Florida
-
November 13, 2018
Dems Up Ante As Fla. Recount Litigation Piles Up
With Florida's 67 counties hurrying to recount the votes in the races for U.S. senator, governor and agriculture commissioner, related litigation kept mounting Tuesday as Democrats sought extended deadlines and challenged rules for determining voter intent in two new suits.
-
November 13, 2018
Toyota Drivers Seek to Keep Distributor In Faulty HVAC Suit
Drivers in a proposed class action have asserted in Florida federal court that Southeast Toyota Distributors LLC knew its cars had defective ventilation systems but said nothing, an act of omission that should keep it on the hook despite its attempts to get out of the case.
-
November 13, 2018
Real Estate Rumors: Carlyle, Bloomberg, Charter Schools USA
A Carlyle Group venture has reportedly sold a Florida apartment complex for $67.25 million, Bloomberg LP is said to have renewed a 468,000-square-foot lease for space in Manhattan and Charter Schools USA has reportedly bought one of its schools in Florida for $10.5 million.
-
November 13, 2018
Justices Turn Away LabMD's Appeal In Tiversa Fraud Row
The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday turned down an appeal from LabMD Inc., which had taken issue with the Eleventh Circuit blocking the company from implicating a Pepper Hamilton LLP lawyer for fraud in an underlying cybersecurity case because he wasn’t listed on the docket.
-
November 13, 2018
Fla. Blue Cross Illegally Cornering ACA Market, Rival Says
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Florida was hit with a suit on Tuesday claiming it has created an unlawful stranglehold on Affordable Care Act policies in the Sunshine State by having brokers agree not to carry policies from any other insurer.
-
November 13, 2018
11th Circ. Won't Rethink GE Unit's Arbitration Bid In $45M Suit
The Eleventh Circuit has declined to reconsider its decision that an Alabama steel plant owner doesn’t have to arbitrate its $45 million dispute with a French unit of General Electric Co. over allegedly faulty motors because there’s no written arbitration agreement between the parties.
-
November 13, 2018
'Narcos' Production Co. Seeks Toss Of Copyright Suit
A Colombian production company argued Monday that a Florida federal court lacks authority over it in a lawsuit alleging that it, Netflix and the other producers of the popular series "Narcos" infringed copyrights covering a former journalist's best-selling memoir that detailed her romantic relationship with drug kingpin Pablo Escobar.
-
November 13, 2018
ICE Officer Cut From Citizen's Detention Row
A Florida federal judge has dismissed several claims brought by a U.S. citizen of Honduran ancestry who has been detained twice on suspicion of being in the country illegally, tossing all claims filed against an ICE officer while allowing several against a Florida county and the federal government to proceed.
-
November 9, 2018
Fla. Developer With Kushner Ties Slams EB-5 Fraud Suit
A real estate developer connected to White House adviser Jared Kushner has urged a Florida state court to scrap claims from a group of Chinese investors seeking EB-5 visas that he defrauded them of $99.5 million, arguing that the lawsuit is based on false allegations and is time-barred.
-
November 9, 2018
Fla. Candidates Sue As Rhetoric Heats Up Over Vote Count
Florida Gov. Rick Scott's and U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson's camps traded barbs Friday as litigation picked up across the Sunshine State ahead of likely recounts in their Senate contest and two other statewide races.
-
November 9, 2018
Fla. Court Says Doctor Must Face Patient Privacy Suit
A Florida appeals court on Friday revived a suit brought by a former prison guard accusing a doctor of releasing his medical records to state prison officials in an employment matter without his consent, saying it should be up to a jury to decide a factual dispute.
-
November 9, 2018
Attys Get $33M In Fees From Investors' $100M CBRE Deal
A Florida federal judge signed off Friday on a class of real estate investors' bid for $33.3 million in attorneys' fees and $1.7 million in costs in a $100 million settlement with CBRE over a multimillion-dollar embezzlement case, finding the case took a lot of time and included difficult questions.
-
November 9, 2018
VW Slams Drivers' Bid To Revive Suspension Defect Claims
Volkswagen said Friday that a Florida federal judge properly dismissed multiple counts from a proposed consumer class action alleging it sold CC model sedans with suspension defects, so there’s no need to grant consumers’ motion to revisit the ruling.
-
November 9, 2018
Fla. Court Breaks Fishermen Class In Tampa Bay Pollution Suit
A Florida appeals court on Friday reversed class certification for a group of commercial fishermen suing Mosaic Fertilizer LLC for allegedly polluting Tampa Bay, ruling that the fishermen had failed to show a reasonable methodology for proving classwide claims.
