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Southeast
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March 6, 2013
Ex-Tea Marketer Accused Of Leaking Trade Secrets
A Miami-based herbal tea and coffee maker on Wednesday filed a $28 million suit accusing a former marketer of divulging trade secrets and trying to steal away clients in violation of his contract.
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March 5, 2013
Fla. Senate Passes Sweeping Ethics Reform Package
On the first day of the full legislative session, the Florida Senate got right down to business, unanimously passing the state's most comprehensive ethics reform package Tuesday since the public voted the Sunshine Amendment into the state constitution in 1976.
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March 1, 2013
Ex-MBC Exec Convicted Of Hiding Spoils From $837M Scam
A Florida federal jury on Thursday convicted a former Mutual Benefits Corp. executive of money laundering and obstructing justice related to an $837 million scam that allegedly lured investors into buying interests in insurance policies covering the terminally ill and seniors.
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February 28, 2013
Travel Sites Win Hotel Tax Fight In Fla. Appeals Court
A group of online travel companies won their battle with several Florida counties Thursday as a state appellate court upheld a lower court's ruling that the state's bed tax applies only to the hotel room rate and not additional compensation kept by the booking websites.
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February 22, 2013
Organic Banana Grower Says Tainted Fungicide Ruined Crop
Plantaciones del Norte SA, an organic banana producer in the Dominican Republic, sued the Spanish maker of an organic fungicide and its Florida distributor in state court in Miami, claiming contaminated product cost it millions of dollars in sales and other damages.
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January 30, 2013
Builder, Museum Group Spar In Zoning Scheme Trial Closings
Attorneys for developer The Related Group tried to fend off conspiracy allegations in closing arguments Wednesday in a Vizcaya Museum-affiliated group's suit accusing the developer of influencing Miami commissioners to get a never-completed bayside condominium project approved.
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January 25, 2013
Feds Failed To Protect Endangered Fla. Coral: Enviro Group
The Center for Biological Diversity sued the National Marine Fisheries Service on Wednesday in Florida federal court, saying the agency has failed to create a recovery plan for elkhorn and staghorn corals as required when it protected them under the Endangered Species Act in 2006.
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January 24, 2013
Unlicensed Contractors Can't Enforce Pacts, Fla. Court Says
The Florida Supreme Court on Thursday ruled that an unlicensed contractor could not defend itself in a construction dispute by arguing the other party was equally responsible because it knew the contractor had no license.
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January 23, 2013
'Supermen' Barbershop Cuts Deal With DC Comics In IP Suit
A Florida federal judge on Tuesday signed off on a settlement that resolves trademark infringement claims lodged by Time Warner Inc.'s DC Comics against a barbershop owner who allegedly used DC's protected “Superman” logos without permission.
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January 22, 2013
Venture Capital Investment Plummets In Fla. In 2012
Florida saw a $144 million drop in venture capital investment in 2012 when compared to the previous year, while nationwide venture capital funding fell 10 percent in dollar value, according to a recent report by PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP and the National Venture Capital Association.
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January 18, 2013
Fla. Gov. Promises $13M For Fort Lauderdale Port Upgrade
Florida Gov. Rick Scott on Thursday committed $13 million for improvements to Port Everglades and also broke ground on the nation's only on-port international and domestic cargo rail facility there, saying the projects will keep the state competitive in attracting international business and help add upward of 135,000 jobs.
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January 17, 2013
Historic Miami Theater Faces Foreclosure Amid Contract Suit
Miami's historic Coconut Grove Playhouse, shuttered since 2006, was hit with a foreclosure suit Tuesday by local developers who accuse the theater of conspiring with the county and breaching a development contract.
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January 15, 2013
High Court Weighs Takings Clause In Fla. Property Dispute
The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday debated whether the takings clause of the U.S. Constitution could extend to instances in which government entities deny development permits to private property owners after negotiations over permit conditions fail.
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January 15, 2013
Bankrupt Miami Condo Works Out Deal With Unit Owners
The previously sparring condominium owners associations and the bankrupt operators of Miami hotel and condominium development One Bal Harbour settled on a chief restructuring officer Tuesday and set out a plan to work together during the Chapter 11 restructuring process.
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January 15, 2013
Duke Must Show Losses In Massey Contract Row: Court
A Duke Energy Corp. unit must show actual losses in its ongoing fight with Massey Energy Corp. over an allegedly breached coal supply agreement in order to collect damages, a West Virginia federal judge ruled Monday, rejecting a request by Duke for the court to rethink how damages should be calculated in the case.
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January 15, 2013
Fla. City Will Mediate Dispute Over $50M Pier Renovation
A Florida judge on Monday sent St. Petersburg and a group opposing the city's $50 million pier renovation plans to mediation after the group agreed to drop the 15,000 people who signed a petition for a voter referendum as plaintiffs in the suit.
