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© 2007-12 Easley Appellate Practice, P.L.L.C. (Since 1994) All rights reserved.
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Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act -- Excessive settlement fees -- Error to certify class in action in which the stated common question of law was whether defendant violated subsection 8(b) of RESPA by requiring borrowers to pay escrow waiver fee for which defendant had performed no services -- Class certification order violated law of the case where court of appeals had previously held without equivocation that defendant had actually performed some services and had remanded with proviso that plaintiffs be given limited opportunity to amend complaint to allege that defendant charged excessive fee in exchange for services contemplated -- There were no exceptional circumstances which justified deviation from law of the case -- Moreover, section 8(b) requires a plaintiff to allege that no services were rendered in exchange for a settlement fee and does not apply to excessive fee claim
Reported at 21 Fla. L. Weekly Fed. C495a
Attorney's fees -- Proposal for settlement -- Good faith -- Discovery -- Torts -- Tobacco -- Personal injury action against cigarette manufacturer -- Proposal for settlement which stated that it would settle and completely resolve all claims being made by the plaintiffs against the defendant and which provided that proposal was inclusive of all claims for attorney's fees and costs was sufficient to comply with rule 1.442 -- Defendant's reliance solely on timing of letter from plaintiffs' counsel to plaintiffs to suggest the timely proposal was not made in good faith was not sufficient proof to warrant further discovery on issue of good faith -- Further, plaintiffs' law firm already had plaintiffs' smoking history, medical treatment, employment history, and diagnosis by time actual proposal was made, proposal bore a figure close to that awarded by the jury, and proposal was made by a firm experienced in the precise type of liability litigation involved in this case -- Trial court erred in failing to consider criteria in addition to criteria contained in rule 1.442 supporting reduction in lodestar amount, including results obtained, time attributable to work on other similar cases, lack of novelty and complexity, vast difference between fees requested and those to which plaintiffs agreed in retention agreement, and absence of valid prejudgment fee agreement between plaintiffs and a consulting attorney -- Defendant did not stipulate to the reasonableness of total hours claimed by agreeing that it would not contest hourly rates or total number of hours set forth -- Supreme court's decision in Sarkis v. Allstate Insurance Co. held that contingency risk multiplier is not applicable to award of fees under section 768.79, but did not limit criteria to be considered in awarding attorney's fees under section 768.79 to those contained in rule -- Because trial court appears to have limited its consideration to factors set forth in rule, case remanded for consideration of other relevant criteria argued by defendant
Reported at 33 Fla. L. Weekly D786a
Civil procedure -- Default -- Vacation -- Default judgment entered against county in action by homeowners association to quiet title in earthen salinity dam which had been conveyed to county by deed which provided that property would revert to grantor if property ceases to be used as salinity dam or if any structure or obstruction is erected or maintained on property -- Trial court abused discretion in denying county's motion to set aside default judgment where county demonstrated due diligence, meritorious defense, and excusable neglect -- County exercised due diligence where county attorney filed motion to vacate default judgment four days after receipt of complaint -- Unrebutted affidavit established that county has meritorious defense -- Where complaint was served on recently elected Chairman of the Board of Miami-Dade County Commission at his district office rather than his main downtown office where service is ordinarily effected, district office staff failed to timely forward documents to county attorney's office because of belief that complaint was only a copy of original filed at downtown office, and complaint was immediately forwarded to county attorney's office when district office staff learned that no copy of complaint had been provided to county attorney, there was excusable neglect
Reported at 33 Fla. L. Weekly D809a
Civil rights -- Sexual discrimination -- Employment -- Complaint alleging sexual harassment in violation of Florida Civil Rights Act, filed against corporate employers and individual defendants, including owner and sole officer and director of corporations and manager of corporations -- Trial court properly dismissed complaint against individual defendants on ground that FCRA does not provide for individual liability
