A Florida appeals court on Friday revived a suit seeking to hold a construction company liable for injuries a subcontract worker sustained after he fell into an uncovered drain at a parking garage construction site, saying the trial judge erred in tossing the suit because the drain was an "open and obvious" hazard.
The Eleventh Circuit revived a whistleblower case on Friday against a defunct Florida mortgage lender that allegedly defrauded a federal veterans lending program, ruling that a lower court judge prematurely weighed evidence to toss the case.
A Ninth Circuit judge appeared skeptical Friday of reviving franchised Volkswagen dealerships' proposed class claims that auto parts maker Bosch is liable for helping mastermind the 2015 "clean diesel" emissions-cheating scandal, saying their arguments are "a little odd" because it seems like they "in some ways, benefited from the fraud."
A Florida appeals court on Friday threw out a $15.5 million judgment against R.J. Reynolds over the death of a lifelong smoker who succumbed to cancer, saying jurors had received insufficient instructions to find the company liable for a claim of conspiracy to fraudulently conceal information.
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Friday asked a federal judge in Los Angeles to approve a $1.2 million judgment against broker defendants in litigation concerning the Woodbridge Group of Companies Ponzi scheme, citing the Supreme Court's June decision that the regulator can seek disgorgement in federal court.
The Patent Trial and Appeal Board has invalidated five claims of a Florida company's image editing patent at the heart of a $4.3 million jury verdict against Samsung, reversing an earlier decision that upheld the claims.
After sending out thousands of racist robocalls in an attempt to sway public opinion against Black and Jewish political candidates, an Idaho white supremacist is being hit with nearly $10 million in fines from the Federal Communications Commission.
IQHQ is reportedly planning a 565,000-square-foot Boston-area project, Beyond Meat is said to have leased roughly 280,000 square feet in the Los Angeles area and C-III Capital has reportedly dropped $64 million on a Florida apartment complex.
The former director of an Encompass Health Corp. hospital lost his retaliation claims in Florida federal court Friday, despite his False Claims Act suit leading to a $48 million deal between Encompass and the federal government over allegations its hospitals bilked Medicare to cover a disease that couldn't be diagnosed.
An Eleventh Circuit panel appeared to lean Friday toward a Venezuelan court-appointed oversight board in a dispute over who controls the country's LaTele network in its long-running copyright fight with U.S.-based Spanish-language network Telemundo, but questioned arguments that it should not even hear the former company president's appeal.
Florida-based real estate firm Midtown Development has purchased a Miami retail center that also includes office space from a venture of three real estate firms for $65.5 million, according to a Friday announcement from sell-side broker Jones Lang LaSalle Inc.
A Texas geneticist accused of stealing the DNA of an Argentinian polo star's horse and selling clones of it has asked a Florida federal judge to toss the suit, arguing that the court does not have jurisdiction over him and his companies because of their minimal connections to Florida.
Berger Singerman LLP has added an attorney who previously served as Payless ShoeSource's chief legal officer and a lawyer who formerly worked on tax matters with Baker McKenzie as partners in two of its offices in Florida, the firm has announced.
Counsel for immigrant advocacy organizations challenging a 2019 Florida law banning so-called sanctuary policies ripped a state attorney Thursday over his comparison of their legislative efforts to those of alleged anti-immigrant "hate groups" whose involvement they say was evidence of the law's alleged discriminatory intent.
The Trump administration cut corners in its rush to give Florida rare control over the Clean Water Act's Section 404 permitting requirements in the state despite considerable questions about the environmental impacts that remain, environmental groups said Thursday.
Delaware investor Christopher Martorano has reportedly flipped four Florida gas stations for $15 million, LXG is said to have purchased a Chicago Holiday Inn and D.R. Horton has reportedly picked up 26.66 acres of land in Florida.
President Donald Trump has commuted the 40-year sentence of Fred Davis "Dave" Clark Jr., who was convicted in 2015 of helping run a $300 million Ponzi scheme through the Florida Keys-based company Cay Clubs Resort and Marinas, Law360 has learned.
An Eleventh Circuit judge cast doubt Thursday on similarities between a "raunchy" Stephen King character and a "good guy" comic book hero at the center of a copyright infringement suit, saying they seemed fundamentally different.
Multistate cannabis heavyweight Cresco Labs said Thursday it will enter Florida with an all-stock purchase of medical marijuana company Bluma Wellness, a $213 million deal steered by Bennett Jones LLP and Gowling WLG.
Carlton Fields said Thursday that a former assistant U.S. attorney had joined its office in Miami as of counsel, adding deep prosecutorial experience to its white collar crime and government investigations practice.
A South Florida attorney pled guilty Thursday to raising more than $100 million from investors to further a $322 million Ponzi scheme run through purported commercial lender 1 Global Capital LLC.
