U.S. Court of Appeals Reverses Summary Judgment Where Disputed Issue of Material Fact Exists – Win in Federal Appellate Court

VOIS, Inc. v. Michael Spindel and Edward Spindel, Case No. 10-15668-D We represented a corporation that had gone through multiple changes of ownership since issuing promissory notes to two of its investors and former directors, the Spindels. The corporation sued the Spindels for corporate wrongdoing, and the Spindels countersued claiming they were never paid under...

Inequitable Distribution of Assets Resolved – Win at the Fourth District Court of Appeal:

Bell v. Bell This was a divorce case involving several issues regarding the parties’ marital and non-marital assets. Our client appealed and the opposing party cross appealed. Our client’s main issues were the trial court’s failure to (1) award her half of the husband’s accounts receivable from loans he made to his businesses; and (2)...

Entitlement to Attorney’s Fees in Probate Matter Resolved – Win at the Supreme Court:

Carlin v. Javorek The issue was whether the Supreme Court should exercise its discretionary jurisdiction to review of the Fourth District Court of Appeal’s reversal of a trial court’s order denying an award of attorney’s fees to our client. The Fourth District Court of Appeal recently reversed a trial court decision holding that our client was...

Entitlement to Attorneys’ Fees Awarded Following Grant of Motion to Dismiss

Florida Rule of Appellate Procedure 9.400(b) states: A motion for attorneys’ fees may be served not later than the time for service of the reply brief and shall state the grounds on which recovery is sought. The assessment of attorneys’ fees may be remanded to the lower tribunal. If attorney’s fees are assessed by the...

Appeal Dismissed in Favor of Client Where Unauthorized Under Appellate Rules

The issue was whether a trial court’s order denying exceptions to a general magistrate’s report and affirming the report, with several exceptions, was appealable as a final order or an appealable non-final order. We represented the Father of an infant child in a contentious custody dispute over timesharing and other issues. A general magistrate entered...

Trial Attorneys Take Note – 57.105 Motion Overturned and Express Malice for Defamation Expanded

The issue was whether the trial court abused its discretion in ordering our client and our client’s attorney to pay 57.105 attorney’s fees in a defamation action. Our client sued the opposing party for defamation after being forced out of business by the opposing party’s outrageous allegation that our client, a jeweler, replaced diamonds from...

Is Expert Testimony Necessary for Attorney’s Fees Charging Lien?

The issue of whether the trial court erred in denying our client’s motion for attorney’s fees based on a charging lien merely because our client did not call an independent expert witness to testify concerning the reasonableness of the fees has been certified to the Florida Supreme Court. Our client, an attorney, represented the Former...

Entitlement to Attorney’s Fees in Probate Matter Resolved

The issue was whether our client was entitled to an award of attorney’s fees, under the settlement agreement between the parties and as a prevailing party, after the opposing party failed to honor certain provisions in their settlement agreement. After years of litigating a probate matter, our client and the opposing party entered into a...

Resolved in Favor of the Innocent Co-insured

The issue as to whether or not an insurance company can deny coverage to an innocent co-insured based on the failure of a spouse to attend an examination under oath (EUO) was resolved in favor of our client, the innocent co-insured. Our client’s home was burglarized by an unknown assailant. The client preformed all conditions...

In These Economic Times…

The economic downturn the country has been experiencing has affected families, individuals and corporations alike. In Florida in particular, the insurance industry has been hard hit and eventually, the losses get passed down to the consumer. In most cases, consumers will obtain insurance from underwriters who have contractual relationships with the actual providers. The...