Doing Business in Florida Blog

U.S. Supreme Court Upholds Employment Agreements Forbidding Class Actions and Requiring Individual Arbitration of Employment Disputes

May 21, 2018
Leonard K. Samuels  |  Dispute Resolution, Labor & Employment

In a 5-4 decision, a sharply divided U.S. Supreme Court today upheld the enforceability of widely used but controversial clauses in employment agreements, which require employees to forgo the possibility of proceeding collectively, and oblige them to resolve any disputes with their employers through individual arbitration.

Florida State Sales Tax Rate on Commercial Real Estate Property Leases Reduced Further Beginning January, 2019

May 16, 2018
Barry D. Lapides  |  Real Estate

As a follow up to my November 2017 post, the Florida Legislature passed a tax bill (HB 7087) which includes a further reduction in the sales tax rate on commercial leases. As anyone who is involved in leasing commercial real property in Florida is aware, the State of Florida imposes a sales tax on rental payments for the lease of real property. The tax

David Beckham-backed MLS Stadium Can Provide Assist to South Florida Real Estate Market

April 23, 2018
Joshua B. Brandsdorfer  |  Real Estate

As the Miami Heat gear up for the playoffs, the Miami Marlins get ready for Opening Day under new management, and the Miami Dolphins prepare for the NFL Draft, a new Miami sports franchise is still just trying to find a place to call home. This past January, to great fanfare in downtown Miami, Major League Soccer (MLS) officially announced league approval

The Eleventh Circuit Reaffirms the “Person Aggrieved” Standard

April 1, 2018
Lewis M. Killian Jr. and Ashley Dillman Bruce  |  Bankruptcy Litigation

The Eleventh Circuit recently reaffirmed the “person aggrieved” doctrine in In re Petricca, 17-10325, 2018 WL 1020046, at *1 (11th Cir. Feb. 22, 2018). The person aggrieved doctrine provides that a person may appeal from a bankruptcy court's order only if he is a person aggrieved by the order. The doctrine limits the right to appeal a bankruptcy

Impact of Tax Reform Act on Parties to Litigation

April 1, 2018
Mark Wisniewski  |  Corporate, Tax Litigation, Taxation

As a result of the new tax reform act (H.R. 1), signed into law by President Trump on December 22, 2017, a below-the-line deduction[1] for legal fees incurred in litigation is no longer available for tax years 2018 through 2025. Thus, plaintiffs in numerous categories of litigation could end up paying taxes on one hundred percent (100%) of the gross

Governor Signs Community Association and Condominium Legislation

March 28, 2018
Jeffrey R. Margolis  |  Condominiums, Real Estate

Following up on my February 16, 2018 post, Florida Governor Rick Scott signed House Bill 617, House Bill 841 and Senate Bill 7087 into law. Senate Bill 7087, which is the comprehensive tax package for the legislative session, authorizes vertical subdivisions of real property, specifically authorizing assessment of a “multiple parcel building” by

Affordable Housing in Florida: The Crisis is Real

March 26, 2018
Iryna Ivashchuk  |  Real Estate, Residential Real Estate

One of the biggest barriers to economic stability for households in the United States is the severe shortage of affordable homes. A household is considered severely cost burdened if it spends more than 30% of its income on housing (rent or mortgage payments). Florida is in the midst of an affordable housing crisis with the third largest homeless

Interesting Data Points From Southeast Multifamily Forum

March 25, 2018
Jeffrey R. Margolis  |  Real Estate

The Southeast Multifamily Forum provided information and statistics regarding the state of the multifamily real estate market, investment opportunities, trends. Below are some of the highlights. State of the Market After the election, growth in the multifamily real estate market picked up, not because of who was elected, but because uncertainty

CFTC Treatment of Cryptocurrencies as Commodities Confirmed by a Federal Court

March 15, 2018
James Sattin  |  Banking and Financial Services Litigation, Cryptocurrency

In its ruling of March 6, 2018 in Commodity Futures Trading Commission v. Patrick K. McDonnell, and Cabbagetech, Corp. d/b/a Coin Drop Markets, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York confirmed in a settlement order the position taken by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (the “CFTC”) that (1) “[v]irtual currencies can

There’s No Denying It: Florida Policyholders Have a Right to Insurance Coverage for the First 13 Days of a Water Loss

February 28, 2018
Christopher B. Choquette  |  Insurance

This past week, an intermediate appellate court issued a significant decision in Hicks v. American Integrity Ins. Co. The Court decided that the insurance company had misapplied a policy provision excluding damages caused by the “[c]onstant or repeated seepage or leakage of water… over a period of 14 days or more.” In Hicks, while the insured was out of

Homeowners Association and Condominium Association Related Bills

February 15, 2018
Jeffrey R. Margolis  |  Condominiums, Real Estate

2018 Florida Legislative Session Update The 2018 Florida legislative session is in full swing with a number of proposed bills relating to homeowners associations and condominium association currently being considered. If passed by the legislature and signed into law by the governor, these bills will have a significant impact on operations of homeowners

Turning Off the Spigot of Damages in Construction Cases: The Doctrine of “Avoidable Consequences"

February 14, 2018
Jeffrey S. Wertman  |  Construction Litigation, Dispute Resolution

“Damage control” is often associated with measures taken to offset or minimize damage to reputation, credibility, or public image caused by a controversial act, remark, or revelation. However, the concept of damage control has been and continues to be prevalent in construction cases. The doctrine of “avoidable consequences”, also sometimes