Reported at 33 Fla. L. Weekly D790a
Contempt -- Indirect civil contempt -- Violation of settlement agreement that required, among other things, that purchaser of business refrain from communicating with, interfering with, or soliciting seller's clients -- No error in entering amended contempt judgment providing for suspended fine and term of imprisonment that can be purged by not committing any future violation of a court-approved settlement agreement reached by the parties in 1998 -- Coercive civil sanction that is suspended ad infinitum provides contemnor with requisite ability to purge -- In case at issue, the lack of a point certain in the future to purge the contempt is the result of the terms agreed upon by the parties to the settlement agreement, which terms do not limit the time frame in which there was to be no contact with seller's customers -- Attorney's fees -- Trial court erred in awarding, as a civil contempt sanction, attorney's fees and costs beyond those related to litigation of the successful motion for contempt -- No error in refusing to hold party in contempt for numerous discovery violations where trial court made specific findings of fact and concluded that there was no willful violation of discovery order
Reported at 33 Fla. L. Weekly D788a
Dissolution of marriage -- Alimony -- Modification -- Amount -- Where trial court, in entering amended final judgment pursuant to appellate mandate to redetermine former wife's need for alimony, made reduction in alimony retroactive to date of filing of petition, a change in original final judgment which was not addressed in appellate mandate, trial court erred in providing for relief beyond directive of mandate -- Even though issue of retroactivity of any alimony payments was an issue on appeal, appellate court did not address it or give any direction to reconsider it on remand
Reported at 33 Fla. L. Weekly D798a
Fraudulent transfers -- Action by plaintiff who obtained judgment in action to enforce promissory note alleging that property was fraudulently transferred while action was pending -- Plaintiff's failure to pay documentary stamp tax on note does not bar recovery in action for fraudulent transfer -- Payment of documentary stamp tax as prerequisite to enforcing a note in court is inapplicable to fraudulent transfer case
Reported at 33 Fla. L. Weekly D806a
Mortgages -- Foreclosure -- Enforceability of dragnet clause contained in second note which was clearly referenced in mortgage against subsequent purchaser of one-half interest in real property secured by the mortgage -- Trial court erred in granting summary judgment enforcing dragnet clause against subsequent purchaser after mortgagor defaulted on preexisting debt encompassed by dragnet clause where it was undisputed that dragnet clause in note did not identify any specific pre-existing debt, there was no evidence that a review of any publicly recorded documents would have revealed that a prior note was secured by the mortgage that secured the second note, and subsequent purchaser submitted affidavit stating that it had inquired as to whether any pre-existing debt was secured by the mortgage and was told that mortgage did not secure any pre-existing debt -- Although there seems to be no question that subsequent purchaser had no express actual notice that prior note was secured by mortgage, genuine issues of material fact exist on issue of implied actual notice where subsequent purchaser did have information from second note that there may have been pre-existing debt secured by the mortgage and thus had a duty to inquire further, and it was not clear whether reasonable person would have inquired further after receiving negative response from mortgagee
Reported at 33 Fla. L. Weekly D800b
Municipal corporations -- Vehicle impoundment ordinance purporting to authorize city to seize vehicle whenever police officer has probable cause to believe vehicle was used to facilitate prostitution and, upon finding of probable cause, to impound vehicle until owner pays $500 plus towing and storage costs or posts bond in that amount; and further purporting to authorize city to permanently deprive owners of unclaimed vehicle under statutory provisions relating to lost or abandoned property -- Florida Contraband Forfeiture Act does not preempt a municipality from adopting an ordinance that authorizes the seizure and impoundment of vehicles used in the commission of certain misdemeanor offenses -- Constitutionality of ordinance -- Due process -- Separation of powers -- Notice to owner or person in control of vehicle is sufficient -- Determination of whether police officer had probable cause for finding that an owner's automobile was being used in solicitation for prostitution and could therefore be impounded by police is essentially a judicial function -- Portion of ordinance providing for administrative hearings before city officials to determine whether there was probable cause to impound vehicle and the amount of any fee to obtain return of vehicle is unconstitutional as violating separation of powers and due process
