Recent Blog Posts

MARRIED COUPLES AND TENANCY BY THE ENTIRETIES ACCOUNTS

On February 15, 2023 the Fourth District Court of Appeal issued an important decision regarding bank accounts held jointly by a husband and wife. For many years since the Florida Supreme Court decision in Beal Bank, SSB v. Almand & Associates, 780 So. 2d 45 (Fla. 2001), there has been a presumption that a bank Read More »

CREDIBILITY IS EVERYTHING

A trial is a search for the truth with the ultimate goal being the jury (in a jury trial) or the judge (in a bench trial) listening carefully to the evidence, weighing it, and correctly deciding which parties’ version of the truth is the correct one. Key to that determination is the credibility of the Read More »

Attorney’s Fees Awardable in Repeat Violence Cases

In a case that could have a chilling effect on the filing of temporary injunctions brought by persons who are victims of  dating, repeat, and sexual violence, the Florida Supreme Court ruled earlier this week that attorney’s fees are awardable in these type of cases. Ordinarily a party may only recover attorney’s fees from the Read More »

Has Relief Come To Injured Workers In Florida The Castellanos Decision

On April 28, 2016 the Florida Supreme Court issued its decision in Castellanos v. Next Door Co., No. SC13-2082, slip op. at 1-2 (Fla. April 28, 2016), a workers’compensation case that had claimants’ attorneys and insurance defense attorneys alike waiting with bated breath. The specific issue the Court addressed in Castellanos was whether the mandatory Read More »

Negligent Transmission Of Sexually Transmitted Diseases

In October 2014 Florida’s Fourth District Court of Appeal decided a case that should be mandatory reading for all sexually active adults. In Kohl v. Kohl, 149 So. 3d 127 (Fla. 4th DCA 2014) the Court addressed for the first time in Florida whether a party (here the former wife) could state a cause of Read More »

Injunctions Against Repeat Violence

All too frequently I have been called upon to obtain an injunction on behalf of a party who has been a victim of “repeat” violence or I have been asked to represent a person at an injunction hearing who has been accused of committing “repeat” violence. In Florida, we have three statutes that provide injunctions Read More »

Enforcement Of Foreign Judgments Part I

Florida has long been derogatorily referred to as a “debtor’s haven” because of the many exemptions afforded debtors from the claims of creditors. The most notable exemption, of course, is the “homestead exemption” contained in Florida’s Constitution, Fla. Const. art. X, § 4.  There are, however, several Rules of Procedure and Florida statutes that provide Read More »

Breach Of Confidentiality Clause In Settlement Agreements

Congratulations! After months of hard fought litigation you and your attorney have settled your case and as part of the settlement the other side has agreed to pay you “six-figures.” You may be tempted to boast to your friends and family members that you brought the other side to its knees and forced a settlement.  Read More »

Fraud On The Court Dismissal Of Lawsuit And Striking Of Defenses

Litigants beware! Whether you are suing for damages as a plaintiff, or defending a lawsuit as a defendant, you better make sure you are telling the truth lest your case be dismissed, or your defenses stricken, based on “fraud on the court.” While telling the truth is an obvious proposition and central to the integrity Read More »

Motion To Disqualify Trial Judge

What do you do when you’ve just gotten underway in your case, and after a few motion hearings before the trial judge, you come to believe that the judge is biased or prejudiced against you or your attorney?  The remedy is file a motion to disqualify the judge. Do not, however, be hasty in making the Read More »