Contempt, limitation of actions, indemnity, and beef medallions with portobello mushroom-fresh rosemary sauce on a bed of cauliflower mash

Adoption -- Circuit court erred in entering order requiring adoption agency to conduct a diligent search for putative father of child placed with agency for adoption -- Adoption agency is not required to serve a notice of intended adoption plan on a putative father unless the mother has first identified a known and locatable unmarried biological father by the date the mother signs her consent for adoption -- Agency is not required to conduct a diligent search for the putative father unless the mother has identified a potential father by the time she signs the consent for adoption -- Court's sua sponte questioning of mother as to identity of potential father five months after she had consented to termination of parental rights and adoption was a violation of mother's privacy rights

CHILDREN'S HOME SOCIETY OF FLORIDA, Appellant, v. V. D., IN RE: THE MATTER OF TERMINATION OF PARENTAL RIGHTS FOR THE PROPOSED ADOPTION OF A MINOR CHILD, Appellee. 1st District.

Appeals -- Belated appeal of order dismissing petition for writ of mandamus -- Court has no authority to grant belated appeal in civil proceeding

MORRIS FAIN, Petitioner, v. FLORIDA COMMISSION ON OFFENDER REVIEW, Respondent. 1st District.

Civil procedure -- Relief from judgment -- Motion for relief from judgment on basis of fraud, misrepresentation, or other misconduct was untimely where it was brought more than one year after entry of judgment -- Motion for relief from judgment on basis that judgment was void fails where judgment was not void -- So long as court has jurisdiction over the subject matter and over defendant, a procedural defect occurring before entry of judgment does not render the judgment void

LIDIA E. CONTRERAS, Appellant, vs. NELSON E. MENDEZ, Appellee. 3rd District.

Civil procedure -- Summary judgment -- Notice of summary judgment evidence on which adverse party intends to rely -- Trial court properly interpreted rule 1.510 as requiring adverse party to file notice in response to a motion for summary judgment even if the evidence upon which it seeks to rely is already in the record -- Insurance -- Personal injury protection -- Coverage -- Medical expenses -- Reasonable, related and necessary treatment -- Trial court did not err in finding that insurer did not satisfy rule 1.510(c) by filing, during discovery, a doctor's affidavit stating affiant's conclusion that portions of treatment were not reasonable, related, or medically necessary, which was accompanied by notice stating insurer's intent to rely upon the affidavit “for any purpose permitted pursuant to the Florida Rules of Civil Procedure and Florida Evidence Code” -- Circuit court acting in its appellate capacity did not depart from essential requirements of law by affirming county court ruling

STATE FARM MUTUAL AUTOMOBILE INSURANCE COMPANY, Petitioner, v. FIGLER FAMILY CHIROPRACTIC, P.A., A/A/O LINDA MANNERS, Respondent. 4th District.

Contracts -- Asset purchase agreement -- Sale of insurance agency -- Unjust enrichment -- Conversion -- Trial court should have directed verdict on seller's claim for unjust enrichment against buyers where there was express agreement between seller and buyers -- Individual defendant could not be held personally liable for breach of agreement by buyers' agency where evidence did not establish that she personally benefitted beyond the amount awarded for buyers' agency's breach of contract or that she benefitted separate and apart from the agency -- Trial court should have granted defendants' motion for judgment notwithstanding verdict on conversion claim where jury awarded finite amount of damages for defendants' breach of contract, and there was no evidence that seller sustained any additional damages as result of conversion of other assets

VALERIE FULTON, FULTON INSURANCE AGENCY, INC., and DEAN C. FULTON, Appellants, v. JUDITH BRANCATO, Appellee. 4th District.

Contracts -- Settlement agreement -- Where, in plaintiff's action against bank for breach of employment agreement, fraud, negligent misrepresentation, and declaratory and injunctive relief, parties reached settlement agreement for certain payments to be made to plaintiff, with proposed payments to be submitted to federal regulatory entities for approval of payment terms within six months, the payment terms of the agreement were not enforceable when regulatory approval was not received within six months -- Trial court erred in granting defendants' motion to enforce settlement agreement upon finding that the six-month period in the agreement referred to a period of non-litigation rather than an expiration date of the agreement

DANIEL T. HESTER, an individual, Appellant, v. FLORIDA CAPITAL GROUP, INC., a Florida corporation; CHARLES E. HUGHES, an individual; and J. MALCOLM JONES, JR., an individual, Appellees. 2nd District.