-
November 9, 2018
Real Estate Rumors: Breakers Capital, HNA, AutoNation
A Breakers Capital Partners venture has reportedly dropped $21.4 million on a Florida office property, HNA Group is said to be under contract to sell a Manhattan office tower, and AutoNation has reportedly sold a Florida auto dealership for $11 million.
-
November 9, 2018
Justices Urged To Review Checked-Bag Fee Collusion Claims
A group of airline passengers has urged the U.S. Supreme Court to review claims that Delta Air Lines Inc. and AirTran Airways Inc. colluded to tack on fees for first-checked bags, after the allegations were rejected by the Eleventh Circuit.
-
November 9, 2018
Timeshare Owners Hit Marriott With Sanctions Bid
Timeshare owners have asked a Florida federal court to sanction Marriott Ownership Resorts Inc. in a proposed class action claiming the timeshare company and its insurer duped them into invalid real estate deals with Orange County's help, saying it intentionally withheld "massive amounts" of documents during discovery.
-
November 9, 2018
Adventist Health Says ERISA Underfunding Suit Still Fails
Adventist Health System has urged a Florida federal judge to toss a proposed class action accusing the health care system of underfunding its retirement plans in violation of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, arguing that the participant leading the suit failed to fix its flaws.
-
November 9, 2018
High Court Sets Stage For Cert Orders In Title VII Cases
The U.S. Supreme Court will decide as soon as Nov. 30 whether to hear a trio of closely watched discrimination cases that ask the justices to decide if Title VII’s ban on sex discrimination protects gay and transgender employees.
-
November 8, 2018
Fla. Gov. Accuses 2 Counties Of Meddling With Election Count
With three statewide recounts looming, Republican Florida Gov. Rick Scott filed lawsuits late Thursday against Broward and Palm Beach counties' elections supervisors alleging public records and access violations and accusing county officials of trying to nudge Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson ahead of him in the race for Florida's U.S. Senate seat.
Expert Analysis
-
It’s Time For Law Firms To Start Talking About Gen Z
Since the oldest members of Generation Z aren’t even finished with law school yet, law firm management is in a unique position to prepare for their entrance into the legal workforce, says Eliza Stoker of Major Lindsey & Africa.
-
State Net
How The States Fared In The Midterms
Lou Cannon, editorial adviser and columnist at LexisNexis State Net Capitol Journal, dissects the results of the governor’s races and state legislative chambers in the 2018 midterm elections.
-
Top 10 Snap Observations From The 2018 Midterm Elections
The just-completed midterm elections could be called the “cafeteria midterms,” because there was something for everyone. The results offered both encouragement and warnings for Democrats and Republicans looking to 2020, says Frank Donatelli of McGuireWoods Consulting LLC.
-
Q&A
Back To School: Yale's Linda Greenhouse Talks Journalism
In this series featuring law school luminaries, Yale Law School lecturer and Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter Linda Greenhouse discusses her coverage of the U.S. Supreme Court, the conservatives' long game and trends in journalism.
-
Opinion
Celebrate Veterans By Improving Their Access To Justice
Attorneys should think beyond the Veterans Day parades and use their time and talents to help the many veterans facing urgent legal issues, says Linda Klein of Baker Donelson Bearman Caldwell & Berkowitz PC.
-
Has The 11th Circ. Become Consumer-Friendly?
Based on the Eleventh Circuit's recent interpretation of Spokeo in Muransky v. Godiva Chocolatier, Austin Whitten of Pittman Dutton & Hellums PC examines whether the venue may be the most favorable for plaintiffs with consumer protection claims where no “actual” damages are alleged.
-
Bringing Alcoholic Beverage Coupons Into The Digital Age
Laws on coupons and rebates for alcoholic beverages vary across the country. Ascertaining the legal status of digital coupons, which may not have been envisioned when a state's laws were written, creates additional wrinkles for companies, says Alva Mather of DLA Piper.
-
Opinion
Time To Reclaim Wellness For All Lawyers
The decision last month by Baker McKenzie’s global chairman to step down due to exhaustion indicates that the legal profession needs to mount a broader wellness effort to address long hours, high stress, frequent travel and the daily demands of practice, says Leesa Klepper, director of Thrivewell Coaching.
-
Alternative Resolution Can Streamline Construction Disputes
Alternative dispute resolution schemes, such as those set forth in Florida law, present an efficient resolution mechanism for construction conflicts. Furthermore, two recent cases in North Carolina and Maryland have reaffirmed courts' preferences for arbitration, says Stephanie Chaissan of Berger Singerman LLP.
-
Opinion
AGs Are Now The 1st Round Draft Picks Of American Politics
Given their recent track record and growing policy power, state attorneys general should be the group everyone is watching on Election Day. Chances are the winners of these races will move to higher offices soon enough, says Joshua Spivak, senior fellow at the Hugh L. Carey Institute for Government Reform at Wagner College.