Appeals Are ALL We Do.

The Florida Rules of Appellate Procedure were recently amended to allow immediate appeals of nonfinal orders granting or denying leave to amend a complaint to allege punitive damages. The granting of a motion for leave to amend a complaint to add a punitive damages claim is a “game changer” in litigation. Allowing punitive damages materially

Florida has recently updated its summary judgment standard to closely parallel the standard applied in Federal courts. Under the new standard, summary judgment should be granted if no reasonable jury could return a verdict for the non-moving party under the evidence. This is an easier burden to meet than under the old standard, which prevented

In an article for the American Bar Association, Illinois trial judge Mark Drummond published a “Top Ten” list of things judges want. Judge Drummond offers several guidelines that are extremely helpful in being an effective advocate. Moreover, following these principles will enhance the chances of success in the event of an appeal. Trial Judges Want

In Nunez v. Allen (Fla. 5th DCA Oct. 11, 2019), the Fifth District Court of Appeal held that an attorney representing himself is entitled to an award of his own attorney’s fees pursuant to a proposal for settlement. However, the attorney’s legal fees must reflect time reasonably spent on actual legal services, and must not

Without a transcript of a hearing or trial, an appellate court cannot provide meaningful review of many of the issues that are disputed in an appeal. In the absence of a transcript, the appellate court cannot evaluate the sufficiency of evidence, analyze the reasoning of the trial judge, or determine if proper arguments or objections

In Cannon v. State, 275 So. 3d 802 (Fla. 1st DCA July 9, 2019), a trial judge made a poor attempt at humor by making a flippant comment about about a criminal defense attorney. A previous opinion reveals that there is much bad blood between that attorney and the judge: the attorney previously brought a

Is a personal trainer in a fitness center like a call girl sitting at a clubhouse bar? This was the trial court’s analogy, rejected by a unanimous panel of the Fourth District Court of Appeal on case brought by Scott J. Edwards, P.A. and co-counsel Sajdera Kim, PLLC. Our clients are homeowners in a residential

How To Improve Your Legal Writing By Eliminating Archaic Phrasing Many lawyers are guilty of using excessive legalese in their legal writing. Words and phrases that have long fallen out of fashion in everyday usage nonetheless remain common in the law. There are many reasons for this: some writers think legalese sounds more “lawyerly” or

Effective May 1, 2021, the Florida Supreme Court has adopted the federal Summary Judgment standard, and significantly amended Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.510 to incorporate the majority of the language found in Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 56. The new rule governs the adjudication of any summary judgment motion decided after May 1st, including