Skip to Content
Menu Toggle

Yearly Archives: 2016

Are Letters of Intent Enforceable in Florida?

October 13, 2016 Professional Services Industry Legal Blog

So-called “letters of intent” are used quite often in a wide array of business contexts. Even though they are used frequently, however, much of the time the parties signing the letter do not understand the legal effect of the letter. Parties often don’t understand if the letter of intent is legally enforceable. Can a party sue on the letter of intent alone if the other party fails to consummate the deal or hold up their end of the bargain? The answer to that question under Florida law is: maybe. This blog provides guidance on the main issues affecting enforceability of a letter of intent.

Are Business Losses Arising From a Hurricane Covered by Insurance?

October 11, 2016 Insurance Industry Legal Blog

The answer to this question is that it depends on your policy. Generally, a business can insure against business losses by purchasing Business Interruption coverage or Contingent Business Interruption coverage. That being said, commercial insurance policies are not necessarily standard policies, and the specific language of the policy determines whether a business loss is a “covered loss.” An “all risk” policy, for example, covers all losses unless expressly excluded. Additionally, some insurance policies have a civil authority clause which provides business loss when a civil authority closes or denies access to the insured property. There are also insurance policies that have a service interruption clause which provides for business loss when there is an interruption of water or power to a business.

Does the Davis-Bacon Act Apply to Private Projects on Public Land?

October 10, 2016 Construction Industry Legal Blog

A recent federal appellate decision examined an issue regarding private construction projects on public land in District of Columbia v. Department of Labor, 819 F.3d 444 (D.C. Cir. 2016). In this particular case, the district court and the appellate court involved refused to extend the application of the Davis-Bacon Act to the project in question. With the 2016 presidential election about a month away, this recent decision is important in the context of the construction industry because the administration that wins the election—depending on their labor stance—may push for more or less application of the DBA through the Department of Labor, an executive branch agency. Moreover, given the decision of the court, legislators running for election or reelection to Congress may have labor stances that should be examined by those interested in this issue and decision. This blog examines the opinion of the court and its reasoning in reaching its decision in this case and also comments on why this case is of importance to the construction industry.

Independent Contractor or Employee: Know the Difference

October 5, 2016 Professional Services Industry Legal Blog

Business owners must determine the type of workers they will utilize to operate successfully. In some cases, owners think they are hiring independent contractors but, in reality, those workers may actually be employees. Failure to properly classify workers can result in fines, penalties, and payment of back taxes, so it is important that business owners understand the legal distinctions between an independent contractor and an employee.

Are Florida’s Fraudulent Transfer Claims Subject to Equitable Tolling?

October 3, 2016 Banking & Financial Services Industry Legal Blog

Many creditors are aware that Florida’s Uniform Fraudulent Transfer Act (“FUFTA”) is a powerful remedy used to avoid and unwind transfers of assets that debtors may make to hinder, delay and defraud their creditors. But what if you (the creditor) discover that your debtor made a transfer, and you didn’t know it was actually fraudulent under FUFTA until a year later? Your fraudulent transfer claims may be forever extinguished as being time barred, without a tolling period to account for the time that elapsed before the fraudulent nature of the transfer was discovered.

Public Private Partnerships in Florida Construction

September 30, 2016 Construction Industry Legal Blog

As cities have become increasingly strapped for cash having lost tax revenue from the economic downturn, more and more have turned to public private partnerships (P3s) to achieve their goals and better serve their constituencies. P3s are agreements between a public entity and a private company wherein the company agrees to design, build, finance, operate, and maintain a public facility in exchange for a series of payments over a long term. This has most frequently been seen in Florida in the form of toll roads, but public entities are increasingly choosing the P3 model to better fulfill their other needs, too. Prime candidates for the P3 structure are medical office buildings, parking garages, bus or train depots, mixed use zoning to encourage high density land use, and higher education buildings. Locations with high credit rating and unused real estate benefit are best able to utilize the P3 structure. This article will summarize Florida’s very broad P3 statute and provide a framework to understand this unique and valuable construction scheme.

How to Manage a Large Scale Human Document Review

September 28, 2016 Professional Services Industry Legal Blog

What do you do when you are hit with litigation or a government investigation where you have hundreds of gigabytes, potentially meaning hundreds of thousands of pages of documents, and a short timeline for production? There are numerous technology-assisted ways to deal with large amounts of data, some of which include early cases assessment (ECA) tools, simple culling, and advanced analytics. Even with all of the technology available, large cases will likely require some form of manual review, but there are limited resources available that explain how to approach such a task. As such, what follows here is a step by step guide for how to manage human review, including both managing the human aspect of review and some basic technical considerations to take into account along the way. This should serve as a starting point for someone new to managing the process or who needs ideas for improving their large scale document review.

subscribe to legal alerts

subscribe to our blogs

sign up now

Media Contacts

Charles B. Jimerson
Managing Partner

Jimerson Birr welcomes inquiries from the media and do our best to respond to deadlines. If you are interested in speaking to a Jimerson Birr lawyer or want general information about the firm, our practice areas, lawyers, publications, or events, please contact us via email or telephone for assistance at (904) 389-0050.

we’re here to help

Contact Us