The lead prosecutor in the "Varsity Blues" college admissions case, who prosecuted actresses Lori Loughlin and Felicity Huffman, has left the Boston U.S. attorney's office for a boutique litigation firm and is now suing another high-profile defendant: Alex Rodriguez.
A Florida state appeals court Wednesday issued an en banc decision overturning its prior precedent and finding debtors' appeals are stayed by their bankruptcy filings, calling its prior decision an "outlier" on both the state and federal level.
A Florida clinic urged the Eleventh Circuit on Wednesday to throw out a ruling barring it from offering a stem cell procedure to treat various illnesses, arguing that a lower court erred in finding that the treatment is a drug subject to U.S. Food and Drug Administration regulations.
JP Morgan Investment Management has reportedly sold a Florida apartment complex for $91.7 million, F45 Training is said to be leasing 44,000 square feet south of downtown Austin and Silverstone Senior Living is reportedly hoping to rezone a property in Wellington, Florida.
Some recent litigation developments demonstrate efforts by law firms and their clients to search for opportunities in the COVID-19 economic fallout, while others — such as the rise of contingency fee arrangements — reflect acceleration of tendencies that were already underway, says William Weisman at Therium Capital.
The Florida Supreme Court's recent amendment of the state's summary judgment standard to align it with that of the federal courts and most other states will improve judicial efficiency, reduce the cost and uncertainty of litigation, and help prevent forum shopping by plaintiffs with dubious claims, say Walter Latimer and Guy Noa at Fowler White.
In the face of rising client demands due to the pandemic and the changing regulatory environment, and with remote work continuing for the foreseeable future, lawyers should invest in their well-being by establishing inspiring yet realistic goals for 2021 — one month at a time, says Krista Larson at Morgan Lewis.
The Second Circuit's recent ruling in Brandon v. NPG Records, barring copyright infringement claims already litigated in a Florida federal court in favor of Spike Lee and Prince’s estate, offers lessons on supplementary copyright registration and significant federal procedural issues, say Matthew Nelles and Adriana Kostencki at Nelles Kostencki.
"Confidential" and other search terms commonly used to locate privileged documents during e-discovery are pretty ineffective, so practitioners should consider including specific types of keywords that are demonstrably better at targeting privilege, say Robert Keeling at Sidley and Rishi Chhatwal at AT&T.
The Eleventh Circuit's recent decision in Fox v. Ritz-Carlton highlights the open question of what damages are available in "improper fee" cases under the Florida Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act, says Aaron Weiss of Carlton Fields.
Lawyers working remotely during the pandemic while physically outside the jurisdictions in which they are licensed will find some comfort in a recent American Bar Association opinion sanctioning such practice, but there is ambiguity regarding the contours of what's allowed, say attorneys at Harris Wiltshire.
Attorneys at Alston & Bird explore expectations for this year's securities litigation landscape, including class actions related to COVID-19, whistleblower claims and U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission enforcement activity.
Whether geared toward a global audience or a particular client, a law firm's articles, blog posts and client alerts should strive to be original by harnessing a few editorial tools and following the right distribution sequence, say Steven Andersen and Tal Donahue at Infinite Global.
Derek Adams at Potomac Law, and Ellen London and Steven Deolus at Alto Litigation, examine the evolution of the Paycheck Protection Program, the impact of constant changes to eligibility and reporting rules, and enforcement developments to expect this year.
Perspectives
Judges should take into consideration the several points of law enforcement and prosecutorial discretion — from traffic stops to charging decisions and sentencing recommendations — that often lead to race-based disparate treatment before a criminal defendant even reaches the courthouse, say Judge Juan Villaseñor and Laurel Quinto at Colorado's Eighth Judicial District Court.
In addition to the increased activity and scrutiny COVID-19 brought to the drug and device industries in 2020, major developments included the continued momentum of snap removal and renewed U.S. Supreme Court interest in the scope of state courts' jurisdiction, say attorneys at Faegre Drinker.
Lawyers should remember that the basics of interpersonal relationships have not changed despite the completely virtual environment caused by the pandemic, and should leverage the new year as an excuse to connect with clients in several ways, say Megan Senese and Courtney Hudson at Pillsbury.
A Georgia federal court’s recent decision in Fleming v. Rollins is a reminder that despite an ongoing circuit split, administrators facing fiduciary breach claims under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act can, in certain courts, still assert defenses based on plaintiffs' failure to exhaust a plan's administrative remedies, says Art Marrapese at Barclay Damon.
For law firms planning overhauls in their information technology infrastructures in light of hard lessons learned from pandemic-era transition to remote work, there are five ways to ensure even the biggest tech upgrade has minimal impact on client service, says Brad Paubel at Lexicon.