Skip to Content
Menu Toggle

Archives

Jury Instructions in Florida Contract and Business Disputes

October 25, 2016 Professional Services Industry Legal Blog

Jury instructions are integral to facilitating each juror’s understanding of the law and the way in which to apply the law, when rendering a verdict following a jury trial. However, until just years ago, Florida lacked the substantive backing of jury instructions that were drafted with the specific intent to be utilized during contract and business law disputes. As standard jury instructions failed to properly guide jurors regarding what issues were of importance in their deliberations, naturally, parties subject to dispute found that jury trials failed to resolve matters in a way that promulgated equitable results to those involved. As we often take breach of contract cases to trial, these jury instructions will be pivotal for our practice at Jimerson Birr moving forward.

Are Letters of Intent Enforceable in Florida?

October 13, 2016 Professional Services Industry Legal Blog

So-called “letters of intent” are used quite often in a wide array of business contexts. Even though they are used frequently, however, much of the time the parties signing the letter do not understand the legal effect of the letter. Parties often don’t understand if the letter of intent is legally enforceable. Can a party sue on the letter of intent alone if the other party fails to consummate the deal or hold up their end of the bargain? The answer to that question under Florida law is: maybe. This blog provides guidance on the main issues affecting enforceability of a letter of intent.

Are Business Losses Arising From a Hurricane Covered by Insurance?

October 11, 2016 Insurance Industry Legal Blog

The answer to this question is that it depends on your policy. Generally, a business can insure against business losses by purchasing Business Interruption coverage or Contingent Business Interruption coverage. That being said, commercial insurance policies are not necessarily standard policies, and the specific language of the policy determines whether a business loss is a “covered loss.” An “all risk” policy, for example, covers all losses unless expressly excluded. Additionally, some insurance policies have a civil authority clause which provides business loss when a civil authority closes or denies access to the insured property. There are also insurance policies that have a service interruption clause which provides for business loss when there is an interruption of water or power to a business.

Are Florida’s Fraudulent Transfer Claims Subject to Equitable Tolling?

October 3, 2016 Banking & Financial Services Industry Legal Blog

Many creditors are aware that Florida’s Uniform Fraudulent Transfer Act (“FUFTA”) is a powerful remedy used to avoid and unwind transfers of assets that debtors may make to hinder, delay and defraud their creditors. But what if you (the creditor) discover that your debtor made a transfer, and you didn’t know it was actually fraudulent under FUFTA until a year later? Your fraudulent transfer claims may be forever extinguished as being time barred, without a tolling period to account for the time that elapsed before the fraudulent nature of the transfer was discovered.

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Compliance: What Banks Need to Know, Part II

August 29, 2016 Banking & Financial Services Industry Legal Blog

CFPB Regulation Enforcement The CFPB is authorized to conduct investigations to determine whether any person is, or has, engaged in conduct that violates federal consumer financial law. The investigations often include subpoenas and other investigative demands for testimony, responses to written questions, documents, or other materials. Once a potential violation […]

Party Negotiated Preservation Orders: An Avenue for Cooperation and Resolution of Cases on the Merits

August 3, 2016 Professional Services Industry Legal Blog

Spoliation of relevant Electronically Stored Information (ESI) is a serious concern for litigants in both Federal and State court actions. Because of records retention measures that may be in place at an organization, such as automatic deletion of emails after a certain time period has elapsed, and because of litigants’ potential ignorance of their duty to preserve, it is prudent to seek avenues to ensure that both your own client and the opposing party are proactively preserving ESI from the onset of their duty to preserve.

Assignment for the Benefit of Creditors: Stay of Litigation

July 22, 2016 Banking & Financial Services Industry Legal Blog

This is the first of three follow up blogs to our earlier publication Assignment for the Benefit of Creditors: General Overview. This blog explores ABC’s lack of statutory automatic stay and whether there is a functional and practical equivalent. The next blog will discuss whether a creditor may file a claim after the statutory 120-day deadline. The third blog will examine whether a creditor may file a claim of fraudulent transfer against the estate.

What You Need to Know About Commercial Lease Agreements: Part IV

June 6, 2016 Real Estate Development, Sales and Leasing Industry Legal Blog

This blog post is part IV in a series of posts providing an overview of important considerations for commercial lease agreements. Regardless of whether a landlord or tenant, there are numerous issues that all parties should consider prior to entering into a commercial lease agreement. Part I addressed mandatory and suggested commercial lease agreement terms and the legal duties and obligations of the parties involved. Part II discussed the enforceability of certain lease agreements, tort liability for both landlords and tenants, and the use of personal guarantees. Part III focused on the tenant’s remedies, claims and defenses when a landlord breaches the commercial lease agreement. This fourth and final post in this series will discuss the landlord’s remedies, claims and defenses for breaches by the tenant.

Recovery of Attorneys’ Fees – Part III: Common Law Exceptions that Provide for the Recovery of Attorneys’ Fees

June 3, 2016 Professional Services Industry Legal Blog

This blog post is part III in a series of blogs posts discussing the recovery of attorneys’ fees. Part I explored some considerations in the recovery of attorneys’ fees when the recovery is by virtue of a contractual provision. Part II discussed the statutory entitlement to fees and issues related to entitlement. This blog post will discuss common law exceptions to the general rule that generally requires a contractual or statutory basis for the recovery of attorneys’ fees. Specifically, this blog post will discuss four general common law exceptions that may provide a basis for the recovery of attorneys’ fees: (1) wrongful act doctrine; (2) inequitable conduct doctrine; (3) creation of a common fund; and (4) attempt to preserve assets in a trust.

subscribe to legal alerts

subscribe to our blogs

sign up now

Media Contacts

Charles B. Jimerson
Managing Partner

Jimerson Birr welcomes inquiries from the media and do our best to respond to deadlines. If you are interested in speaking to a Jimerson Birr lawyer or want general information about the firm, our practice areas, lawyers, publications, or events, please contact us via email or telephone for assistance at (904) 389-0050.

we’re here to help

Contact Us

CONNECT
Jimerson Birr