Tag: florida lawyer

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Weekly Review for U.S. Veterans for Friday, June 27, 2014

U.S. Veterans Update June 27, 2014

U.S. Veterans Update June 27, 2014Here are some recent articles of interest that I found this week for U.S. Veterans. Enjoy!

We recently returned to Miami from Normandy France where we attended the 70th Anniversary of D-Day. The trip was fantastic! We were in attendance to take the audio/video oral histories of five World War II Veterans and I personally spoke many more as well. Hopefully those conversations will lead to additional oral histories. I would like to thank Bob Shelato, Rock Merritt, Norman Gaddis, Bill Byers, and Norman Sylvester for permitting their interview and taking the time to speak with me.

We met a lot of great contacts and military members from the 82nd Airborne, 101st Airborne, 1st Infantry Division, Rangers, and Navy Seals during our trip. Hopefully this will lead to many more preserved stories from Veterans of all backgrounds including World War II, Korea, Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan.

Here is a link to our photo album at St. Mere Eglise on June 6, 2014 for the 70th Anniversary of D-Day.

Thank you for reading (and sharing). Stay tuned for next week’s weekly review for U.S. Veterans.

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Weekly Review for Florida Insurance Law for Wednesday, June 25, 2014

Florida Insurance Law Updates for June 25

Florida Insurance Law Updates for June 25Here are some recent articles of interest that I found this week for the Florida insurance industry. Enjoy!

Flood Insurance Enters the Limelight as Hurricane Season Begins
The 2014 Atlantic hurricane season has started, and weather forecasters are predicting that this season may be quite active, but the storms emerging during the season may be modest due to the effects of El Nino. There is no certain way to tell whether or not the hurricane season will be free of any powerful storms, as 2012′s Hurricane Sandy was quite unexpected itself. The impact of an unexpected storm can be devastating, which is why there is a growing interest in insurance coverage that is designed to protect against such natural disasters.  Read more here.. 

The Insurance Industry and Climate Change
When it comes to climate change, insurance can be a tricky subject. The global insurance industry does not typically deal in “what ifs” and many large insurers are not willing to debate whether or not climate change is real. These insurers are more apt to address the issue of climate change by offering new insurance products and finding ways to mitigate the risks associated with the phenomenon. Powerful storms, rising temperatures, and depleting food and water resources are becoming issues that the insurance industry is beginning to involve itself in.  Read more here…

Florida Gov. Scott Signs Flood Insurance, Credit Claims, Parasailing Bills
Florida Gov. Rick Scott signed into law on Friday dozens of measures covering everything from flood insurance, electronic cigarettes and parasailing.

The Republican governor, who has been holding re-election campaign events for most of this month, did the bill signings privately. Scott and previous governors usually hold public bill signings during the summer, but he has spent little time in the Capitol since the end of the annual legislative session.  Read more here.. 

Florida ‘Hurricane Tax’ Sent to Early Retirement
A1.3 percent surcharge on most property/casualty policies in Florida to help pay for past hurricane claims is coming to an end earlier than originally planned.
The Florida Cabinet voted this week to end the assessment on policyholders that was begun in 2008 and was expected to continue until 2016.

State law requires an assessment whenever the Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund (FHCF) does not have enough cash to pay insurers for the losses they incur. The surcharge, called the “hurricane tax” by some, is used to fund revenue bonds to pay the losses.

FHCF ran out of money following Wilma, which was the fourth storm of 2005 and the eighth storm that hit the state during a two-year period. The FHCF had to borrow about $2.6 billion to pay its obligations to private insurers.  Read more here… 

Florida Judge Approves Deal for Heritage to Assume Sunshine State Policies
A Florida judge has signed-off on a plan by regulators to allow a failed Florida property insurer’s policyholders to be assumed by another company, although policyholders will retain the option to seek coverage elsewhere.

Leon County Judge Kevin Carroll on Friday approved the deal that could result in Heritage Property and Casualty Insurance Co. assuming as many as 36,000 policyholders left seeking coverage due to the insolvency of the Sunshine State Insurance Co.

The Jacksonville, Fla.-based Sunshine State was taken over by the Department of Financial Services Division of Rehabilitation and Liquidation on June 3 after the state Office of Insurance Regulation reported the insurer could no longer meet the state’s capital requirements.  Read more here… 

Florida Private Flood Bill Now Law But Market May Take a While to Develop
Florida Gov. Rick Scott has signed legislation designed to encourage private insurers to offer flood insurance, but the industry is tamping down expectations that it will result in a viable market in the near future.

