Doing Business in Florida Blog

Florida Appellate Court Says Substantial Compliance Sufficient

October 22, 2018
Christopher B. Choquette  |  Appellate Litigation, Insurance

A Florida appellate court issued a significant opinion for Florida’s policyholders. In Himmel v. Avatar Property & Casualty Insurance Company, the Fourth District Court of Appeal reversed a summary judgment a trial court had entered against an insured for failing to comply with the conditions in the insurance policy and ruled there were factual issues

Note, Although a Recent Decision of the Fourth District Court of Appeal Reconfirms the Existence of an Exception to the “Intra-Corporate Conspiracy Doctrine,” the Exception Is Quite Limited

April 13, 2017
P. Benjamin Zuckerman  |  Appellate Litigation, Litigation

In Mancinelli et. al. v. Davis et. al., 42 Fla. L. Weekly D7842 (April 5, 2017), the Fourth District Court of Appeal reconfirmed the existence of an exception to the “intra-corporate conspiracy doctrine,” a doctrine used to insulate company agents (officers, directors, partners, members or employees) from claims that they conspired with their company to

"Frustration" in the Florida Appellate Court: A Commercial Landlord's Battle to Defeat a Tenant's Excuse for Non-Performance

February 19, 2017
Jeffrey S. Wertman  |  Appellate Litigation, Commercial Real Estate, Condominiums, Construction & Design, Construction Litigation, Litigation, Real Estate, Real Estate Development

A recent Florida appellate opinion is likely to have a material impact on how future commercial real estate leases are drafted. Florida landlords wishing to avoid tenants’ defenses for nonperformance based on the doctrines of frustration of purposes, impracticality, or impossibility of performance should now more carefully assess how particular future events can affect a tenant’s performance and assign that risk to tenants in a lease.

A Non-Political, Unemotional Summary of the Ninth Circuit's Order in State of Washington v. Trump

February 10, 2017
Etan Mark  |  Appellate Litigation, Litigation, President Trump, U.S. Department of Homeland Security

Last night, in a unanimous opinion by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, the Court denied the United States government’s (President Trump, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, the Secretary of State, and the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security) motion to stay the lower court’s temporary restraining order enjoining enforcement of

Exclusive Arbitration Clauses and Non-Parties to Agreements: The Eleventh Circuit Holds That the Kardashians Cannot Compel Arbitration

January 23, 2017
Paul A. Avron  |  Appellate Litigation, Arbitration, Registered Trademarks

Last week, the Kardashian sisters lost their bid in the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit to compel Kroma Makeup EU, LLC (“Kroma EU”) to arbitrate a dispute.  As background, Lee Tillett, Inc. (“Tillett”) developed and registered a trademark more than a decade ago for a line of cosmetics known as “Kroma” cosmetics.  Tillett gave Kroma

Foreign Businesses Catering to U.S. Tourists Can Enforce Contract Provisions Determining Where Litigation for Injuries Suffered Overseas Must Be Initiated

January 5, 2017
Paul A. Avron  |  Appellate Litigation, Bankruptcy Litigation, Bankruptcy/Restructuring, Foreign Businesses, Foreign Courts, Forum Section Clauses, U.S. Tourists

According to a new Eleventh Circuit opinion, Feggestad v. Kerzner Int’l Bahamas, Ltd., foreign businesses that employ online purchase or reservation systems to sell goods or services to U.S. customers can enforce so-called “forum selection” clauses—contract clauses that designate the geographic location of the court that will hear disputes arising from

Déjà vu: Claim and Issue Preclusion

September 21, 2015
Nicole Levy Kushner  |  Appellate Litigation