A new rule set forth by the Florida Supreme Court last year altered the manner in which attorneys have been serving court papers by requiring service by electronic mail, or “e-mail.” Although the rule is fairly straight forward, this attorney has noticed that the majority of e-served documents received do […]
Competition is the rivalry among sellers trying to achieve the objectives of increasing profits, market share, and sales volume by varying the elements of the marketing: price point, product identity, distribution levels, and promotion. Merriam-Webster defines competition in business as “the effort of two or more parties acting independently to […]
What happens to the rights of a member of a limited liability company when that member files bankruptcy? In Florida, that member is automatically terminated from membership in the LLC and any remaining interests in the LLC become property of the bankruptcy Trustee. But is it really that simple? Limited […]
One very important question that is asked by many litigants is, “Can I recover my attorneys’ fees for this case”. The American Rule on attorneys’ fees is generally that each litigant or party is responsible for payment of his/her/its own attorney’s fees. The entitlement to recovery of attorneys’ fees generally […]
As a case develops, parties exchange information through a process known as discovery. Discovery is a truth seeking device- each party is able to discover facts that the other party has. Parties and their attorneys are expected to comply with requests for discovery.
Florida’s Fourth District Court of Appeal recently found in Garvin v. Tidwell that the appellee, Tidwell, violated her discovery obligations by failing to disclose an advertisement that featured her horse. No. 4D11-2712, 2012 WL 523224 at *3 (Fla. 4th DCA Oct. 24, 2012). The court allowed the appellant, Garvin, to rescind the settlement agreement because Garvin was not aware of all of the material facts because of Tidwell’s failure to disclose information during discovery. Id. at *5. Let this case serve as a lesson to any lawyer or party considering executing a settlement agreement if you have been less than truthful or forthcoming in the discovery process.
Just as we can’t see the air we breathe or radio waves transmitting data around the world, neither can we see thoughts and ideas. However, this does not mean they don’t exist. Similarly, for those Professionals whose work product may not be a tangible, fungible item, their work product nonetheless […]
I recently came across a piece of information that I had never heard before in my last four years of litigating creditor’s rights cases. I have been advised that attorneys’ fees can never be granted on a Motion for Final Judgment after Default. Who knew? I have had hundreds of default judgments entered, nearly all of which included attorneys’ fees, without once being told that this practice was incorrect. So is it really incorrect?
What do you think when you hear the word “e-discovery”? If you are thinking about CD copies of printed PDF documents and web site screen shots, you have a lot to learn. There is so much more a simple document can tell you when you obtain it in its native format […]
In preparation for trial, expert witnesses are often retained and briefed based upon reports and documents provided to them from counsel. Two types of work product may be used to prepare documents and internal memorandum which are subsequently given to an expert witness: 1) fact work product, and 2) opinion work product. If memorandum prepared by a law firm in anticipation of litigation contains the attorney’s opinions relating to potential theories of liabilities, references to the expert’s opinions, and factual summaries of his client’s records, the attorney’s personal notes and records about the proposed arguments constitute protected work product. Whealton v. Marshall, et al., 631 So. 2d 323, 325 (Fla. 4th DCA 1994) (holding the law firm’s internal memorandum used in preparation for litigation were not discoverable work product).
Defaulted borrowers often attempt to argue that the waiver of defenses language included in loan documents is unconscionable and therefore unenforceable. However, for a contract to be held to be unenforceable under Florida law, the contract must be both procedurally and substantively unconscionable. See Golden v. Mobile Oil Corp., 882 F.2d 490, 493 (11th Cir. 1989); Gainesville Health Care Center v. Weston, 857 So. 2d 278, 284 (Fla. 1 st DCA 2003). If a contract is found to be either procedurally or substantively conscionable, then the contract is enforceable. See Eldridge v. Integrated Health Services, Inc., 805 So. 2d 982 (Fla. 2d DCA 2001)(emphasis added).