Creditors' rights -- Fraudulent transfers -- Limitation of actions -- For purpose of Florida Uniform Fraudulent Transfer Act's provision that a claim of fraudulent transfer is extinguished unless brought within 4 years after the transfer was made or, if later, within 1 year after the transfer was or could reasonably have been discovered, the one-year savings clause is triggered by a creditor's discovery of the transfer rather than by the creditor's discovery of the facts showing the transfer to have been fraudulent -- Statute is a statute of repose which is not subject to an assertion of equitable estoppel

NATIONAL AUTO SERVICE CENTERS, INC., a Florida corporation; NATIONAL AUTO PROPERTIES, INC., a Florida corporation; LEONARD D. LEVIN, individually; CAROL LEVIN, individually; DURANT HOLDINGS, LLC; and BEDFORD INVESTMENTS, LLC, Appellants, v. F/R 550, LLC, a Florida limited liability company; and F/R 3329, LLC, a Florida limited liability company, Appellees. 2nd District.

Criminal law -- Contempt -- Jurors -- Competent substantial evidence supports convictions for contempt by juror who, during voir dire, concealed and failed to disclose his ex-wife's DUI arrest and, against the instructions of the trial court that jurors not conduct their own investigations, conducted a drinking experiment on himself to test the impairment effects of alcohol

DENNIS DeMARTIN, Appellant, v. STATE OF FLORIDA, Appellee. 4th District.

Criminal law -- Discovery -- Appeals -- Certiorari -- Where defense had issued subpoenas duces tecum to various third parties without permission of trial court and without notifying state of its intent to issue the subpoenas, and state, upon discovering that the subpoenas had been issued, filed a motion to compel production of all evidence produced pursuant to the illegal subpoenas, state is not entitled to writ of certiorari to have appellate court quash trial court order finding that state was not entitled to copies of all documents provided pursuant to the subpoenas, but only to those documents which were intended to be used at any hearing or trial -- State is not entitled to issuance of writ of certiorari because state has failed to demonstrate irreparable harm

THE STATE OF FLORIDA, Petitioner, vs. WESLEY FOLEY, Respondent. 3rd District.

Criminal law -- First degree murder -- Evidence -- Hearsay -- Trial court erred when it admitted into evidence an audio recording of statement made to police by person who implicated defendant in crime -- Admission of testimony violated right to confrontation of witnesses where statement was testimonial in nature and witness was not available or subject to prior cross-examination -- Trial court was within its discretion in finding that witness's refusal to testify rendered him an unavailable witness -- Fact that defendant had opportunity to cross-examine witness during pretrial discovery deposition does not satisfy cross-examination requirement of Crawford v. Washington -- Error not harmless

HECTOR JOSUE VAZQUEZ PADILLA, Appellant, v. STATE OF FLORIDA, Appellee. 2nd District.

Criminal law -- Meritless pro se filings -- Clerk of Court directed to reject any future pleadings or other requests for relief submitted by defendant unless such filings are signed by a member in good standing of The Florida Bar -- Clerk of Court directed to forward certified copy of opinion to Department of Corrections institution or facility where defendant is incarcerated

OTIS D. BLAXTON, Petitioner, vs. STATE OF FLORIDA, Respondent. Supreme Court of Florida.

Dissolution of marriage -- Child custody -- Although trial court's factual findings supported provision that husband would have sole parental responsibility for decisions relating to children's education and medical care, final judgment failed to include specific finding that shared parental responsibility would be detrimental to children

DENISE COLLINS, Appellant, v. DWAYNE COLLINS, SR., Appellee. 5th District.

Dissolution of marriage -- Child support -- Trial court erred in ordering that parties be equally responsible for payment of all non-covered medical expenses for children where this allocation conflicts with allocation of parties' relative financial responsibility for child support -- As general rule, if non-covered medical expenses are ordered to be separately paid, absent some logically established rationale in the final judgment to the contrary, they must be allocated in the same percentage as the child support allocation

KELLY M. DEMMI, Former Wife, Appellant, v. MARK S. DEMMI, Former Husband, Appellee. 1st District.