The legislation creates a statutory framework allowing private insurers to offer four different types of flood coverage ranging from standard coverage, which mirrors the current National Flood Insurance Program policies, to three other enhanced coverages.
The legislation also allows private insurers to file their own rates prior to October 1, 2019, after which they must be approved by regulators. The time period is so Florida insurers can develop state flood data that is currently not available under the NFIP.  Read more here… 

Aspen Opens Miami Hub for Expansion in Latin America
Aspen Insurance said it is expanding its presence in Latin America with the opening of a regional hub in Miami, joining a group of re/insurers that have also located Latin American operations in the city.

The Miami office and Aspen’s expanded energy team will serve the onshore energy market in Latin America, which is part of Aspen’s previously announced strategy to expand its operations selectively in targeted market segments, according to the announcement.

The company recently named Gary Windsor to spearhead its onshore energy expansion into Latin America. The team will begin writing business from Miami in July, according to Tony Carroll, executive vice president and head of Marine, Energy and Construction.  Read more here…

Thank you for reading (and sharing). Stay tuned for next week’s weekly review for Florida Insurance Law!

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Weekly Review for Florida Insurance Law for Wednesday, March 12, 2014

Weekly Florida Insurance Law Updates

Weekly Florida Insurance Law UpdatesHere are some recent articles of interest that I found this week for the insurance industry, Florida insurance law, Florida insurance claims, and Florida insurance trends:

 

Enjoy and stay tuned for next week’s Weekly Review for Florida Insurance Law!

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Florida Mediation Services

Florida Mediator

Florida Mediator

 

 

Patrick Russell, Esq., as a Florida Supreme Court certified Circuit Court Civil Mediator now offers Florida mediation services.  As a practicing Florida lawyer since 1994, Patrick Russell, Esq., can assist in a variety of civil litigation matters to which he has plenty of experience including business disputes, condominium association claims, contract actions, debt collection, fraud claims, and insurance cases.

Alternative Dispute Resolution

Russell Law has recently expanded the legal services it provides to include Florida mediation services in South Florida including Broward, Miami-Dade and Monroe Counties.  If you need seasoned but yet reasoned help in settling your case, please feel free to contact us for an appointment.  We can come to you, conduct the mediation at a third-party location, or use our law office in Miami for your mediation.  More information on how we can help you can be found in Florida Mediation Services.

 

Related Topics: ADR, Florida Mediation, Florida Mediator, Miami Mediator, Alternative Dispute Resolution

 

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Reality Stars are Oxymorons

Sixty Seconds of Fame for a Lifetime of Shame?

If you are a reality star and you are reading this because you think oxymoron is a compliment, you really need help.  I for one cannot wait for reality stars and the attitudes that go with them to be so 2010.  How did our society come to cherish and revere stupidity?  I think the majority of us shake our heads in disbelief when we hear the latest comments of talentless wanna-be superstars.  Yet, for some perverse reason, many people follow these trainwrecks and worse yet emulate their antics.  You see it with impressionable children all the way up to young adults and even parents who want to be part of the cool crowd.  This creeping lunacy even now extends to the office and dare I say to the legal profession and Courts.  Everyone wants to be a commentator and expert with a big opinion.  Just check any news program these days to see the incoming viewer comments and ask yourself if the views expressed are moderate or those that are extreme and intended to garner attention.  I would argue that we have trickle-up idiocy in our society and it is time to just say no.  

I get it that everyone wants to be heard and to matter.  But as a novel idea, we should want to be heard and to matter for the right reason and not just for the sake of being heard.  Pride should matter as should reputation.  Intelligence, reason, compassion and understanding are noble attributes.  Expressing a well reasoned opinion generally requires some work, thought, time and more than 140 characters on Twitter.  Extreme is not always better and by definition should not be the norm.  It is also a lot tougher to get along and reach common ground when you have camps of people espousing radically different and extreme views.  If you need confirmation for any of this, make an appointment with a Senator.  I am not saying that reality stars and the attitudes they espouse are the cause of the decline of our universe, but they sure cannot be helping. 

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Florida Automobile Diminished Value Claims

Florida Automobile Accidents

Florida Lawyer Help for Property Damage Claims

If you own a luxury automobile or an exotic sports car and you were involved in an automobile accident in Florida, you should seek the immediate assistance of a Florida lawyer to help with your damages claim.  Unknown to most people, you have a right to recover not only your repair and property damages but also damages for the diminished value of your  motor vehicle because of the accident.  Diminished value for luxury automobiles or sports cars is the difference in value of the vehicle now that it has an accident on its record compared to a similar vehicle that has no accident record.  It is undisputed that a purchaser or an autodealer will give you less money for your car if it has been involved in any accident.  An automobile accident, no matter how small, will attach a negative stigma to your automobile making it worth less than it was before the accident even when it is fully repaired.  As to luxury automobiles or with exotic sports car, this diminished value can be quite large and should not be ignored.  A person causing an car accident is liable for all damages as a result of that accident including the diminished value of your automobile.  Settling your claim against the other driver and  his or her insurance company without making a claim for diminished value will in most cases act as a waiver of your rights. 

