes Danesh’s pretenses of acting in good faith. It confirms that the TikTok avenger wasn’t seeking justice at all – he was waging a hate-fueled campaign under the guise of a lawsuit.
In short, Judge Steele caught Danesh red-handed using the federal court as a stage for his social media vendettas, something the Mega Influencer has done before with the Justices of the U.S. Supreme Court.
Chief Justice Roberts warned in his 2024 Year‑End Report that doxxing, disinformation, and intimidation threaten judges’ independence and public trust, signaling the judiciary’s rising concerns about social‑media provocateurs like Noshirvan.
To date, there has been a negligible response from the DOJ to Noshirvan’s activities against the federal judiciary in 2022, particularly under the Biden Administration.
But Trump Administration insiders say that is likely to change shortly.
The statute of limitations under 18 U.S.C. § 115 is five years.
“Dickless Nick” Chiappetta Gets Shamed
Attorney Nick Chiappetta earned himself a public humiliation alongside his client. Judge Steele tore into Chiappetta’s failures as Danesh’s counsel, essentially calling him an unprofessional hack.
The court found that Chiappetta “also acted in bad faith” during the fiasco. His job was to conduct the deposition properly and rein in his client’s misconduct – a responsibility he “declined” to fulfill.
Steele’s order notes that while Chiappetta initially told Danesh to knock off the obscene outburst, he then sat back and let the tirade continue. Worse, Chiappetta actively enabled Danesh’s online harassment.
The judge highlighted how Chiappetta first advised Danesh to delete a vile Substack post attacking Jackson-Fannin, but moments later, “[Chiappetta] says I can restore [the post] now.” In other words, the lawyer green-lit Danesh to repost the defamation after a token show of “good behavior.”
This flip-flop did not escape Judge Steele’s scrutiny. In his order, Steele issued a formal public reprimand against Chiappetta by name. The reprimand starkly states that Chiappetta “failed to meet the professional standards expected from officers of the court in connection with the deposition and its aftermath.”
For a practicing attorney, there’s hardly anything more damning – it’s a black mark on Chiappetta’s record for all to see. Richard Luthmann, who has long derided Chiappetta as a “dog-bite lawyer masquerading as a litigator,” now has judicial validation that “Dickless Nick” couldn’t litigate his way out of a paper bag.
Judge Steele’s smackdown sends a message to Chiappetta: if you’re going to play with the big boys in federal court, you’d better shape up. Failing to control your client – and tacitly encouraging his reign of terror – will earn you nothing but shame and potential career consequences.
Grievance Committee Intervention
This outlet put the Grievance Committee of the Florida Bar for the Fifteenth Circuit on notice as to Judge Steele’s Opinion and Order. No response has been received as of press time. Here is what we said:
From: Richard Luthmann <richard.luthmann@protonmail.com>
Date: On Wednesday, August 13th, 2025 at 7:13 AM
Subject: Request for Immediate Disciplinary Action – Attorney Nicholas A. Chiappetta – Public Reprimand and Judicial Findings in Noshirvan v. Couture, Case No. 2:23-cv-1218-JES-KCD (M.D. Fla.)
To: agonzalez@gonzalezcartwright.com <agonzalez@gonzalezcartwright.com>, kdillard1@pbc.gov <kdillard1@pbc.gov>, kjoseph@floridabar.org <kjoseph@floridabar.org>, grasford.smith@akerman.com <grasford.smith@akerman.com>, daniel@ftlinjurylaw.com <daniel@ftlinjurylaw.com>, mgore@jonesfoster.com <mgore@jonesfoster.com>, marcsinensky@gmail.com <marcsinensky@gmail.com>, kemar@goldbergandrosen.com <kemar@goldbergandrosen.com>, cmontgomery@hamiltonmillerlaw.com <cmontgomery@hamiltonmillerlaw.com>, kburke@pioffl.com <kburke@pioffl.com>, rberman@floridabar.org <rberman@floridabar.org>, mjgelfand@gelfandarpe.com <mjgelfand@gelfandarpe.com>, lindsayadlerlaw@gmail.com <lindsayadlerlaw@gmail.com>, ngordon@gunster.com <ngordon@gunster.com>, vhazzard@conradscherer.com <vhazzard@conradscherer.com>, kristen.mcmullen@akerman.com <kristen.mcmullen@akerman.com>, heather@greenhillstohlman.com <heather@greenhillstohlman.com>, eroy@sasserlaw.com <eroy@sasserlaw.com>, destiny@kellerswan.com <destiny@kellerswan.com>, nate@sodhispoont.com <nate@sodhispoont.com>, jph@searcylaw.com <jph@searcylaw.com>, zmohammed@attorneygl.com <zmohammed@attorneygl.com>, richard.valuntas@myfloridalegal.com <richard.valuntas@myfloridalegal.com>
CC: Nick Chiappetta <nick@chiappettalegal.com>Dear Members of the Grievance Committee,
I write to formally bring to your attention the August 12, 2025, Opinion and Order of United States District Judge John E. Steele in Noshirvan v. Couture, et al., Case No. 2:23-cv-1218-JES-KCD, pending in the Middle District of Florida.
In this Order, Judge Steele publicly reprimanded Florida Bar member Nicholas A. Chiappetta for conduct in direct violation of the Rules Regulating the Florida Bar.
https://www.chiappettalegal.com/
The Court found that Mr. Chiappetta:
Acted in bad faith in connection with a deposition and its aftermath.
Declined to restrain his client’s misconduct, despite repeated opportunities and professional obligations to do so.
Enabled and greenlit his client’s online harassment and incitement, after initially advising the client to remove a defamatory Substack post targeting opposing counsel.