Dissolution of marriage -- Equitable distribution -- Marital/non-marital assets -- Prenuptial agreement -- Error to include as marital asset in equitable distribution scheme the portion of value of former husband's premarital home attributable to appreciation and contribution of marital funds to pay down home equity line of credit and mortgage where prenuptial agreement provided that husband would be entitled to any and all equity in premarital home and that wife would not be entitled to any interest in home unless granted such interest in a formal written instrument -- Child custody -- Parenting plan -- Error to fail to incorporate into amended final judgment the amended parenting plan that trial court ordered on rehearing from original final judgment -- Interrelated issue of attorney's fees may be revisited on remand

ANTHONY FELICE, Appellant, v. MELISSA FELICE, Appellee. 2nd District.

Dissolution of marriage -- Modification of parenting plan -- Service of process -- Error to deny motion to quash service of process and to set aside order granting former wife's motion to modify timesharing and child support on the basis that former husband's counsel's general appearance constituted a waiver of service -- Attorney's filing of general notice of appearance in order to conduct a review of trial court files in case did not constitute a waiver of service of process -- An after-the-fact general appearance does not waive a defect in the service of process related to a supplemental modification petition

MANUEL E. SALINAS, Appellant, vs. KRISTIN N. PASCARIELLO, Appellee. 3rd District.

Employer-employee relations -- Civil rights -- Claims alleging wrongful retaliatory termination of employment under Florida Whistleblower Act and Florida Civil Rights Act -- Trial court properly entered summary judgment for defendant upon determining that plaintiff cannot establish that the grounds for his termination were causally linked to protected activity, and that employer evidenced a pretextual reason for his termination

ELADIO GONZALEZ, Appellant, vs. NORTHWINGS ACCESSORIES CORP., etc., Appellee. 3rd District.

Injunctions -- Dating violence -- Error to enter injunction against dating violence where there was insufficient evidence of reasonable cause to believe that petitioner was in imminent danger of another act of dating violence

VICTOR NUILA, Appellant, v. CRYSTAL STOLP, Appellee. 5th District.

Insurance -- Personal injury protection -- Coverage -- Medical expenses -- Statutory fee schedules -- Clear and unambiguous notice to insured of insurer's intent to determine reasonableness by reference to Medicare fee schedules -- Language of policy endorsement stating that amounts payable “shall be subject to any and all limitations, authorized by section 627.736, or any other provisions of the Florida Motor Vehicle No-Fault Law, as enacted, amended or otherwise contained in the law, including but not limited to, all fee schedules” gave insureds and their respective medical care providers legally sufficient notice of insured's election to use Medicare fee schedules

ALLSTATE INDEMNITY COMPANY, Appellant, v. MARKLEY CHIROPRACTIC & ACUPUNCTURE, LLC, as assignee of Ilene Chavez, Appellee. 2nd District.

Insurance -- Sinkhole claims -- Multi-building condominium property -- Insured prevailing in action against insurer -- Costs -- Trial court abused its discretion in including reimbursement for public adjuster and property management fees in taxable costs, as property management fees and public adjuster fees were not litigation costs -- Trial court erred in awarding as taxable cost various expenses and fees incurred in appraisal process where policy required insured to pay its own appraiser and bear equal share of umpire and other appraisal expenses -- Attorney's fees -- Multiplier -- Error to apply contingency risk multiplier where fee agreement guaranteed payment at a lesser hourly rate, which mitigated the risk of nonpayment, and evidence showed that attorney had been paid under the contract -- Trial court erred by limiting recovery of attorney's fees and prejudgment interest to only one building where suit encompassed other buildings in condominium complex

CITIZENS PROPERTY INSURANCE CORP., Appellant/Cross-Appellee, v. RIVER OAKS CONDOMINIUM II ASSOCIATION, INC., a/k/a RIVER OAKS II CONDO ASSOCIATION, INC., Appellee/Cross-Appellant. 2nd District.

