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Florida
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September 26, 2024
Fla. Bar Says Atty's 'False Narrative' Warrants Suspension
The Florida Bar has fired back at a Georgia-based attorney's bid to avoid a suspension for disparaging an opponent running for 20th Judicial Circuit state attorney in 2018, urging the state Supreme Court to reject his First Amendment defense in the disciplinary matter.
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September 26, 2024
MLB Fan Gets Chance To Prove Ohtani Home Run Ball Is His
A Florida state judge will allow Friday's auction of the ball Major League Baseball superstar Shohei Ohtani hit for a historic home run to begin, but will not let it be sold before an October hearing on whether an 18-year-old fan had the ball snatched from him at the ballpark that night.
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September 25, 2024
8th Circ. Told Student Debt Relief Should Remain Blocked
Seven Republican-led states are asking the Eighth Circuit to finalize its court order blocking the Biden administration from implementing its second attempt at student loan forgiveness, accusing the White House of "hiding the ball" on the true cost of the plan.
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September 25, 2024
11th Circ. Reverses DOJ Defeat In $400M Kickback Case
The Eleventh Circuit on Wednesday held that a lower court should've admitted prosecutors' evidence of alleged co-conspirators in a $400 million health insurance fraud case, finding that an exclusion to the hearsay rule was misapplied by the district court in the closely watched Anti-Kickback Statute litigation.
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September 25, 2024
Suit Over Fla. Law Restricting Foreign Land Buys Paused
A Florida federal judge on Wednesday paused a challenge to a Florida law that restricts land purchases of Chinese citizens and others, saying it was prudent to wait to see what the Eleventh Circuit does with a similar challenge that has already been argued before the appeals court.
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September 25, 2024
Fla. Condo's Irma Suit Dismissed After Settlement With Insurer
A Florida federal court on Wednesday dismissed a lawsuit brought by a Fort Myers Beach condominium association after it settled with an insurance company for an appraisal award that was allegedly owed for damage caused by Hurricane Irma in 2017.
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September 25, 2024
Power Plant Insurers Take GE Arbitration Fight To 11th Circ.
Insurers for an Algerian power plant that sustained losses from a defective gas turbine told an Eleventh Circuit panel Wednesday that a lower court wrongly forced arbitration, arguing it was not subject to that provision as a third-party beneficiary in a services contract with General Electric.
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September 25, 2024
11th Circ. Weighs Sovereignty In Ala. Burial Ground Fight
An Eleventh Circuit judge on Wednesday described a lower court's ruling in a dispute between two tribes over an ancient Alabama burial site as problematic, arguing that it failed to evaluate sovereign immunity status on a claim-by-claim basis and instead lumped it together, against precedent.
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September 25, 2024
Slovenian Plane Parts Maker Escapes Fla. Fatal Crash Suit
A Florida appeals court on Wednesday threw out a wrongful death suit against a Slovenian aircraft parts manufacturer, saying an uncontroverted affidavit from the company showing it has no connections to the Sunshine State warrants dismissal for lack of jurisdiction.
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September 25, 2024
DACA Intervenors In ACA Suit Resist Stay Of Dismissal Bid
Recipients of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival program seeking to defend their access to Affordable Care Act coverage pressed a North Dakota federal judge to decide if a lawsuit, filed by Republican states, should be dismissed or moved to Washington, D.C., saying their motion to intervene in the suit doesn't have to be decided first.
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September 25, 2024
Helene Forcing Shutdown Of Almost Every Courthouse In Fla.
The vast majority of courthouses in Florida will be closed on Thursday in preparation for the arrival of Hurricane Helene, in the largest shutdown since Hurricane Irma in 2017.
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September 25, 2024
St. Thomas Law School Hit With Law Prof's Defamation Suit
A professor at Miami's St. Thomas Law School has sued the institution in Florida state court, claiming it disseminated defamatory statements about her to a reporter for a story about her reinstatement following a wrongful termination.
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September 25, 2024
State Telecom Roundup: States Pass Their Own 'Mini-TCPAs'
Not content to let the federal government do all the legislating when it comes to telemarketing, states have spent the last couple of years crafting their own "mini-TCPAs" that expand liability beyond the parameters of the federal Telephone Consumer Protection Act and provide private rights of action for their citizens under state laws.