Reported at 33 Fla. L. Weekly D783a
Public employees -- Whistle-blowers -- Municipal corporations -- Limitation of actions -- Plaintiff alleging he was terminated from his position as utilities maintenance supervisor at water treatment plant in retaliation for his having reported to state Department of Health the city's plan to use recycled water for irrigation in manner that plaintiff believed was inconsistent with health ordinances -- Error to enter summary judgment in favor of city on Florida Whistle-blower's Act claim on statute of limitations grounds where there was genuine issue of material fact regarding when city terminated plaintiff's employment -- Pursuant to plaintiff's amended complaint, he suffered adverse personnel action when he withdrew his direct appeal from before the city's employees' board of appeals in reliance upon city's advisement that the withdrawal of his appeal would render his termination “final” -- Additionally, plaintiff should not be precluded from presenting alternative legal theories, including his equitable estoppel claim to fact-finder -- City's assertion that a showing of misconduct or intentional deceit is essential to plaintiff's equitable estoppel claim is without merit -- Jury trial -- Whistle-blower's Act plaintiff is entitled to jury trial so long as plaintiff requests the legal relief provided for under the Act -- Plaintiff's request for “such other relief as is permitted by statute” encompassed remunerative relief afforded by the legislature pursuant to Act
Reported at 33 Fla. L. Weekly D795a
Real property -- Quiet title -- Tax deeds -- Error to enter summary judgment quieting title in favor of plaintiff to whom tax deeds were issued where plaintiff did not refute property owner's affidavit in opposition to summary judgment which stated that owner submitted change of address form to tax appraiser's office, that tax collector and clerk of court had his proper address well in advance of sale of property, but that owner never received notice of the sale -- Plaintiff failed to meet burden of showing absence of material fact as to whether notice was reasonably calculated to apprise owner of tax deed sale
Reported at 33 Fla. L. Weekly D781a
Attorney's fees -- Contracts -- Developers who prevailed in action against county for declaratory and injunctive relief, which asserted that developers were entitled to valid permits under their contract with county, were entitled to award of attorney's fees where contract between developers and county provided for the county's recovery of attorney's fees if county has to file judicial action to enforce provisions of contract -- Because county's entitlement to fees is reciprocal under contract, trial court properly found that developers were entitled to attorney's fees for prevailing in their declaratory action
Reported at 33 Fla. L. Weekly D826a
Corporations -- Asset transfer -- Rescission -- Shareholders' derivative action -- Amended complaint alleging breaches of fiduciary duty by directors in conjunction with alleged personal use of corporate assets and funds and in conjunction with the transfer of corporate assets to successor corporation; breaches of common law duty of loyalty; trade name infringement stemming from use of corporation's trade name by successor corporation; and breaches of fiduciary duty by corporate attorney in connection with facilitation of transfer of corporation's assets; and further seeking rescission and cancellation of asset transfer -- Minority shareholders who object to a total transfer of corporate assets, and who allege that the majority shareholder has engaged in a course of conduct involving improper self-dealing and malfeasance over time, are not limited to statutory remedy of tendering their shares for appraisal and buy-back at a fair price -- Although in most cases, appraisal rights statute denominates appraisal as a dissenting shareholder's exclusive remedy, exclusivity rule does not apply where minority shareholder has alleged that the challenged transaction was procured as result of “fraud or material misrepresentation” -- Plaintiffs' allegations of corporate malfeasance fall within exception and constitute facially sufficient allegations that raise factual issues for resolution by finder of fact -- Court adopts fairness analysis developed by Delaware courts to assess whether a corporate transaction avails aggrieved minority shareholders of rights beyond appraisal -- “Fraud or material misrepresentation” exception in section 607.1302(4)(b) interpreted to mean that minority shareholder who alleges specific acts of “fraud, misrepresentation, self-dealing, deliberate waste of corporate assets” may be entitled to equitable remedies beyond the appraisal proceeding if those allegations are proven true and if alleged acts have so besmirched propriety of the challenged