Torts -- Indemnity -- Indemnity provision in agreement between automobile distributor and carrier of automobiles, which included the words “in whole or in part,” did not contain clear and unequivocal terms providing that carrier would indemnify distributor for distributor's own acts of negligence where parties were held jointly liable for the underlying personal injury -- Trial court erred in granting summary judgment finding that language in agreement was sufficiently unequivocal to require carrier to indemnify distributor for distributor's own negligence

ATC LOGISTICS CORPORATION, A/K/A ATC LOGISTICS, INC., Appellant, v. SOUTHEAST TOYOTA DISTRIBUTORS, LLC, et al. Appellees. 1st District.

Wrongful death -- Medical malpractice -- Limitation of actions -- No error in dismissing complaint as time-barred where plaintiff alleged in her presuit notice of intent to initiate litigation that the family and estate of decedent discovered defendants' negligence on the date of decedent's death, a date which was more than two years prior to date complaint was filed -- Plaintiff was bound by statement in notice of intent -- No merit to plaintiff's contention that complaint was timely filed because she not only served her first notice of intent one day prior to expiration of limitations period, but also petitioned for extensions of the limitations period -- Ninety-day period during which statute of limitations is tolled following service of notice of intent commences on date notice is received, rather than date notice is mailed -- Because none of defendants received notice of intent until after statute of limitations expired, plaintiff could not revive it by filing petition for extension of limitations period

GINA MARIE BOVE, as Personal Representative of the Estate of Anthony Bove, deceased, Appellant, v. NAPLES HMA, LLC, d/b/a PHYSICIANS REGIONAL MEDICAL CENTER-PINE RI

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Product liability, class actions, equitable distribution, and lemon-garlic chicken sauteed in truffle oil with cumin seeds

Class actions -- Torts -- Negligence -- Certification of class -- Denial -- Trial court did not err in denying amended motion for class certification in action against road construction contractor brought by business owners who allegedly sustained lost profits in their respective businesses when contractor's employee allegedly damaged natural gas line, resulting in interruption of gas service to sizable region -- To establish numerosity and typicality for purposes of class action, plaintiffs needed to show that sufficient and clearly ascertainable number of proposed class members had suffered some compensable damage from alleged negligence -- Trial court did not err in determining that proposed class was overbroad and failed in this regard

LUCARELLI PIZZA & DELI and T.A.S. SUNSHINE ENTERPRISES LLC, Appellants, v. POSEN CONSTRUCTION, INC., Appellee. 2nd District.

Contracts -- Employment -- Non-compete and non-solicitation agreements -- Injunction -- Trial court properly entered temporary injunction to enforce non-compete and non-solicitation provisions of employment agreement with provider of home health care services -- Referral sources for home health care services are a legitimate business interest entitled to protection under section 542.335, Florida Statutes (2012) -- Conflict certified

INFINITY HOME CARE, L.L.C., and SYLVIE FORJET, Appellants, v. AMEDISYS HOLDING, LLC, Appellee. 4th District.

Dissolution of marriage -- Child custody -- Timesharing -- Modification -- Concerns related to distance between former wife's residence and child's school not basis for modification where location of parties' respective residences was known at time of final judgment when trial court selected former husband's residence as child's legal address and address to be used for school designation purposes -- Because substantial competent evidence of substantial change in circumstances was not presented, trial court abused its discretion by granting former wife's modification petition

JEROD B. BLEVINS, Appellant, v. JENNIFER BLEVINS, Appellee. 5th District.

Dissolution of marriage -- Equitable distribution -- Non-marital assets -- Real property -- Trial court erred in awarding wife any interest in marital home which husband had acquired prior to the marriage -- Evidence contradicted trial court's finding that wife had invested $40,000 in the home, and although mortgage payments had been made with pooled resources, the value of the home had decreased during the marriage -- Trial court erred in unequally distributing Georgia properties without making requisite findings or explanations -- Remand for further proceedings to equitably distribute marital assets

WILLIAM E. WEAVER, Appellant, v. LORI LYNN WEAVER, Appellee. 4th District.

