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 […]
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?
Termination for Convenience clauses were first introduced during the American Civil War and were used in government contracts. Such provisions in contracts with the Federal government allowed the government to terminate contracts related to military procurements that were no longer necessary as a result of changing technology or the cessation […]
Aside from foreclosing on a piece of real property, a Lender may utilize numerous other methods to recoup monies left unpaid on a mortgage note and to take control of a piece of property that may be losing value based on improper management. In this first installment piece, we will […]