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September 24, 2024
Trump Shooting Suspect Indicted For Assassination Attempt
The 58-year Hawaii man accused of attempting to shoot former President Donald Trump at a golf club earlier this month was indicted Tuesday and is facing several charges including assassination and assaulting a federal officer, according to an announcement from the U.S. Department of Justice.
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September 24, 2024
11th Circ. Weighs 'Good Cause' In Franchise Termination Suit
The Eleventh Circuit on Tuesday considered whether Hyundai Motor Corp. acted with "good cause" when it terminated a franchise owner's dealership contracts over sexual assault charges against the franchise owner's son, with arguments largely focused on whether the carmaker acted with "good cause."
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September 24, 2024
Cat In The Hat, 'Trashy' Books Mulled In Redo Of Library Row
The full Fifth Circuit on Tuesday pressed a group of library patrons on whether Texas libraries already routinely engage in viewpoint discrimination through the process of weeding out outdated or unpopular library books during a lengthy discussion of hypotheticals surrounding The Cat in the Hat and the books that 19th-century Americans considered "trashy."
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September 24, 2024
Fox Exec Must Show Cell Data In Smartmatic Defamation Suit
A Florida state court judge has ordered a Fox News board member to turn over cellphone data in connection to a New York defamation lawsuit over unfounded reports that Smartmatic USA Corp.'s voting systems helped rig the 2020 election, finding the phone may contain relevant information to the case.
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September 24, 2024
Fla. Staffing Co. Owners Charged With Immigration, Tax Fraud
A pair of Ukrainian nationals are charged with immigration fraud and money laundering conspiracy stemming from a yearslong scheme of hiring nonresident aliens ineligible to work in the U.S. to their labor staffing companies, according to an indictment unsealed Monday in Florida federal court.
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September 24, 2024
Red States Back Florida In CWA Permit Program Fight
Nineteen red states have told the D.C. Circuit in a friends of the court brief that it should restore Florida's power to administer a Clean Water Act permitting program for dredging approved by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency but nixed by a D.C. federal judge.
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September 24, 2024
Ala. Can Enforce Own Interstate Clean Air Plan, 11th Circ. Told
Alabama told an Eleventh Circuit panel Tuesday that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency overstepped its authority when denying the state's plan to implement rules limiting harmful interstate emissions under the Clean Air Act, saying the law gives states the "primary" authority to combat air pollution.
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September 24, 2024
11th Circ. Unleashes Swarm Of 'Hypos' In Fla. Pronoun Case
An Eleventh Circuit panel on Tuesday peppered attorneys with hypothetical scenarios as they attempted to hammer out the bounds of public school teachers' free speech protections in the classroom, in a case by transgender and nonbinary Florida educators that could ultimately affect other state employees.
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September 24, 2024
Trio Used Penny Stock Co. For Wide-Ranging Fraud, SEC Says
A trio of defendants faces U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission allegations they orchestrated a wide-ranging investment scheme to illegally profit off of a purported solar company and bogus claims about a rapid COVID-19 test, targeting investors and even the company's own transfer agent to enrich themselves.
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September 24, 2024
11th Circ. Rejects Atty Fees In Roller-Coaster IP Dispute
The Eleventh Circuit on Tuesday shot down an attempt by attorneys to collect fees after securing a partial win in an intellectual property dispute related to a roller-coaster project in Dubai.
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September 24, 2024
A Lawyer Promised Clients Fast Action. Then He 'Disappeared'
Dozens of ex-clients of a Florida lawyer have accused him of orchestrating a racketeering scheme in which clients were duped into paying nonrefundable retainer fees for legal services that were never delivered, allegedly causing a couple to lose their home while others lost custody of their children.
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September 24, 2024
Courthouses Begin Shutting Down As Fla. Braces For Storm
Courthouses on Florida's Gulf Coast are beginning to shut down as Tropical Storm Helene — expected to be a major hurricane by the time it makes landfall in the Sunshine State — barrels its way north toward the panhandle.
Expert Analysis
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Series
Being A Luthier Makes Me A Better Lawyer
When I’m not working as an appellate lawyer, I spend my spare time building guitars — a craft known as luthiery — which has helped to enhance the discipline, patience and resilience needed to write better briefs, says Rob Carty at Nichols Brar.
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Lead Like 'Ted Lasso' By Embracing Cognitive Diversity
The Apple TV+ series “Ted Lasso” aptly illustrates how embracing cognitive diversity can be a winning strategy for teams, providing a useful lesson for law firms, which can benefit significantly from fresh, diverse perspectives and collaborative problem-solving, says Paul Manuele at PR Manuele Consulting.