Insurance -- Homeowners -- Declaratory judgment -- Duty to defend and indemnify -- Exclusions -- Damages arising out of sexual molestation, corporal punishment or physical or mental abuse -- Intentional shooting -- Plain meaning of words “physical abuse” includes an instance such as one at issue in which insured lent gun to his sister who then used gun to shoot plaintiff, her son-in-law, outside of her home -- Trial court properly entered summary judgment in favor of insurer based on determination that insurer had no duty to indemnify or defend its insured in a separate personal injury action arising from the shooting

SALVATORE MIGLINO, Appellant, v. UNIVERSAL PROPERTY & CASUALTY INSURANCE COMPANY and HARVEY IRA STEIN, Appellees. 4th District.

Insurance -- Personal injury protection -- Medical expenses -- Coverage -- Statutory fee schedules -- Clear and unambiguous election by insurer -- Policy language providing that any amounts payable “shall be subject to any and all limitations authorized by section 627.736 . . . or any other provisions of the Florida Motor Vehicle No-Fault Law, including, but not limited to, all fee schedules” did not make it clear whether insurer was actually and in fact electing to limit its reimbursements to providers under Medicare fee schedules or was simply announcing that it was reserving its right to elect to do so -- Language is ambiguous and must be construed in favor of providers -- Conflict certified

ORTHOPEDIC SPECIALISTS, as Assignee of KELLI SERRIDGE, Appellant, v. ALLSTATE INSURANCE COMPANY, Appellee. 4th District.

Paternity -- Timesharing -- Default -- Trial court erred in entering default judgment in favor of father on his counter-petition requesting to establish paternity and timesharing where record did not reflect that mother received service of counter-petition, motion for default, order granting default, or notice of final hearing

GRANADA FELIPE, Appellant, v. RANDOLHF RINCON, Appellee. 5th District.

Torts -- Fraud -- Civil theft -- Limitation of actions -- Reconsideration by successor judge of order of recused judge dismissing complaint on basis of statute of limitations and statute of repose -- Successor judge properly denied motion for reconsideration of predecessor judge's order dismissing complaint where plaintiff failed to indicate how grounds alleged for recusal impacted the recused judge's rulings and failed to demonstrate any prejudice he suffered from initial judge's entry of order of dismissal

STEVE OGNENOVIC, Appellant, v. DAVID J. GIANNONE, INC., DAVID J. GIANNONE, and RICHARD ANDERSON, Appellees. 4th District.

Torts -- Nursing homes -- Violation of resident's rights -- Arbitration -- Trial court erred in denying defendant nursing home's motion to compel arbitration pursuant to arbitration agreement signed by resident's sister as attorney-in-fact for resident under durable power of attorney on basis that power of attorney limited sister to act as attorney-in-fact for resident to claims involving only liquidated damages -- Language of power of attorney, which granted sister ability to sue for “liquidated or liquidated” damages on behalf of resident, was ambiguous -- Remand for trial court to conduct further proceedings to determine intent of sisters in creating power of attorney

SANTA ROSA INVESTORS, INC. d/b/a SANTA ROSA HEALTH AND REHABILITATION CENTER; SUMMIT CARE II, INC.; GUY FARMER, and JOE D. MITCHELL, Appellants, v. BETTY WILSON AND VIOLET JOYCE CARTER, AS POWER OF ATTORNEY FOR BETTY WILSON, Appellees. 1st District.

Wrongful death -- Medical malpractice -- Trial court did not err in entering summary judgment for defendant University of Miami on claim that University was vicariously liable for negligence of physicians where there had been no pleading that University was vicariously liable for negligence of those physicians -- On motion for summary judgment, trial court considers only issues raised in pleadings

LISA WILSON and KEISHA SALMON, etc., Appellants, vs. RICHARD STONE, M.D., et al., Appellees. 3rd District.

Wrongful death -- Product liability -- Tobacco

DIANA PAPPAS, as Personal Representative of the Estate of MINA PAPPAS, Deceased, Appellant/Cross-Appellee, v. R.J. REYNOLDS TOBACCO COMPANY a foreign corporation, LIGGETT GROUP, LLC, a foreign corporation, f/k/a LIGGETT GROUP, INC., f/k/a LIGGETT & MYERS TOBACCO COMPANY and VECTOR GROUP LTD, INC., f/k/a BROOKE GROUP, LTD, a foreign corporation, Appellees/Cross-Appellants. 4th District


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arbitration, wrongful death, trademark infringement, and corned beef, red cabbage, and purple potatoes with fresh mustard seed and thyme

Leslie, et al. v. Hancock County Board of Education, et al.

