47 Fla. L. Weekly D1549a STAR CASUALTY INSURANCE COMPANY, Appellant, v. GABLES INSURANCE RECOVERY, INC., a/a/o Ana Maria Correa, Appellee. 3rd District. Case Nos. 3D21-0033 & 3D21-0377. L.T. Case Nos. 19-63 AP, 10-11718 SP. July 20, 2022. Appeals from the County Court for Miami-Dade County, Linda Melendez, Judge. Counsel: Cole, Scott & Kissane, P.A., and Read More »
Articles
Arbitration — Award — Vacation of award — Rehearing — Attorney’s fees — Prevailing party — Determination by arbitrator — First judge did not err in vacating initial arbitration award in its entirety because first arbitrator exceeded his powers by fashioning a remedy not authorized by arbitration agreement — Judge did not err in denying motion filed by party who sought damages for breach of contract to be declared prevailing party for purpose of awarding fees and costs because agreement required arbitrator to determine prevailing party and any decision as to prevailing party was premature because matter was not final — Rehearing followed by second arbitration award — Second judge did not abuse discretion in confirming second arbitration award — Second arbitrator did not exceed powers as authorized by arbitration agreement and parties’ stipulation that, rather than proceeding with full rehearing, they would file competing summary disposition motions based upon evidentiary record established during the prior ten-day evidentiary hearing conducted by original arbitrator — Arbitrator did not deviate from controlling precedent by concluding that party’s failure to prove damages at original hearing rendered opponent the prevailing party for purposes of award of attorney’s fees and costs, notwithstanding determination that opponent had materially breached the parties’ agreement — Argument that a party who proves a material breach of contract is always the prevailing party in litigation is rejected
47 Fla. L. Weekly D1533a ANTHONY PERERA, Appellant, v. BOBBY GENOVESE, Appellee. 4th District. Case Nos. 4D21-2060 & 4D21-2755. July 20, 2022. Appeal from the Circuit Court for the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit, Broward County; Martin Bidwill, Judge, and Renatha Francis, Judge, sitting by designation; L.T. Case No. CACE19-002815. Counsel: Wayne R. Atkins of Xander Law Read More »
Contracts — Noncompete and nonsolicitation agreements — Discovery — Customer lists — Trade secrets — Appeals — Certiorari — Trial court did not depart from essential requirements of the law by denying plaintiff’s request for production of defendant’s customer lists without conducting an evidentiary hearing or an in-camera review of the requested documents — Confidential business information, such as the customer lists at issue, are trade secrets as a matter of law, and plaintiff has failed to show a reasonable necessity for the documents — Judges — Disqualification — Facts stated in plaintiff’s motion to disqualify are insufficient to require disqualification where motion and attached affidavit base assertions on trial judge’s tone of voice — Additionally, trial court’s statement that plaintiff should come forward with names of its clients it alleges to have been solicited was made only in trial court’s required assessment of whether plaintiff had shown a reasonable necessity of entitlement to defendant’s client list
47 Fla. L. Weekly D1546a NEXUSVC and FIRST HEALTH SOLUTIONS, LLC, Petitioners, v. HIEG PARTNERS, LLC, et al., Respondents. 3rd District. Case No. 3D22-635. L.T. Case No. 20-20667. July 20, 2022. On Petition for Writ of Certiorari from the Circuit Court for Miami-Dade County, David C. Miller, Judge. A Case of Original Jurisdiction Prohibition. Counsel: Read More »
Torts — Premises liability — Trip and fall — Foreign corporations — Jurisdiction — Contracting to insure property — Action stemming from injuries plaintiff suffered as result of tripping over a step at plaintiff’s rented apartment — Trial court erred by denying defendant’s motion to dismiss for lack of personal jurisdiction — Defendant’s purchase of a policy in which an insurance company agreed to insure property owned by another entity in which defendant held an interest did not confer jurisdiction over defendant under section 48.193(1)(a) — Statute’s plain language requires the defendant to be an insurer — Fact that defendant’s investment portfolio included domestic entity which owned the property did not implicate long arm statute for plaintiff’s claim — Moreover, circuit court made no finding that its assertion of jurisdiction over nonresident defendant would not offend Due Process Clause
47 Fla. L. Weekly D1475a HUDSON CAPITAL PROPERTIES IV, LLC, Appellant, v. ODICHO IECHO and WESTDALE WATERCHASE, LLC, Appellees. 2nd District. Case No. 2D21-4021. July 8, 2022. Appeal pursuant to Fla. R. App. P. 9.130 from the Circuit Court for Pinellas County; Patricia A. Muscarella, Judge. Counsel: Thamir A.R. Kaddouri, Jr., and Penelope T. Rowlett Read More »
Real property — Easements — Violation — Damages — Lost profits — Trial court erred in awarding plaintiff damages for lost profits after finding that defendant had violated plaintiff’s valid easement by unilaterally removing plaintiff’s hotel signage from side of the road — Damages award was improper where plaintiff adduced evidence of only its revenues without offering any evidence of its expenses or any discernible basis for its projections
47 Fla. L. Weekly D1480a BASS VENTURE CORPORATION, a Florida corporation; and BASS MANAGEMENT GROUP, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company, doing business in Florida as Bass Venture Management Group, LLC, Appellants, v. DEVOM, LLC, a Florida limited liability company, Appellee. 2nd District. Case No. 2D20-2725. July 8, 2022. Appeal from the Circuit Court for Read More »