Blogs & Resources

When a person or business loans money to another person or business, it is usually the case that the creditor will require a security interest in the assets of the debtor. Often times, especially these days given the state of the economy in the past five years, the debtor will default on the loan, usually by failing to repay the funds in accordance with the terms of the agreement. Since the creditor has a security interest in debtor’s personal property, the creditor can simply walk in one day and take everything to satisfy the loan right? Not quite…

Many of Florida’s associations provide their residents with gated entrances and security check-ins that enhance the safety of the communities they govern. When communities have hundreds of homes it is sometimes difficult to keep track of every family member living at each residence. As a security measure to ensure that every person entering the neighborhood is who he or she claims to be, many associations have security personnel swipe the driver’s license of the person entering.

Every August Florida Property Appraisers will send out their TRIM notices, or Notice of Proposed Property Taxes, advising all tax payers of the proposed assessment on their properties. It is crucial for land owners to critically review this Notice and determine whether the assessment is fair and accurate, as the mailing of the notice commences a very short window in which a tax appeal must be filed. Very often these Notices are inflated to require payment of more taxes than should be assessed.

The county assessed value of your real estate should equal what the property would easily sell for in an arms-length transaction between a willing buyer and seller (Market Value). As often occurs, the true number that the local real estate market will bear is a lower number than what the county property appraisers value lists because properties are not impervious to natural variables that diminish value. If the property has been affected by a diminution in value caused by declining prices and market conditions, detrimental conditions (i.e. cracked slab, landslide, construction defects, condemnation, environmental problems), or other causes, the property owner should consider filing an appeal. Property tax appeals can be filed on any real estate including a home, ranch, vacant land, apartment building, commercial, industrial, or special use property.

Property owners are often shocked when receiving annual notices attempting to re-valuate their property because their property tax values often rise dramatically from a previous valuation (increases in value by 40% or more are not uncommon in some jurisdictions). This Blog post will attempt to answer two common questions we are often asked by Florida land owners: “How does the property tax process work and What can I do if I think my property has been over-valued by the tax man?”

This Blog is Part VII in a series of Blogs designed to provide business owners with a high-level overview of the legal process for collecting on past-due accounts receivables. Specifically, Part VII focuses on satisfying a creditor’s outstanding judgment balance by issuing a charging order against a debtor’s business interest.

As part of our monthly professional development, each member of our firm is required to periodically present on items germane to our multi-faceted business litigation law practice. This month Law Clerk Austin Calhoun presented on elements to claims we frequently use or defend in our day in day out practice. Attached is the hard copy of the presentation with particular reverence to the sources in which he derived the information.

Jacksonville, Fla. – August 6, 2013 – Attorney Charles Jimerson joins fellow Jimerson & Cobb attorneys Christopher Cobb and James Birr in the distinction of certification by The Florida Bar in construction law. Jimerson earned this recognition for having the highest standards of skills, special knowledge, proficiency, professionalism and ethics […]

When a debtor files a bankruptcy action, creditors may or may not have the opportunity to file a proof of claim evidencing the amount owed to the creditor on the date the bankruptcy action was filed. The court sets a deadline for filing the proof of claim, to which all creditors must strictly adhere. But what if a creditor misses the deadline? Is all hope lost, or is there a mechanism to still get the claim in and receive a portion of any distribution? Well, whether an untimely claim is valid or not really turns on notice.

For construction entities participating in the competitive bidding process, it is very important to be able to timely issue spot impermissible arbitrary contract awards or improper solicitations based on flawed specifications that merit immediate protest. The fundamental analysis can be boiled down to simple questions, such as:

• Were the bid specifications reasonably specific?
• Was the winner responsive and responsible?
• Was there fraud or misconduct in the bidding process?
• Has the winning bidder been given an unfair economic advantage that merits reconsideration?
• Does the action prevent the public entity from making an equal comparison of responses to the bidding solicitation?
• Has there been substantial compliance with the bidding procedures?
• Did the agency act arbitrary?

Beyond those questions, this Blog post seeks to identify the Top 10 most common grounds in which Florida procedural or substantive bid protests are based upon.

James Birr were both featured in the fall publication of the University of North Florida Journal.

This Blog is Part VI in a series of Blogs designed to provide business owners with a high-level overview of the legal process for collecting on past-due accounts receivables. Specifically, Part VI focuses on garnishing a debtor’s employer for a portion of the debtor’s salary or wages in order to satisfy the outstanding judgment debt.