Docket: 12-13628

Opinion Date: July 12, 2013

Judge: Pryor

Areas of Law: Civil Rights, Constitutional Law, Labor & Employment Law

Plaintiffs, the superintendent of education and her assistant superintendent, filed suit claiming that the board and its members in both their official and individual capacities terminated the superintendent and demoted the assistant superintendent in retaliation for public comments plaintiffs made about local tax policy. The court concluded that it had jurisdiction over the appeal of the denial of qualified immunity, but lacked jurisdiction over the appeal of the board and its officials. Accordingly, the court dismissed the appeal of the board and its officials for lack of jurisdiction and reversed the denial of qualified immunity for the individual members of the board.

http://j.st/rXN

Southern Communications Serv. v. Thomas

Docket: 11-15587

Opinion Date: July 12, 2013

Judge: Tjoflat

Areas of Law: Arbitration & Mediation, Class Action, Consumer Law

This case involved arbitration proceedings stemming from plaintiff's class action suit alleging, among other things, that SouthernLINC's termination fees were unlawful penalties under Georgia law. SouthernLINC, a wireless provider, appealed the district court's denial of its motion to vacate two arbitration awards. Under the standard set forth by the Supreme Court in Oxford Health Plans LLC v. Sutter, the court concluded that the arbitrator did not exceed his powers under section 10(a)(4) of the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA), 9 U.S.C. 1 et seq., either in construing the arbitration clause as he did or in certifying a class. Accordingly, the court affirmed the judgment of the district court.

http://j.st/rXf

U.S. Steel Mining Co., LLC v. Director, OWCP, et al.

Court: U.S. 11th Circuit Court of Appeals

Docket: 11-14468

Opinion Date: June 27, 2013

Judge: Cox

Areas of Law: Constitutional Law, Health Law, Labor & Employment Law

U.S. Steel appealed the award of benefits to plaintiff, the widow of a deceased miner, under the black lung benefits program. The Benefits Review Board affirmed the award, concluding that plaintiff did not need to show the cause of her husband's death. The court concluded that 30 U.S.C. 932(l), as amended by section 1556(b) of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, Pub. L. No. 111-148, 1556(b), 124 Stat. 119, 260, eliminated the need for survivors who could meet its requirements to prove that their associated miners died due to black lung disease; it applied retroactively to survivors' claims filed in the specified period; and this retroactive application did not violate the Due Process Clause of the Fifth Amendment. Accordingly, the court denied U.S. Steel's petition to review the Board's ruling.