transaction that no appraisal could fairly compensate the aggrieved minority shareholder -- Error to grant summary judgment as to claim of rescission of transfer of assets -- Remand for factual determinations as to truth of allegations of fraud, misrepresentation, and breaches of fiduciary duty on directors' part -- Error to dismiss claim against corporate law firm for breach of fiduciary duty -- Any conflict of interest that arose from law firm's representation of directors individually and its concomitant representation of corporation was not properly waived where all shareholders did not approve the conflict waiver -- Error to strike plaintiffs' demand that successor corporation place its profits in constructive trust for benefit of predecessor -- Attorney's fees -- Error to award attorney's fees to defendants pursuant to section 57.105 -- Declaratory judgment -- Abuse of discretion to award directors attorney's fees incurred in declaratory action, at the conclusion of which the court determined that the minority shareholders' election as to some shares did not constitute a valid exercise of the appraisal right -- Fee award was based on section 607.1331(2)(b), which pertains to attorney's fees in arbitrary, vexatious, or bad faith appraisal proceedings -- Declaratory action was not an appraisal proceeding to which the statute applied, but was merely a proceeding to clarify minority shareholders' rights and to determine whether they could initiate an appraisal proceeding as to twenty of their twenty-one shares -- Moreover, nothing in record would support finding that minority shareholders acted arbitrarily, vexatiously or not in good faith -- No error in granting summary judgment on claim for trade name infringement
Reported at 33 Fla. L. Weekly D829a
Civil procedure -- Discovery -- Class actions -- Precertification discovery -- Homeowners' action against title insurance company alleging homeowners were not provided discounted title insurance rate, known as “reissue rate,” for which they may have been eligible when they refinanced their homes for period July 1, 1999, to present -- Trial court abused its discretion in ordering, prior to class certification determination, full merits discovery of “all documents concerning, referring or relating to title insurance reissue rates” in the possession of defendant title insurance company and approximately 1,000 of its independent title insurance agents -- In general, precertification discovery should be limited to matters relevant to class certification, not merits of case -- Defendant introduced uncontradicted evidence demonstrating that the precertification discovery requested was unduly burdensome and would result in irreparable injury at this stage of litigation; and that trial court departed from essential requirements of law in ordering full merits discovery of closing files of defendant and its agents -- Court's decision does not deny plaintiffs discovery of defendant's closing files as necessary to establish facts relating to class certification -- On remand, trial court has discretion to limit discovery to decrease substantially the time, effort and expense involved in responding, including limiting discovery to a certain random sample of the files, and has discretion to require parties to jointly produce a detailed discovery plan which prioritizes class-related discovery, while not depriving parties from engaging in merits discovery when facts and issues are inextricably intertwined
33 Fla. L. Weekly D681a
Civil rights -- Law enforcement officers -- Search and seizure -- Plaintiff alleging that deputy falsely arrested her after entering her home without a warrant to search for the subject of a civil commitment order -- Qualified immunity -- Although deputy violated plaintiff's constitutional rights, deputy is entitled to qualified immunity because, at time he acted, law did not give a reasonable officer fair and clear warning that a civil commitment order did not present circumstances sufficiently exigent to excuse warrantless entry and search of an unrelated third party's home -- District court erred in denying deputy's motion for summary judgment on qualified immunity grounds
21 Fla. L. Weekly Fed. C444a
Torts -- Medical malpractice -- Hospitals -- Discovery -- Patients' Right to Know About Adverse Medical Incidents Amendment to Florida Constitution is self-executing -- Right of access granted pursuant to the amendment is retroactive and therefore applies to adverse medical incident records existing prior to its effective date -- Several subsections of section 381.028, Florida Statutes (2005), unconstitutionally impinge upon rights granted pursuant to amendment, but those subsections are severable, and remainder of statute is valid
33 Fla. L. Weekly S154a
Perez v. Sanford-Orlando Kennel Club, Inc. ,(C.A.11 (Fla.))
Labor and Employment - Appeal in Fair Labor Standards Act case was not rendered moot by employer's payment of underlying judgment.
