Blogs & Resources

In today’s market, there is a much greater risk of investing labor and materials into a construction project as the probability of actually getting paid for your services is markedly reduced. In many cases, a lack of funding leads to abandonment of the project leaving vendors fighting to recover funds owed from whatever money is still left. In this situation, the only legal emedy may be an equitable lien against the real property.

Florida’s Construction Lien Law is found at Chapter 713, Florida Statutes.  It has long been criticized by judges, attorneys and construction professionals as complicated, unclear, and often times, down right confusing.  In an effort to provide some clarity, here are the Top 5 things you should know about Florida’s Construction […]

Featured in the November 2011 Issue Partner’s Perspective Jimerson & Cobb, P.A. Launched in September New Law Blogs Curiosities, Ruminations and Various Eccentricities of Firm Biz Click to read.

If you have any type of contractor’s license, listen up! Being paid to use your contractor’s license to pull a permit for others may sound like a profitable proposition but is a transaction fraught with risk and one that you should avoid.  The Florida Legislature enacted Section 489 to protect […]

One of the leading cases affecting condominium associations in Florida is Bay Holdings, Inc. v. 2000 Island Blvd. Condo. Assn., 895 So.2d 1197 (Fla. 3d DCA 2005). For a seemingly small opinion, the impact on condominium liens is worthy of discussion.  Bay Holdings addresses the Florida “safe harbor” liability of […]

It is standard practice among attorneys practicing in Florida to sign the affidavit in opposition to a claim of exemption from garnishment on behalf of their clients.  A case recently decided in South Florida has effectively changed the ability of attorneys to continue with such a practice.  Now, a very […]

Florida’s lien law is an especially draconian area of the law. Filing a lien is an invaluable tool to help you as a contractor, sub-contractor or materialman get paid on a construction job. It can also get you into trouble unless the statute is strictly followed. Legislative amendments have softened the blow of fraudulent lien claims, but the statutes still carries heavy penalties

Generally speaking, a “Notice to Owner” is a statutorily required notice which lets Owners of construction projects know who is working on the project.  It is effectively just that….a Notice to the Owner.  The Notice is required by Florida’s Construction Lien Law and must contain certain warning language, the Owner’s […]

It is common knowledge in the legal community that the Statute of Frauds can preclude recovery on an action for breach of contract. However, claims for breach of contract are typically accompanied by some alternative claim should the court find that the contract was unenforceable, such as restitution or quantum meruit. That begs the question of whether the Statute of Frauds would apply to such an alternative claim not based on the purported contract.

The trend in Florida over the last thirty years has been changing from simple static interest rates for judgments entered in this state towards a more complex variable rate. A recent amendment to the state law dictating statutory interest rates has many wondering what prompted such a drastic change to the norm. Now, instead of the statutory interest rate changing once per year it will change four times per year. Further, the rate of interest on a judgment is no longer established by the rate at the time it was entered. It appears that the trend in Florida is now shifting away from the simplicity it once knew.