http://j.st/KRM

Bankruptcy -- Adversary proceedings -- Investment fund that had control over original lenders of loan to defendant company to obtain a lottery and gaming license in Jamaica and entity that entered into forward share sale agreement for future right to purchase up to 17% of shares in defendant company filed multi-count complaint against 31 defendants, including debtor and five relief defendants, seeking determination that debts and claims against debtor were nondischargeable and seeking recovery from a variety of defendants based primarily on Federal and Florida racketeering laws -- Jurisdiction -- Related-to -- Severed counts asserting claims against defendants other than debtor should be dismissed for lack of subject matter jurisdiction -- It is not possible to determine either aspect of related-to jurisdiction in absence of an amended complaint, at which time reviewing court will be able to determine what causes of action survive and whether such actions are sufficient to trigger related-to jurisdiction, either by impact or common nucleus of facts -- Motions to dismiss for lack of personal jurisdiction are granted -- Plaintiffs failed to adequately allege personal jurisdiction over foreign defendants on basis that they are each co-conspirators and part of one or more of alleged criminal enterprises described in complaint where complaint fails in its description and allegations of their conspiracy or enterprise -- Standing -- Investment fund lacks standing to bring any action arising under Federal RICO and Florida RICO or the conspiracy claims associated with those actions because, even though RICO claims can be assigned, the assignment of such claims must be specific and complaint does not include any allegations that claims were assigned to investment fund -- Res judicata -- Claims relating to plaintiff's assertion of ownership right to, or interest in, stock and dividends derived therefrom are barred by res judicata with respect to certain defendants and barred by collateral estoppel with respect to other parties to complaint -- Jamaican judgment must be given full comity and recognition where plaintiffs have not argued that Jamaican court was incompetent or that its proceedings were not civilized or that Jamaican judgment violates American public policy notions of what is decent and just, and where allegations of fraud on Jamaican court were not brought before Jamaican courts and plaintiff has not complained that it could not bring this issue before such court -- Extraterritoriality -- Severed counts should be dismissed because there is no basis upon which any of counts, as described, would trigger application of any of Federal or Florida RICO laws or support any Florida state-law claims, where complaint does not allege a significant relationship between Florida or United States and any of the harm allegedly suffered by either plaintiff -- Plaintiffs cannot rely only on money, faxes, and copies of loan documents passing through Florida to overcome problems of extraterritoriality -- Relief defendants -- Claims against relief defendants should be dismissed with prejudice, because no court has recognized that a private party litigant has the right to include relief defendants in a lawsuit and, even if there was such a recognized concept, any cognizable claim against a relief defendant arises only from the claim that such defendant is holding something over which the relief defendant has no legitimate claim -- Claims asserted against relief defendants all relate to stock to which Jamaican court has already ruled plaintiff has no right -- Counts seeking imposition of constructive trusts on all of assets of relief defendants describe actual claims against relief defendants, but complaint fails to state a cause of action for assertion of constructive trust against general assets of relief defendants -- Pleading requirements -- Shotgun pleading -- Complaint fails to comply with requirements of Rule 8, where complaint's use of similar defined terms, and its conflation of facts, defendants, and claims in its various factual recitals, makes it virtually impossible to figure out who is alleged to have done what to whom, when and where -- Racketeering -- Pleading requirements -- Federal and Florida RICO claims and RICO conspiracy claims, which are based on mail and wire fraud, fail to comply with pleading requirements of Rules 8, 9 and 12 -- State law tort claims -- Claims for conversion, civil theft, common law conspiracy, common law fraud, and fraud in the inducement are dismissed with prejudiced, or dismissed with opportunity to amend -- Dischargeable debts -- Claims seeking determination that debts owed by debtor are non-dischargeable based on 11 U.S.C. §523(a)(2) as debt arising from false representation or fraud by debtor, §523(a)(4) as debt arising from embezzlement or larceny, and §523(a)(6) as debt arising from willful and malicious injury by debtor are dismissed, some with leave to amend and others with prejudice

In re: PAUL G. MOUTTET, Debtor. U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Southern District of Florida.

Bankruptcy -- Claims -- Administrative expenses -- Priority -- Conversion of bankruptcy case from chapter 11 case to chapter 7 case does not impact the priority of a chapter 11 super-priority claim granted under Section 364(c)(1) of Bankruptcy Code, whether or not that claim is viewed as administrative claim

In re: NATIONAL LITHO, LLC, Debtors. U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Southern District of Florida, Miami Division.

Civil rights -- Attorney's fees -- Prevailing party -- District court abused discretion by awarding prevailing party attorney's fees under 42 U.S.C. section 1988 to plaintiff who was awarded $1.00 in nominal damages for violation of her Fourth Amendment right to be free from illegal seizure, given the de minimis nature of plaintiff's victory -- Plaintiff's victory is not substantial enough to justify award of attorney's fees, given degree of success obtained, significance of legal issue on which plaintiff prevailed, and public purposes served -- For purposes of measuring degree of success obtained, substantial difference between $25,000 judgment sought and nominal award received suggests that plaintiff's victory is in fact purely technical -- Plaintiff's victory carries very little legal significance, if any at all, given that plaintiff's litigation did not “change the law”, will not aid qualified immunity ligation in future cases, and did not alter landscape of civil rights law in public schools -- Plaintiff's litigation did not serve public purpose where examination of relief sought and obtained makes clear that litigation was commenced to redress private injury -- District court applied improper legal standard in making the determination to award attorney's fees when it misstated potential deterrent effect of plaintiff's litigation, by actually using attorney's fees as the deterrent to future civil rights violations

LAQUARIUS GRAY, a minor, by and through her mother and next friend, Toniko L. Alexander, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. ANTONIO BOSTIC, Defendant-Appellant. 11th Circuit.