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Class Actions At The Circuit Courts: July Lessons
In this month's review of class action appeals, Mitchell Engel at Shook Hardy considers cases touching on pre- and post-conviction detainment conditions, communications with class representatives, when the American Pipe tolling doctrine stops applying to modified classes, and more.
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Opinion
Now More Than Ever, Lawyers Must Exhibit Professionalism
As society becomes increasingly fractured and workplace incivility is on the rise, attorneys must champion professionalism and lead by example, demonstrating how lawyers can respectfully disagree without being disagreeable, says Edward Casmere at Norton Rose.
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Series
Serving In The National Guard Makes Me A Better Lawyer
My ongoing military experience as a judge advocate general in the National Guard has shaped me as a person and a lawyer, teaching me the importance of embracing confidence, balance and teamwork in both my Army and civilian roles, says Danielle Aymond at Baker Donelson.
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A Midyear Forecast: Tailwinds Expected For Atty Hourly Rates
Hourly rates for partners, associates and support staff continued to rise in the first half of this year, and this growth shows no signs of slowing for the rest of 2024 and into next year, driven in part by the return of mergers and acquisitions and the widespread adoption of artificial intelligence, says Chuck Chandler at Valeo Partners.
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Accidental Death Ruling Shows ERISA Review Standard's Pull
The Eleventh Circuit’s recent accidental death insurance ruling in Goldfarb v. Reliance Standard Life Insurance illustrates how an arbitrary and capricious standard of review in Employee Retirement Income Security Act denial-of-benefits cases creates a steep uphill battle for benefit claimants, says Mark DeBofsky at DeBofsky Law.
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Opinion
States Should Loosen Law Firm Ownership Restrictions
Despite growing buzz, normalized nonlawyer ownership of law firms is a distant prospect, so the legal community should focus first on liberalizing state restrictions on attorney and firm purchases of practices, which would bolster succession planning and improve access to justice, says Michael Di Gennaro at The Law Practice Exchange.
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Series
Solving Puzzles Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Tackling daily puzzles — like Wordle, KenKen and Connections — has bolstered my intellectual property litigation practice by helping me to exercise different mental skills, acknowledge minor but important details, and build and reinforce good habits, says Roy Wepner at Kaplan Breyer.
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1st Gender Care Ban Provides Context For High Court Case
The history of Arkansas' ban on gender-affirming medical care — the first such legislation in the U.S. — provides important insight into the far-reaching ramifications that the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in U.S. v. Skrmetti next term will have on transgender healthcare, says Tyler Saenz at Baker Donelson.
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Texas Ethics Opinion Flags Hazards Of Unauthorized Practice
The Texas Professional Ethics Committee's recently issued proposed opinion finding that in-house counsel providing legal services to the company's clients constitutes the unauthorized practice of law is a valuable clarification given that a UPL violation — a misdemeanor in most states — carries high stakes, say Hilary Gerzhoy and Julienne Pasichow at HWG.
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Why High Court Social Media Ruling Will Be Hotly Debated
In deciding the NetChoice cases that challenged Florida and Texas content moderation laws, what the U.S. Supreme Court justices said about social media platforms — and the First Amendment — will have implications and raise questions for nearly all online operators, say Jacob Canter and Joanna Rosen Forster at Crowell & Moring.
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In Memoriam: The Modern Administrative State
On June 28, the modern administrative state, where courts deferred to agency interpretations of ambiguous statutes, died when the U.S. Supreme Court overruled its previous decision in Chevron v. Natural Resources Defense Council — but it is survived by many cases decided under the Chevron framework, say Joseph Schaeffer and Jessica Deyoe at Babst Calland.
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What Fla. Ruling Means For Insurer Managed Repair Programs
A recent Florida state court ruling in Fraga v. Citizens Property Insurance, holding that the insurer could not seek to add additional terms in its managed repair program consent form, should promote clear written contract terms that clarify the relationship between insurers, policyholders and contractors, says Chip Merlin at Merlin Law Group.
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Opinion
It's Time For Nationwide Race-Based Hair Protections
While 24 states have passed laws that prohibit race-based hair discrimination, this type of bias persists in workplaces and schools, so a robust federal law is necessary to ensure widespread protection, says Samone Ijoma and Erica Roberts at Sanford Heisler.