Along with the right to vote, a free and vigorous jury system is a key element in the ability of Americans to control the type of society in which they live. Efforts by state and federal politicians at placing arbitrary caps on the amount of damages available to parties in…
Exemptions are so common in FLSA cases that practitioners accepting new cases are wise to consider the possibility in all but the most obvious situations. Along with determining the amount of overtime hours, if any, logged by employees, disputes over the applicability or not of exemptions have formed the lion…
It is both a crime (3rd degree felony – Section 934.03(4) Florida Statutes), and an actionable civil violation (934.10) to record phone calls in Florida without the prior consent of the party or parties being recorded. Exceptions do apply, see Cohen Brothers, LLC v. ME Corp., S.A., 872 So.2d 321…
Unlike prior PIP statutes that applied the “usual and customary” standard to determine allowable charges for medical services, Florida’s 2008 version (627.736), mostly mandates that allowable charges are 200% of prospective payments for the same services under Medicare Parts A & B. (Main exceptions: emergency transportation and emergency hospital services.)…
In December, 2008, the Florida Supreme Court, in Kirton v. Fields, 997 So.2d 349 (Fla., 2008), held that a pre-injury release executed by a parent on behalf of a minor child is unenforceable against the minor or the minor’s estate in a tort action arising from injuries resulting from participation…
Florida Statues may allow PIP carriers to conduct medical examinations and perform paper reviews, but no authority, including the statute itself, grants PIP carriers license to reference those procedures as an “IME,” “Independent Medical Examination,” or a “Peer Review.” In short, PIP carriers have created the terms out of whole…
A well-established common law principle in Florida is that motor vehicles are “dangerous instrumentalities.” Southern Cotton Oil Co. v. Anderson, 86 So. 629 (Fla. 1920). In 1941, the Florida Supreme Court held that because the use of a dangerous instrumentality involves such a high degree of risk of serious injury…
FRCP 1.720 and most court orders require parties to appear at mediation with “full authority” to settle without further consultation. See also Carbino v. Ward, 801 So.2d 1028 (Fla. 5th DCA 2001) and Physicians Protective Trust Fund v. Overman, 636 So.2d 827 (Fla. 5th DCA 1994). A hypothetical personal injury…
Current Florida law allows individuals injured in slip & fall accidents to prove fault against business establishments through evidence of inadequate maintenance policies and procedures. Owens v. Publix Supermarkets, Inc., 802 So. 2d 315 (Fla. 2001) and Section 768.0710 Florida Statutes. If the 2010 Republican-dominated Florida Legislature has its way,…
In the Gettysburg Address, Abraham Lincoln declared that we are a “government of the people, by the people, for the people.” Sadly, this message has not registered with Florida lawmakers. (Please see this blog for a significant modification of this statement.) As should be the case, individuals and corporations whose…