Exhibited a “lingering belief” that his client’s sanctionable conduct was “understandable” given the circumstances, despite clear violations of professional standards.
Judge Steele’s sanction against Mr. Chiappetta is unequivocal:
“Nicholas Chiappetta has failed to meet the professional standards expected from officers of the court in connection with the deposition and its aftermath. Chiappetta must adhere to all the Rules Regulating the Florida Bar, including not to… engage in conduct… prejudicial to the administration of justice… including… disparag[ing], humil[iating], or discriminat[ing]… on any basis.” (Opinion & Order, Aug. 12, 2025)
This is not a contested or ambiguous finding. The Court’s ruling is final as to the ethical reprimand, even though the broader litigation continues. The public trust in the legal profession demands swift and decisive disciplinary action when a federal judge makes such clear and damning findings.
Chiappetta’s client, Danesh Noshirvan, is a social media Mega Influencer with over 3 million followers across all platforms. The false and malicious post made in bad faith and attacking Miami Civil Rights Attorney Julian Jackson-Fannin, referenced heavily by Judge Steele, remains on Chiappetta’s client’s media platforms, and Chiappetta has neither withdrawn as counsel nor advised removal:
Instead, the Court found that Chiappetta co-signs for his client’s activities:
Additionally, Chiappetta initially advised Noshirvan to delete the April 16 Substack post in favor of seeking relief from the Court instead. (See Doc. #361, p. 19)(Chiappetta stating that he “asked Noshirvan to take the post down, which Noshirvan did.”);(see also Doc. #352-9, p. 2)(Noshirvan stating the April 16 Substack post was deleted because Chiappetta would “be addressing the behavior displayed by” Jackson-Fannin with the Court). But Chiappetta then greenlit Noshirvan to resume posting. (See id.)(Noshirvan stating that “[Chiappetta] says I can restore [the April 16 Substack post] now.”). The need to sanction Chiappetta is underscored by Chiappetta’s lingering belief that Noshirvan’s conduct was justified. (See Doc. #361, p. 4)(Chiappetta stating underneath the “factual background” section that “[w]hile Noshirvan’s statements [at the deposition] were not the nicest, they certainly were understandable given the circumstances.”).
Allowing this conduct to remain unaddressed by the Bar while litigation drags on risks undermining confidence in attorney regulation in Florida.
I therefore respectfully urge the Florida Bar to immediately commence formal disciplinary proceedings against Mr. Chiappetta, give full weight to Judge Steele’s findings, and impose appropriate sanctions to protect the integrity of the legal profession.
The complete Opinion and Order is attached herewith and is available at:
https://ecf.flmd.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/show_public_doc?2023-01218-454-2-cv#
Regards,
Richard Luthmann
Writer, Journalist, and Commentator
This outlet will update any information received from the Grievance Committee on the Chiappetta matter in follow-up articles.
Ruling Wrecks Danesh’s Credibility
This sanctions ruling is more than just a courtroom scolding – it’s a credibility killer for Danesh Noshirvan. Jennifer Couture and Dr. Ralph Garramone, the primary targets of Danesh’s lawsuit, will be ecstatic to have Judge Steele’s findings in their arsenal. They can now quote a federal judge who found Danesh acted with intentional, malicious bad faith and engaged in blatant harassment.
Expect Couture and Garramone’s legal team to hammer Danesh with this order at every turn, painting him as a serial liar and abuser rather than any victim. It’s a dramatic reversal of fortune for a man who tried to weaponize the courts.
Danesh’s lawsuit was already teetering – his so-called “nuisance” claims have been steadily collapsing amid judicial scrutiny. Now his own misbehavior might be the final nail in the coffin.
Multiple victims had long warned about Danesh’s vicious tactics, describing his pattern of public harassment as “dangerous and manipulative” and part of a “troubling pattern of behavior.”
Judge Steele’s ruling effectively validates those warnings on the record. It establishes that Danesh’s modus operandi is to dox, defame, and intimidate, not to seek truth or justice. That finding will resonate far beyond this case.
It’s especially helpful to journalist Richard Luthmann, your author, who is suing Danesh for defamation over a viral Substack screed in which Danesh branded Luthmann a “pedophile.” Danesh never retracted that smear or apologized; instead, he and Chiappetta doubled down and blasted it out to the Mega Influencer’s three million followers across all platforms.
Now Luthmann has Judge Steele’s order to bolster his own case. The sanctions decision provides concrete proof that Danesh acts with malice and a reckless disregard for the truth – exactly what Luthmann needs to prove in his $20 million libel suit.
Judge Steele’s findings of bad faith and intentional incitement give Luthmann a golden opportunity to impeach Danesh’s credibility in court. As Luthmann’s Substack has chronicled, “Delusional Danesh” has been sinking under the weight of his lies and legal blunders.
The judge’s reprimand might be the tipping point that sinks him for good. Richard Luthmann certainly thinks so.
“This guy doesn’t sue to win because he’s a LOSER,” Luthmann said of Danesh’s litigation spree. “He sues to smear, silence, and scare, with the added benefit of content creation.”
In other words, Danesh’s federal case was never about merit – it was a glorified clout-chasing campaign. Judge Steele just blew up that charade. The sanctions order exposes Danesh Noshirvan as a bad-faith actor who abuses both social media and the courts. And if Danesh dares to pull another stunt, Judge Steele is ready to drop the guillotine and dismiss his case outright.
For a professional internet troll who thrives on destroying others, this time it’s his reputation and lawsuit getting destroyed – in the bluntest, most headline-grabbing way possible.
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