Insuring Against Rule 68 Offers of Settlement
6/28/18
By: Matt Grattan
One tool defense lawyers in Georgia frequently use to induce settlements is an offer of settlement under O.C.G.A. 9-11-68. Rule 68 allows either party to a tort action to serve a written offer to settle the claim, …
Arbitration Agreement Litigation Wins Continue to Fall Like Dominoes for Pizza Hut
6/26/18
By: Tim Holdsworth
Following the Supreme Court’s opinion in Epic Systems that class and collective actions waivers in arbitration agreements are enforceable, a federal court recently granted a motion to compel arbitration to one of the nation’s largest Pizza Hut …
Fourteen Seconds Plus Emergency Lights Equals Probable Cause To Arrest
6/11/18
By: Charles Reed
There is a saying that “nothing good ever happens after midnight.” Both City of Hollywood, Florida police officer Ronald Cannella and citizen Livingston Manners would become very familiar with this saying after the events of June 24, …
A House of Cards: Stacking Inferences to Prove Liability
5/10/18
By: Melissa Santalone
A Florida appellate court recently reaffirmed Florida’s state law prohibition against stacking inferences in personal injury cases with a reversal of a $1.5 million verdict in a slip-and-fall case against Publix. In Publix Super Markets, Inc. v. …
Circuits Now Split Three Ways Over False Claims Act Limitations Period
4/26/18
By: Robyn Flegal
The Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals (governing Georgia, Alabama, and Florida), recently held that the three-year statute of limitations for the False Claims Act (FCA) begins when the government learns of alleged violations of the FCA, rather …
Court Ruling Highlights Importance of Policy Language
4/11/18
By: America Vidana
In Mt. Hawley Insurance Co. v. Tactic Security Enforcement, Inc., No. 6:16-cv-01425 (M.D. FL. 2018), U.S. District Judge Paul Byron of the Middle District of Florida recently denied an insurance company’s motion for summary judgment, in …
Congress Steps Into Tip-Pooling Fight
3/23/18
By: Timothy J. Holdsworth
We wrote previously about the background on the tip-pooling regulations and the DOL’s Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (“NPR”) that would allow tip-pooling arrangements that include employees who do not regularly and customarily receive tips under the …
When the Midas Touch Does Not Protect You From Your CLE Obligations
3/15/18
By: Jonathan M. Romvary
As part of every attorney’s ongoing duty of competence, each jurisdiction requires attorneys to attend Continuing Learning Education classes each year. The failure to attain the minimum required credit hours for substantive and ethical topics may …
Unit Owners Denied Easement To Access Community Dock
2/22/18
By: Michael G. Kouskoutis
In Goldman v. Lustig, a Florida townhome unit owner (Lustig) sought an injunction to prohibit neighboring unit owners from crossing his yard to access a dock located behind his unit. The unit owners had rights …
Eleventh Circuit Rules Florida Strict Liability and Negligence Claims Not Preempted by the MDA
2/12/18
By: Robyn Flegal
A panel of the Eleventh Circuit determined in a February 8, 2018 published decision that a Florida district court erred when it ruled that a husband’s claims, brought against a medical device manufacturer after its Life Vest …
Florida Appellate Court Invalidates Local Minimum Wage Law
2/9/18
By: Melissa A. Santalone
A recent decision by Florida’s Third District Court of Appeal invalidated Miami Beach’s local minimum wage law, holding that a state statute preempted the local ordinance. In 2016, the City of Miami Beach enacted a local …
Driverless Motor Vehicle Lawsuit – The First of its Kind
2/7/18
By: Courtney K. Mazzio
General Motors is the first manufacturer to be hit with a driverless motor vehicle lawsuit. On December 7, motorcycle driver, Oscar Nilsson, alleges he was attempting to pass a self-automated Chevy Bolt on the right. The …