A first degree murder conviction was overturned by the Fourth District Court of Appeal on August 31, 2016 due to the Court’s Fourth Amendment analysis of a bizarre description of the events.  In Lorenzo Sanchez v. State of Florida, the defendant/appellant was convicted of murder of a Pompano Beach convenience store …

The case of David Edward Boyles v. Dillard’s, Inc. from Florida’s First District Court of Appeal is a mixed bag of issues involving Daubert, evidence, voir dire, closing argument, and alleged attorney misconduct during trial. Notable, from a legal/technology standpoint, is this somewhat cryptic final sentences from the Opinion about …

The July/August edition of the Palm Beach Bar Association’s Bulletin includes the article, “Will Judge Sasser’s Standing ESI Order Apply to Your Case?” which you can download, here. The article provides a brief refresher of the 2012 amendments which brought electronically stored information (ESI) within the scope of the Florida …

In Facebook v. Power Ventures, Inc. et al., the Ninth Circuit held that it was a violation of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act of 1986 for the defendant to continue to access Facebook’s site after receiving a cease and desist letter from Facebook: “a defendant can run afoul of …

The Fifth District Court of Appeal agreed with a Middle District of Florida ruling that a report of a doctor’s misconduct to the National Practitioner Data Bank (NPDB) begins the two-year statute of limitation for any possible defamation case because it is a “single publication” and there are internal safeguards, …

Readers of this blog will recall the story of former university professor James Tracy, who taught and eschews conspiracy theories and was fired for breach of a Florida Atlantic University’s “Conflict of Interest / Outside Activities” policy which required professors to advise FAU of their outside activities.  He filed a massive …

The grand-daughter of a man who filmed the November 22, 1963 Kennedy assassination from the reverse perspective of the infamous Zapruder film is facing a motion to dismiss filed by the U.S. government in response to her lawsuit for replevin and “taking” of the so-called Nix film. We covered the …

Florida’s Third District Court of Appeal issued an opinion in Michelle Coffey-Garcia v. South Miami Hospital, Inc. regarding whether defendants, seeking to prove that the statute of limitation was blown, could ask the plaintiff “who, when and why” questions about consulting prior lawyers.  The appellate court quashed part of the writ …

Circuit Court Judge Meenu Sasser of the 15th Judicial Circuit Court in and for Palm Beach County, Florida has issued a Standing Order on Electronically Stored Information Discovery which you can download it here. The Order is fairly straightforward but here are the essential elements if your case is in …

Florida’s Third District Court of Appeal issued Bernal, as Personal Representative of the Estate of Zintgraff v. Marin, holding that a will met the high standard for revocation of a prior trust under the “clear and convincing evidence” standard even though the will did not name the trust specifically and the trust …

Were you aware of a South Florida teenager who became a suicide bomber? Did you know a man from the Keys who shot a terrorist video? How about the Gainesville man who shot at police in the name of ISIS? Had you heard of the Florida woman who filed a lawsuit against …

In the consolidated cases of State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company v Arthur L. Brewer and Barbara J. Brewer / William Edward Goellner v. Arthur L. Brewer and Barbara J. Brewer, the Second District Court of Appeal reversed an award of punitive damages equal to 100% of defendant’s net worth …

Two of the more novel, confusing areas of Florida civil law were addressed this week by the First District in Andrew and Kenneth Maines v. Marcia Drasko Fox. This case arose from an auto accident where the plaintiff claimed that she suffered a neck injury.  The plaintiff won at trial. …

On April 27, 2016, the Third and Fourth District Courts of Appeal issued separate opinions on the much beguiled Proposal for Settlement. In Vanguard Car Rental USA, LLC v. Suttles, the Third DCA was confronted with the situation where defendant “Vanguard, Inc.” served a Proposal for Settlement on the Plaintiff. …

In one month, two Florida appellate courts have found separate provisions in the Florida Workers Compensation statute unconstitutional.  Most notably, the Florida Supreme Court held that the attorney fee provision is unconstitutional and that the courts are to revert back to the “reasonable” attorney fee standard according to the former …