An appeal in a Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) action, in which the District Court entered judgment in favor of the employee, in part, was not rendered moot by the employer's payment of the underlying judgment prior to the issuance of the decision by the Court of Appeals. Although the employee had challenged the initial judgment as inadequate, and the satisfaction encompassed the entire judgment, after the payment was made and the satisfaction was filed in the District Court, both parties continued to pursue their appeals. They both filed briefs addressing the merits. Significantly, neither party filed a motion to dismiss the appeal. Also, the employer filed motions in two related cases pending in the District Court, two months after the satisfaction was filed, requesting that the related cases be stayed pending the outcome of the appeal, in order to avoid inconsistent judgments and unnecessary litigation costs.
Error to deny motion for disqualification because allegations of an adversarial relationship between petitioner's attorney and judge were legally sufficient. Shepard v. Cordis and Broadspire, 32 Fla. L. Weekly D179.
No abuse of probate court’s discretion in reopening probate proceeding. Notice had been sent to attorney who was representing appellants in another civil proceeding. Judge had jurisdiction to do so under section 733.903, Florida Statutes. Macier v. In Re: Estate of Bessie Giamportone, 32 Fla. L. Weekly D193.
Error to grant summary judgment in favor of seller of real property. Buyer's testimony that she did not agree to extend the closing due to code violations raised genuine issues of fact regarding extension of the closing date was extended. Henley v. MacDonald, 32 Fla. L. Weekly D198.
Error to deny motion to dismiss for forum nonconveniens wrongful death action against Hilton Hotel resort for failure to provide sufficient security to prevent terrorist attack at resort in Egypt. All the plaintiffs lived overseas, Egyptian law applied, and Egypt's political climate did not make it an inadequate forum. Hilton International Co. v. Carrillo, 32 Fla. L. Weekly D190.
Writ of mandamus issued to trial court to schedule case for trial even though discovery had not yet been completed. Case was at issue and several notices had been sent for trial date to be set. Rolle v. Birken, 32 Fla. L. Weekly D194.
Plaintiff waived right to attorney's fees by failing to make a demand for fees in either the initial or amended complaint, even alleged it had retained the services of an attorney and was obligated to pay attorney's fees. American Express Bank International v. Inverpan, S.A., 32 Fla. L. Weekly D193.
Request for attorney's fees was properly pled by filing motion within thirty days of notice of voluntary dismissal. Stolper, LLC v. Jeffer, 32 Fla. L. Weekly D199.
It was correct to dismiss insured's fraud in the inducement and negligent misrepresentation counts and grant summary judgment in insurer's favor on breach of contract and declaratory judgment count. Insured's placing asterisks on provisions discussing replacement of disability coverage did not create an ambiguity to allow the insured to claim he was told he would get increased coverage to cover the amount of benefit of his previous policy; the rest of the agreement was clear on the amount of coverage provided. Jacques v. Equitable Life Assurance Society of the United States, 32 Fla. L. Weekly D200.
Error to refuse to transfer action. Transferring a breach of contract claim to county where there was a pending construction lien case involving the same parties and issues "would avoid multiple lawsuits, minimize judicial labor, reduce the expenses, to the parties and avoid inconsistent results." Mason v. Homes by Whitaker, Inc., 32 Fla. L. Weekly 210.
Correct to deny defendant's motion to reduce jury award. Defendant had failed to plead or otherwise raise issue of vicarious liability as an affirmative defense until after jury had returned its verdict. Shah v. Space Coast Petroleum Distributors, Inc., 32 Fla. L. Weekly D209.
Fifth District Court of Appeal assessed attorney's fees against appellate and her attorney. The issue raised was substantially the same that had been decided in a prior appeal involving the same parties. Ayala v. Gonzalez, 33 Fla. L. Weekly D336.
Correct to deny request for attorney's fees under the offer of judgment statute, section 768.79. The trial court correctly determined that awarding attorney's fees under the proposal for settlement was inconsistent with section 760.11(5), the statute governing attorney's fees in Florida Civil Rights cases, which requires a finding that the case was frivolous, unreasonable, or groundless. Yoder Brothers, Inc. v. Weygant, 33 Fla. L. Weekly D348.