If you should need help with a Florida car accident, property damages, or diminished value claim, please feel free to contact Russell Law and Florida lawyer, Patrick Russell, Esq., who can assist you with your Florida insurance claim needs.  We can be reached at 305.373.3826.  Please be sure to inquire as to our experience, qualifications and our level of service and how it can help you.
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Attorney’s Fee Provision in Florida Contracts Are Strictly Construed

Florida Contract Law

Florida Attorney’s Fees Entitlement in Contracts

In Florida Hurricane Protection and Awning, Inc. v. Pastina, 35 Fla. L. Weekly D2024a (Fla. 4DCA 2010), the Florida Fourth District Court of Appeal considered a case involving a Florida contract dispute.  In this case, a Florida homeowner hired a contractor to install window shutters on a home.  The contract between the homeowner and the contractor contained an attorney’s fee provision that stated that the purchaser was responsible for all costs of collection and attorney’s fees.  The contractor failed to complete the job and the homeowner filed a complaint for breach of contract against the contractor.  Eventually, the homeowner prevailed in the breach of contract claim against the contractor and requested that the Court award attorney’s fees pursuant to the fee provision in the contract.  The contractor opposed the demand for attorney’s fees arguing that legal fees could only be awarded in a collection action as stated in the contract and not for a breach of contract action by the homeowner. 

The trial court sided with the homeowner on the basis of Florida Statute 57.105(7) which provides reciprocity for the award of attorney’s fees in a Florida contract.  What Florida Statute 57.105 provides is that where there is a unilateral right to collect attorney’s fees in a contract for one party, the other party has a right to collect attorney’s fees if it should prevail. The trial court awarded attorney’s fees to the homeowner on the basis that the contract must provide reciprocity to collect attorney’s fees if it has an attorney’s fee provision.  The contractor appealed this ruling.

The Fourth District Court of Appeal held that Florida Statute 57.105(7) as applied to this case only meant that if the homeowner prevailed in a collection action brought by the contractor that the homeowner would be entitled to attorney’s fees.  That is to say, each side had the right to collect attorney’s fees in a collection action as provided in the contract.  In this case, this was not a collection action but a breach of contract action by the homeowner.  Thus there is no attorney’s fee provision that applies to this case and therefore the award of attorney’s fees to the homeowner was improper.

The lesson to be learned from this case is that Florida courts will strictly construe a Florida contract when attorney’s fees are at issue.  If the ability to collect attorney’s fees is important, the parties must state with specificity the exact circumstances to which attorney’s fees will be awarded.  Likewise, if a Florida contract lawyer wants to limit the exposure of attorney’s fees awards, he or she need only exclude a provision for attorney’s fees or reference a specific instance when they are awardable.

If you should need help with a Florida contract or need a Florida contract lawyer, please feel free to contact Russell Law and Florida lawyer, Patrick Russell, Esq., who can assist you with your Florida contract needs.  We can be reached at 305.373.3826.  Please be sure to inquire as to our experience, qualifications and our level of service and how it can help you.
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Witness Text Messages During Trial Results in Case Dismissal

Florida Litigation

Dismissal for Fraud Upon the Court

The Florida Third District Court of Appeal in Sky Development Inc. v. Vistaview Development, Inc., 35 Fla. L. Weekly D1478a (Fla. 3DCA 2010), upheld a trial court’s mistrial and dismissal of a case with prejudice.  The Florida appellate court held that a witness who received text messages while testifying during trial for the purpose of coaching the witness on how to testify was a blatant showing of fraud, pretense, and collusion which justified the harsh result of dismissal. 

For the purposes of Florida litigation cases, the lesson to be learned from this recent case is that in this day and age of electronic communication, make sure that all parties at a deposition, hearing or trial, resist the urge to “help” a witness with text messaging or quick emails.  If it would be impermissible to hand a note to a witness on how to testify, the same logic would apply to any other method of communication.  The safest and perhaps best option is to leave all  mobile devices at the office and not have them at hand during a deposition, hearing or trial.  As such, it would certainly not hurt to address the issue of the receipt of text messages and emails during litigation proceedings.  In fact, it could hurt you a lot more not to address this matter because if it happens, you could be looking at the end of your Florida legal case.

If you should need help with your Florida litigation case, please feel free to contact Russell Law and Florida lawyer, Patrick Russell, Esq., who can assist you with your legal case.  We can be reached at 305.373.3826.  Please be sure to inquire as to our experience, qualifications and our level of service and how it can help you.
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