Three-month delay OK'd in suit over justice's house

DETROIT (AP) -- Federal prosecutors are taking a 90-day break in a lawsuit that seeks to take away the Florida home of a Michigan Supreme Court justice. Judge Marianne Battani signed the agreement Wednesday. The two-page order doesn't give a reason for the delay. Justice Diane Hathaway and her husband are accused of fraud. They deeded a Florida home to a relative while trying to negotiate a short sale on a house they couldn't afford in suburban Detroit. When the sale went through, the Windermere, Fla., home went back in their names. Hathaway and Michael Kingsley aren't charged with a crime. It's common for authorities to suspend a lawsuit that seeks forfeiture of an asset. That's because anything that Hathaway or Kingsley say could be used against them in a criminal investigation. Published: Fri, Dec 21, 2012