Abuse of trial court’s discretion in awarding attorney's fees because the order did not set forth the reasonable amount of hours, the hourly rate or whether the court made any adjustments to the lodestar amount. Patricia Gail Van Diepen, P.A. v. Brown, 33 Fla. L. Weekly D338.
Error to award attorney's fees to party prevailing on its count for breach of contract because remaining counts were still pending and it was impossible to determine who prevailing party was until all pending counts were resolved. Kapila v. AT&T Wireless Services, Inc., 33 Fla. L. Weekly D307.
Error to award attorney's fees at ex parte hearing that the party did not attend because of inadequate notice. Wedgewood Holdings, Inc. v Wilpon, 33 Fla. L. Weekly D282.
Error to enter judgment against company and individual shareholder "jointly and severally". Insufficient proof to pierce the corporate veil. Gasparini v. Pordomingo, 33 Fla. L. Weekly D295.
Error to dismiss Florida Civil Rights Act retaliation claim because a "county's policy of foreclosing otherwise available internal remedies because the employee has filed a charge of discrimination with the Florida Commission on Human Relations (FCHR) or the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) is an adverse employment action constituting retaliation." Donovan v. Broward County Board of Commissioners, 33 Fla. L. Weekly D291.
Use of "affiliate" in a settlement agreement was not ambiguous and therefore applied to a sister corporation owned by the same parent corporation. Churchville v. GACS, Inc., 33 Fla. L. Weekly D275.
Error to dismiss declaratory action on basis dispute was premature because no easement had yet been given pursuant to a settlement agreement, but District Court of Appeal affirmed dismissal based on court's findings that the granting of de minimis easements would not diminish the county's ability to establish or maintain a public park. Milani v. Palm Beach County, 33 Fla. L. Weekly D317.
Correct to transfer suit for fraud, breach of contract and conversion to county where the defendants had their principal place of business, where the causes of action accrued and where the property in litigation was located. Tobin v. A & F Engineering, 33 Fla. L. Weekly D315.
Error to not striking two jurors for cause because statement by one that he had negative feelings because of his wife's automobile accident and by the other that his belief there should be a cap on damages would possibly come into play established potential bias and because statements that "I'm going to be in the middle" and "I doubt that [my beliefs] would [come into play] were insufficient to establish rehabilitation. Rodriguez v. Lagomasino, 33 Fla. L. Weekly D310.
Correct to dismiss claims for eviction, fraudulent filing of IRS form and that clerk of court made an erroneous docket entry on grounds of res judicata. All such claims were raised or could have been raised in one of the four previous lawsuits involving the same parties. Jenkins v. Lennar Corp., 33 Fla. L. Weekly D308.
No abuse of trial court discretion in action for constructive trust and equitable lien, in denying motion for temporary injunction seeking to freeze the interest earned on the constructive trust res. The plaintiff was "not entitled to injunctive relief to protect the accrued interest in order to ensure the collection of the prejudgment interest and costs." Briceno v. Bryden Investments, Ltd., 33 Fla. L. Weekly D302.
In affirming an arbitration order that did not reference entitlement to costs, trial court erred in awarding costs because such issue was specifically referred to in order requiring non-binding arbitration and neither party requested a trial de novo within twenty days. Wedgewood Holdings, Inc. v Wilpon, 33 Fla. L. Weekly D282.
In a declaratory judgment action, trial court erred in denying motion to tax costs on the basis the complaint cited section 57.041 instead of section 86.081, because "litigants are not required to claim entitlement to costs in their pleadings." First Protective Insurance Co. v. Featherston, 33 Fla. L. Weekly D272.
The City of Miami's impoundment ordinance is unconstitutional because (1) it failed to provide that notice must be given to affected people such as joint owners, lessees and lien holders, (2) it provided for a "preponderance of evidence" as opposed to a "clear and convincing evidence" standard of proof, and (3) it failed to satisfy due process requirements by not providing an innocent owner defense. City of Miami v. Wellman, 33 Fla. L. Weekly D296.