Contracts -- Licensing agreement -- Appeals -- Jurisdiction -- Eleventh Circuit has jurisdiction over appeal of breach of contract claim that would also require resolution of a claim of patent infringement for the complainant to succeed where the patent infringement issue is heavily fact-bound and is not a “substantial question” of federal law -- Licensing agreement in instant case unambiguously granted plaintiff/licensee the exclusive right to use defendant's patents for blood irradiation system, preserved rights of defendant to exploit patents for products other than the system at issue, and prohibited defendant from infringing patented technology to create a directly competing medical device -- Language prohibiting defendant, during term of the agreement, from developing, manufacturing, distributing, promoting, marketing, selling, or leasing competing medical device embodying, in whole or in part, the patents at issue is not unenforceable restrictive covenant under Florida law -- District court did not clearly err in finding that subsequent medical device developed by defendant did not infringe patent, in whole or in part -- Failure to maintain patent -- District court did not err in finding that, although defendant breached agreement by failing to pay maintenance fees on one of the patents at issue, it was not a material breach because plaintiffs did not show that they suffered any harm -- District court did not clearly err in finding that defendant's refusal to consent to assignment of agreement to licensee's successor was not unreasonable -- Damages -- Although district court held that plaintiff committed first material breach of license agreement by assigning its interests without obtaining required consent of defendant, and assuming this ruling is correct under Florida law, it did not err in concluding that defendant was not entitled to any damages on its counterclaim because defendant/counterclaimant, with knowledge of breach, unreasonably delayed sending default notice and notice of termination until over a year after plaintiffs filed suit; or in finding that, although defendant had breached provision of license agreement which prevented it from competing with plaintiff for seven years, that breach was excused because of plaintiff's previous, first material breach -- Whether plaintiff's sublicense agreement with another entity was tantamount to an unconsented-to assignment under Florida law is unclear -- Question certified to Supreme Court of Florida: When a licensee enters into a contract to transfer all of its interests in a license agreement for an entire term of a license agreement, save one day, but remains liable to the licensor under the license agreement, is the contract an assignment of the license agreement, or is the contract a sublicense?

MDS (CANADA) INC., a Canadian corporation, BEST THERATRONICS, LTD., a Canadian corporation, BEST MEDICAL INTERNATIONAL, INC., a.k.a. Beast Medical International, Inc., Plaintiffs - Counter Defendants - Appellants, v. RAD SOURCE TECHNOLOGIES, INC., a Florida corporation, Defendant - Counter Claimant - Appellee. 11th Circuit.

Trademarks -- Infringement -- Appeals -- Jurisdiction -- Where district court ruled in favor of defendant on charge of trademark infringement but ruled against defendant on its affirmative defense that trademark was not enforceable, defendant is entitled to vacatur of portion of order adverse to him -- Supreme Court precedent clearly prescribes vacatur of district court's jurisdiction on question of validity, as the legal consequences of an appeal by an otherwise successful defendant in an infringement suit on merits of that question

UNIQUE SPORTS PRODUCTS, INC., Plaintiff - Appellee, v. FERRARI IMPORTING COMPANY, d.b.a. Gamma Sports, Defendant - Appellant. 11th Circuit.

Wrongful death -- State sovereign immunity -- Appeal from denial of state sovereign immunity to corrections personnel working at county jail as to state-based wrongful death claims from commission of suicide by inmate while in custody at jail -- Questions certified to Alabama Supreme Court: Whether the immunity granted to sheriffs' jailers pursuant to Alabama Code Section 14-6-1 applies where the conduct at issue occurred before Section 14-6-1's effective date, but the complaint was filed after the statute took effect? Whether Alabama Code Section 14-6-1's requirement that jailers act “in compliance with the law ” in order to receive immunity is intended to encompass only violations of the criminal code or all violations of Alabama law?

SHERRIE JOHNSON, as administratrix of the Estate of Alquwon Johnson deceased, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. RYAN CONNER, SONYA MAYO, GEORGE PARHAM, Captain, Defendants-Appellants, BARBOUR COUNTY, et al., Defendants. 11th Circuit.

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