14 April

Sticky

Litigating the Amount of Contractual Attorney’s Fees

Recovering attorney’s fees is a vital component of many claims. Parties that have a contractual or statutory basis to recover attorney’s fees want to know they will get a judgment for reasonable attorney’s fees if they prevail in the underlying action. There is authority that when parties seek fees pursuant to a statute, they are not entitled to fees associated with litigating the amount of fees. See State Farm Fire & Cas. Co. v. Palma, 629 So.2d 830 (Fla. 1993). What about if a party seeks fees pursuant to a contract? Can the party recover attorney’s fees associated with litigating the amount of...

07 April

0 Comments

Sticky

Designating a Representative(s) to Serve as the Corporate Representative for Deposition

Posted by David Adelstein

in Standard of Review, Trial Perspectives

Corporate representative depositions play an important role in the discovery of any dispute involving a corporate party. A corporate representative deposition requires the corporate representative to speak on behalf of the company – they are not speaking based on their personal knowledge, but as to the company’s position regarding designated topics. In fact, the designated corporate representative does not have to have the most knowledge about a particular topic to be the representative. See Fla.R.Civ.P. 1.310(b)(6). See also Sybac Solar, GMBH v. 6th Street Solar Energy park of Gainesville, LLC, 42 Fla. L. Weekly D771a (Fla. 2d DCA 2017) (“The...

31 March

0 Comments

Sticky

Punitive Damages for Business Torts

Posted by David Adelstein

in Standard of Review, Trial Perspectives

Punitive damages can be warranted in business torts, although you are dealing with a much tougher threshold. Typically, the misconduct warranting the punitive damages needs to be intentional, i.e., the defendant had knowledge of the wrongfulness of the conduct and its high probability of damage and engaged in the misconduct anyway. See Fla. Stat. 768.72. This is because “‘the purpose of punitive damages is not to further compensate the plaintiff, but to punish the defendant for the wrongful conduct and to deter similar misconduct by it and other actors in the future.'” See Bistline v. Rogers, 42 Fla. L. Weekly...

25 March

0 Comments

Sticky

Significant Relationship between Claim and Agreement to Arbitrate

Posted by David Adelstein

in Trial Perspectives

Just because you have an agreement to arbitrate does not necessarily mean that every conceivable claim, including those unrelated to the agreement, are subject to arbitration. For instance, if there are separate agreements—one with an arbitration clause and another without—does not mean that a claim related to the agreement without an arbitration clause will be subject to arbitration per the separate agreement. There needs to be a “significant relationship” between the agreement containing the arbitration provision and the claim, as best explained as follows: "[T]he mere coincidence that the parties in dispute have a contractual relationship will ordinarily not be enough...

23 March

0 Comments

Sticky

Ebook: Innovative Attorney’s Fee Arrangements – Providing Value To YOUR Business Objectives

Posted by David Adelstein

in Trial Perspectives

Are you interested in learning more about innovative attorney's fee arrangements that provide value to your business and are outside of the boring, traditional hourly billing model. If so, check out my ebook on Innovative Attorney's Fee Arrangements: Providing Value To YOUR Business Objectives. You can also check out this ebook for Nook. Please contact David Adelstein at [email protected] or (954) 361-4720 if you have questions or would like more information regarding this article. You can follow David Adelstein on Twitter @DavidAdelstein1....

13 March

0 Comments

Sticky

Strict Construction of Condominium and Homeowner Association’s Declarations

Posted by David Adelstein

in Trial Perspectives

Do you live in a condominium or in a homeowner’s association? If so, then you know you are governed by a Declaration of Condominium (in the case of condominium unit ownership) or a Declaration of Covenants (in the case of home ownership). Please review these in addition to any amendments that may modify any of the paragraphs or covenants. These are recorded in the official, public records where the condominium or homes are located. So, you can obtain these documents online with ease. Declarations are covenants running with the land operating as a contract between the governing association and owners. See Woodside...

26 February

0 Comments

Sticky

Don’t Neglect Mediation!

Posted by David Adelstein

in Trial Perspectives

I believe in the process of mediation for all disputes, particularly complicated factual business disputes. I use the word "process" because that is what mediation really is – a series of actions to achieve a particular end. Mediation can be a tiring process. A frustrating process. An informative process. A continuing process. A result-oriented process. In certain instances, a futile process. Oftentimes, mediation is a mixture of all of the above. Mediation allows parties to make a business decision based on their perception of risk -- the risk of losing or the risk of damages award (greater or lesser than...

11 February

0 Comments

Sticky

Timely Filing Motion for Attorney’s Fees and Costs

Posted by David Adelstein

in Trial Perspectives

Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.525 provides: Any party seeking a judgment taxing costs, fees, or both shall serve a motion no later than 30 days after filing of the judgment, including a judgment of dismissal, or the service of a notice of voluntary dismissal, which judgment or notice concludes the action as to that party. This is a specific statutory time period and a motion for rehearing does NOT toll this 30 day period. Jackson v. Anthony, 39 So.3d 1285, 1286 (Fla. 1st DCA 2010). This means that a motion for a final judgment taxing attorney’s fees and costs must be made...

03 February

0 Comments

Sticky

A Contractual Waiver of the Right to Challenge Venue is Enforceable

Posted by David Adelstein

in Trial Perspectives

Many contracts contain a forum selection provision or a venue provision. Contracts may even contain language that parties agree not to challenge or otherwise waive the venue of any filed lawsuit. An example of such a provision was included in an operating agreement: This Agreement is to be construed and governed by the laws of the State of Florida (without giving effect to principles of conflicts of laws). Each party hereto irrevocably agrees that any legal action or proceeding arising out of or in connection with this Agreement may be brought in any state or federal court located in Florida (or in...

29 January

0 Comments

Sticky

Impeachment as to Prior Crimes in Civil Trials

Posted by David Adelstein

in Evidence, Trial Perspectives

In a civil trial, I want to attack (impeach) the credibility of a testifying witness by bringing up a crime that witness committed. Can I do this? When it comes to impeaching the credibility of a witness based on crimes, Florida Statute s. 90.610 states in material part: (1) A party may attack the credibility of any witness, including an accused, by evidence that the witness has been convicted of a crime if the crime was punishable by death or imprisonment in excess of 1 year under the law under which the witness was convicted, or if the crime involved dishonesty or...