Trial court erred in granting summary judgment in favor of assignee's claim to collect an accounts receivable on basis defendant's logistic's manager had signed a letter acknowledging receipt of notice of the assignment because there were disputed issues of fact as to whether that individual was authorized to receive notice and whether the organization had in fact received notice under the provisions of section 671.021(27). Building Materials Corporation of America v. Presidential Financial Corp., 33 Fla. L. Weekly D351.
Trial court improperly dismissed complaint alleging violation of Florida's Unfair and Deceptive Trade Practices Act and fraudulent inducement because allegations against the corporate officers, directors and shareholders of a corporate seller of a franchise for failing to disclose information mandated by state and federal law stated a cause of action. KC Leisure, Inc. v. Haber, 33 Fla. L. Weekly D339.
Trial court erred in granting motion to stay litigation pending arbitration because the Magnuson Moss Warranty Act requires that arbitration agreements be disclosed within the written warranty and not as a stand-alone document. Larrain v. Bengal Motor Co., Ltd., 33 Fla. L. Weekly D294.
Trial court departed from essential requirements of law in denying motion to compel a supplemental compulsory physical examination because the independent medical examination was performed before plaintiff's second surgery which subtantially changed plaintiff's physical condition and therefore had a bearing on his maritime claim for maintenance and cure. Royal Caribbean Cruises, Ltd. v. Cox, 33 Fla. L. Weekly D312.
Trial court erred in denying motion for protective order raising work product privilege without first holding an en camera inspection. Lloyd's Underwriters at London v. El-Ad Villagio Condominium Association, Inc., 33 Fla. L. Weekly D283.
Trial court propertly substituted the Florida Insurance Guaranty Association, Inc. in place of an insolvent insurer and enforced a settlement agreement awarding the insured attorney's fees as such are considered a "covered claim" under section 632.54(3) since they were agreed to in the settlement agreement even though the amount had not yet been determined. Florida Insurance Guaranty Association, Inc. v. Soto, 33 Fla. L. Weekly D301.
Trial court erred in granting judgment for conversion and civil theft because company was not obligated to hold the funds it received in a separate escrow or trust account. Gasparini v. Pordomingo, 33 Fla. L. Weekly D295.
Trial court properly dismissed complaint alleging defendant, who sent goods through an independent contractor trucking company, was responsible for an accident in which the decedent was killed by the driver of the truck owned by the independent contractor because there were no factual allegations to support the legal conclusory allegations that defendant had a duty to the decedent to investigate the driver's background, qualifications or experience. Stander v. Estate of Samuel Stander, 33 Fla. L. Weekly D279.
Amusement games or machines that take bills are within the safe harbor provisions of section 849.161 concerning the ban on gambling devices even though the statute references games operated by coin. Rowe v. County of Duval, 33 Fla. L. Weekly D329.
County may include both salary and benefits in calculating its labor costs to be included in its special service charge for responding to an extensive public records request. Board of County Commissioners v. Colby, 33 Fla. L. Weekly D343.
Circuit court properly denied tax appraiser's assessment against the Florida State Fair Authority made after the Authority entered into an agreement with a private company to use the property to operate a truck-driving school, not because the Authority was immunne from ad valorem taxes, but because the agreement was a license to use the subject parcel, not a lease or other possessory interest in the land. Turner v. Florida State Fair Authority, 33 Fla. L. Weekly D353.
Trial court erred in granting specific performance in favor of purchaser because testimony that her friend's husband, who was wealthy, agreed to loan her $100,000 was not sufficient to establish purchaser was "ready, willing and able" to perform as there was no binding committment. Lusignan v. Lusignan, 33 Fla. L. Weekly D334.
Review of a circuit court's order on a petition for writ of prohibition should be by certiorari, not appeal, approving Sutton v. State, No. 1D05-5922 (Fla. 1st DCA Apr. 20, 2006) and disapproving Housing Authority of Tampa v. Burton, 873 So. 2d 356 (Fla. 2d DCA 2004), Pinfield v. State, 710 So. 2d 201 (Fla. 5th DCA 1998) and Guzzetta v. Hamrick, 656 So. 2d 1327 (Fla. 5th DCA 1995). Sutton v. State, 33 Fla. L. Weekly S76.
