Professional Services Industry Legal Blog

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.

The Florida Revised Limited Liability Act (the “Act”), which will become Chapter 605 of the Florida Statutes, passed unanimously in both the Florida House and Senate. The Act is effective for every new Florida LLC formed on or after July 1, 2014. For existing LLCs, the Act becomes effective on an elective basis between July 1, 2014 and January 1, 2015 and becomes mandatory as to every Florida LLC on January 1, 2015. The question all Florida LLC members want to know is, “How will this new Act affect me and my business?”

So you finally, after months or years of litigation, obtained a massive judgment for your client. You sent written discovery, compelled return of the fact information sheet and even deposed the defendant. After all that hard work, it looks like you have come up with nothing to collect upon. But wait! Sometimes items you believe are not collectable are gems hiding in plain sight or items that logically should be there appear to be missing. Utilize these five tips when searching for assets and you may stumble upon something you would have previously overlooked.

In Part One of this Blog post, we focused on what document retention policies are, who should have them and what documents should be kept for what length of time. Please click here to review Part One. In Part Two of this Blog post, we will focus on what the legal ramifications of failing to comply with your document retention policy are, with special attention given to responsibilities of the retaining company once litigation is anticipated or underway.

Management of records including creation, retention, access, and destruction, has been a major concern for businesses. This is mainly due to the growth in volume of records (especially electronic data) and the lingering fear of litigation. Once a business is named as a party to suit, high scrutiny is placed on litigants in order to prevent spoliation of evidence that may be relevant to prosecution or defense of the lawsuit. Development and execution of an effective document retention policy is critical as the alternative may result in unfavorable discovery, loss of critical information, unnecessary expenses and adverse judgments. This two part Blog post endeavors to provide small and mid-sized businesses a few an overview what document retention policies are and things to consider when creating an internal document retention policy.

Once a judgment is entered, there are numerous methods that can be utilized to collect on the judgment, including garnishment and levying on real and personal property. But how do you know what is out there to levy against or garnish? The best method for locating assets is often times the simplest – just ask.

Rule 1.560, Florida Rules of Civil Procedure, allows for the use of a deposition as a proper discovery tool post judgment. Utilizing a deposition in aid of execution to ascertain the necessary information to garnish wages or levy on real property may seem simple. However, numerous considerations must be taken into account before making the decision to depose a judgment debtor. Below is a list of items to consider before, during and after taking a deposition in aid of execution.

Florida’s Department of Business and Professional Regulation (“DBPR”) is the state agency in charge of licensing and regulating businesses and professionals within Florida. The DBPR is under the control of the executive branch of government and governed by the Administrative Procedure Act, found in Chapter 120 of The Florida Statutes. The DBPR breaks down its regulation into businesses and professions.

By: Charles B. Jimerson

Occasionally in litigating contract actions I will run into the laughable defense of “I didn’t read the contract, so therefore I shouldn’t be subject to it.” That is not a viable defense under Florida law. It is well settled Florida law that a party has a duty to learn and know the contents of a proposed contract before he signs it and therefore, one who signs a contract is presumed to know its contents. Wexler v. Rich, 80 So. 3d 1097 (Fla. 4th DCA 2012).

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 […]