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January 14, 2013
6th Circ. Upholds Black Lung Benefits For Deceased Miner
The Sixth Circuit on Friday upheld a black lung benefits award for a now-deceased career coal miner, shooting down Buck Creek Coal Co. and Old Republic Insurance Co.'s challenge to a ruling that found the miner's condition had changed since his previous claims were rejected.
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January 10, 2013
11th Circ. Tosses Suit Against JPMorgan Over WaMu Lease
The Eleventh Circuit on Thursday ruled the former lessor of what was to be a Washington Mutual Inc. branch did not have standing to sue JPMorgan Chase Bank NA, which bought most of the failed bank's assets, for breach of contract.
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January 10, 2013
5th Circ. Revives Notification Claims Against BP, Transocean
The Fifth Circuit on Wednesday resurrected environmental claims in the multidistrict litigation against BP PLC and Transocean Deepwater Inc., allowing a public interest group to pursue allegations that the companies failed to properly disclose what hazardous substances were released during the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill disaster.
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January 9, 2013
Conservation Group Challenges $26B Duke-Progress Merger
A North Carolina watchdog group on Wednesday accused the North Carolina Utilities Commission of allowing power giant Duke Energy Corp. to walk all over ratepayers when the commission signed off in June on Duke'
Expert Analysis
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A Cautionary Tale For Transactional Lawyers
The Eleventh Circuit ruling in St. Joseph Hospital v. Health Management Associates Inc. offers a warning for transactional lawyers to be careful how they describe a transaction in preclosing filings with government agencies, says Elizabeth Hodge of Akerman Senterfitt LLP.
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What Litigators Must Know About Va.’s 'Rocket Docket'
Do not be lulled into a false sense of complacency by the formality, civility and, in some cases, old-fashioned Southern charm of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia. Cases usually move with lightning speed, handled by efficient, polite, but no-nonsense jurists and courtroom deputies. There are many traps for the unwary, say Robert Tata and Wendy McGraw of Hunton & Williams LLP.
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Less Burden For Ga. Landowners: Apportionment Is OK
Apportionment is an important tool for landowners in the defense of premises liability claims. But now that its applicability and enforceability have been upheld in McReynolds v. Krebs and Couch v. Red Roof Inns, the risk of significant damage awards is less than it once was, says Kathryn Hinton of Baker Donelson Bearman Caldwell & Berkowitz PC.
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Safe From Avoidance: Electricity Requirements Contracts
The Fifth Circuit in MBS Mgmt. Serv. Inc. v. MXEnergy Electric Inc. recently provided guidance on whether an electricity requirements contract is a forward contract that is exempt from avoidance pursuant to Section 546(e) of the Bankruptcy Code. The answer, at least on the facts of MBS Mgmt., is yes, says Victoria Vron of Weil Gotshal & Manges LLP.
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Right To Recoup: Lessons For Insurers And Policyholders
As Illinois Union Ins. v. NRI Construction demonstrates, review of the reservation of rights letter's unilateral imposition of a right to recoup defense costs must be undertaken immediately upon receipt of the letter, says Collin Hite of Hirschler Fleischer PC.
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Beware: Marrying Lender And Developer Marketing Efforts
The lesson from the decision by the Western District of North Carolina in Synovus Bank v. Coleman is plain: What looks like good business when the market is hot may turn out to be an Interstate Land Sales Full Disclosure Act claim when the markets tank, says David Dreifus of Poyner Spruill LLP.
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Strategies For Moving To Strike Class Allegations
The Sixth Circuit decision in Pilgrim v. Universal Health Card LLC provides a strong basis for the proposition that defendants do not need to engage in class discovery where it is obvious from the pleadings that the class cannot be certified, say attorneys with Shook Hardy & Bacon LLP.
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Takeaways From Moonscoop V. American Greetings
The Sixth Circuit recently renewed the ability of French entertainment and brand-management company Moonscoop SAS to bring a claim for damages and specific performance against American Greetings Corp. regarding the sale to Moonscoop of American Greetings' rights to certain cartoon characters. The case provides practitioners with several contract-drafting lessons, says Vincent Martorana of Reed Smith LLP.
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What’s Making Attorneys Flee Their Firms?
This year has seen a spike in lateral movement among partners and senior associates in the legal profession. A survey from The Closers Group has revealed that many attorneys want business development training and are willing to apply what they learn — and law firms that provide it are more likely to keep their lawyers professionally satisfied, says Steven Taylor, a legal journalist.
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Case Study: Summit Petroleum V. EPA
In Summit Petroleum Corp. v. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the Sixth Circuit has vacated an EPA decision concerning whether a natural gas operations plant and nearby wells were “adjacent” for air permitting purposes. The decision is important because the plant and wells together would have sufficient potential emissions so as to be considered a major stationary source, say Jeryl Olson and Eric Boyd of Seyfarth Shaw LLP.