Florida Construction Legal Updates

A recent case supports the principle that a negligence claim against your insurance broker is NOT ripe until your insurance coverage dispute is resolved. In this case, a plaintiff sued his carrier in a coverage dispute and his insurance broker in negligence. The trial court denied the negligence claim and the broker moved for a […]

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The phrase “spoliation of evidence” is a phrase that gets used, sometimes properly and sometimes improperly. The reason is that if evidence is legitimately spoiled, the opposing party wants an adverse inference jury instruction. There are two potential adverse inference jury instructions dealing with spoliation of evidence, neither of which are good, and one of […]

The post QUICK NOTE: DON’T SPOIL EVIDENCE!!!! appeared first on Florida Construction Legal Updates.

You need to read and learn what you sign!  The argument you did not read what you signed is a no-go. It’s not an argument you want to bank on in any way, shape, or form. Here’s an example.  In a recent case, a seller signed an Exclusive Listing Agreement with a real estate broker. […]

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“Sureties cannot exercise unilateral election rights that are reserved for the principal of the underlying contract.” Anderson Service Corp. v. Old Republic Surety Company, 2026 WL 61436, *2 (Fla. 4th DCA 2026). This was the holding in a recent case dealing with arbitration. In this case, a subcontractor entered into a contract with a contractor […]

The post ARBITRATION PROVISION MUST BE INCORPORATED INTO A BOND FOR SURETY TO ELECT ARBITRATION appeared first on Florida Construction Legal Updates.

It is not uncommon for property to be owned in the name of the trust as part of an estate planning agenda. In construction, improvements are made all the time to real property owned in the name of a trust or later transferred to a trust for estate planning purposes. In a recent case, the […]

The post STANDING WHEN IT COMES TO REAL PROPERTY OWNED BY A TRUST appeared first on Florida Construction Legal Updates.

Can an insurance broker be liable for breach of fiduciary duty and negligent misrepresentation? Stated differently, can an insurance broker be liable for these claims even if the insurance broker has been found not to be liable for the negligent failure to procure insurance? Well, a recent appellate decision out of Florida’s 5th District Court […]

The post BREACH OF FIDUCIARY DUTY AND NEGLIGENT MISREPRESENTATION CLAIMS AGAINST INSURANCE BROKER appeared first on Florida Construction Legal Updates.

When drafting or negotiating a contract, it is important to consider key time-related facts. In other words, if there are important provisions dealing with time, you don’t want to leave them undefined as that can create an ambiguity in the contract. In a recent case dealing with an investment contract, discussed here, that’s exactly what […]

The post QUICK NOTE: INCLUDE KEY TIME RELATED FACTS IN CONTRACT TO AVOID AN AMBIGUITY appeared first on Florida Construction Legal Updates.

Remember, when it comes to contracts, the time to negotiate and enter into mutually agreed upon bargains is on the front end. And, if the contract is not negotiable, at least you know that and can make the business decision whether you want to accept the bargains and risks.  If you don’t, well, you can […]

The post TIME TO NEGOTIATE LIMITATION ON REMEDIES AND DAMAGES IS ON THE FRONT END appeared first on Florida Construction Legal Updates.

When it comes to contracts, there may be a clause that provides that untimely payments shall bear interest at a particular rate.  Or it may be the statutory rate.  That clause will come into play when determining prejudgment interest. In ANY dispute, prejudgment interest can be an important damages component that accrues from the date […]

The post DON’T IGNORE PREJUDGMENT INTEREST appeared first on Florida Construction Legal Updates.

Waiver and estoppel do not create insurance coverage where coverage does not exist. In other words, raising that an insurer waived or should be estopped from arguing a coverage exclusion does not create insurance coverage because coverage never existed. (Notably, this is different from a forfeiture argument which is when there is coverage, but the […]

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