Mortgages, child support, excessive force, and organic fennel, rosemary cream, and Kalamata olives on a bed of handmade posta

Appeals -- Sanctions -- Failure to timely file initial brief -- Failure to obey court orders -- Appellate counsel referred to Local Professionalism Panel

NOCARI INVESTMENT, LLC, et al., Appellants, v. WELLS FARGO BANK, N.A., et al., Appellees. 3rd District.

  Bankruptcy -- Claims -- Objections -- Rule 3001(c) objections, asserting that proofs of claim did not attach a copy of writing upon which claims are based, lack merit -- Creditor was not required to prove that its claims are based on an open-end or revolving consumer credit agreement -- Objections to claims, which were scheduled as undisputed in amounts identical to amounts asserted by creditor in its proofs of claim, are not good faith objections -- Objections to claims on grounds that account summary statement attached to each proof of claim includes a notation that debt was “charged off” are legally insufficient -- Mere fact that proof of claim includes reference to a charge-off date is not, standing alone, a legal basis for a claim objection -- Even if court followed decisions disallowing claims where debtor received a Form 1099-C reflecting the cancellation of debt, validity of proofs of claim remain unrebutted and claims will be allowed where debtors did not present evidence that they received a Form 1099-C for any of debts subject of charge-off objections In re: AMAURYS RODRIGUEZ and ANAEN NUNEZ, Debtors. U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Southern District of Florida.   Williams v. Poarch Band of Creek Indians Court: U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit Docket: 15-13552 Opinion Date: October 18, 2016 Areas of Law: Constitutional Law, Native American Law Plaintiff filed suit against the Poarch Band of Creek Indians, alleging that she was terminated from her job because of her age pursuant to the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (ADEA), 29 U.S.C. 621-634. The district court adopted the Magistrate’s Report and Recommendation to grant the Poarch Band's motion to dismiss the suit based on the doctrine of tribal sovereign immunity. In this case, there is no evidence that the Poarch Band waived its immunity, either generally or in the present suit. The court rejected plaintiff's comparison of the definitions of the term "employer" found in the ADEA and Title VII, in conjunction with the Supreme Court's opinion in Fitzpatrick v. Bitzer; plaintiff's argument that the ADEA is a statute of general applicability is foreclosed by the court's precedent; and other circuits that have considered the issue raised by this appeal also have determined that federal courts lack subject-matter jurisdiction over an ADEA claim asserted against a federally-recognized Indian tribe. Accordingly, the court affirmed the district court's decision to grant the Poarch Band’s motion to dismiss for lack of subject-matter jurisdiction. http://j.st/46tR    Bankruptcy -- Discharge -- Fraudulent transfer -- Discharge should be denied pursuant to Section 727(a)(2)(A) because debtor transferred property within one year before his bankruptcy petition with intent to hinder, delay, or defraud his creditors -- Debtor transferred property where debtor liquidated his pension fund, deposited the net proceeds of fund in his individual checking account, and within the two months between the deposit and filing of his bankruptcy petition made a number of transactions which had the effect of significantly diminishing his bank account -- Debtor cannot claim that proceeds of liquidated pension account were exempt from his Chapter 7 estate where he voluntarily withdrew funds from his pension plan, funds were never placed in designated individual retirement account or any other investment vehicle, Section 222. 21(c), Florida Statutes, did not provide an exemption for funds after they were paid to debtor and deposited into his checking account, and debtor did not claim an exemption for his checking account under that statute -- False oath or account -- Discharge should be denied pursuant to Section 727(a)(4) where debtors knowingly made a false oath on the bankruptcy schedules -- Where Statement of Financial Affairs signed by debtors did not disclose liquidation of pension fund; income received as a result of fund's liquidation; or gifts that debtor wife made from proceeds of fund, even though she was aware that the transactions had occurred within two months before bankruptcy petition was filed, debtors' nondisclosures constitute false oaths -- Debtors were obligated to disclose assets and transactions, despite their claim that pension proceeds were exempt -- Circumstantial evidence shows that debtors intended to hinder, delay, or defraud their creditors by disposing of proceeds of pension fund and misrepresenting the transactions on their bankruptcy schedules -- Based on circumstances, court could conclude that debtor husband had prior knowledge of bankruptcy process, that debtors were aware of claims of mortgage creditors who had foreclosed on their home, that husband liquidated his pension fund in effort to remove it from reach of creditors, and that debtors thereafter attempted to spend pension proceeds or otherwise conceal them from bankruptcy estate -- Failure to satisfactorily explain loss of assets or deficiency -- Discharge should be denied pursuant to Section 727(a)(5) because debtor experienced a loss of assets and failed to provide a satisfactory explanation for the loss -- Debtor's bank accounts were significantly diminished in weeks before bankruptcy petition was filed, and he was unable to provide even vague or speculative explanations of many transactions that took place on eve of his bankruptcy In re: JEFFREY LEONARD JONES, DARNELLA COLE JONES, Debtors. U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Middle District of Florida, Jacksonville Division.

Child custody -- Jurisdiction -- Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction Enforcement Act -- Florida is home state of child who was born in Florida and lived in Florida until mother relocated to New York when child was less than two weeks old -- Trial court erred in dismissing putative father's petition for determination of paternity, parental responsibility, child support, and related relief on basis that court lacked jurisdiction under UCCJEA because Florida was not child's home state -- Fact that child was born out of wedlock has no bearing on child's home state

JAMES BAKER, Appellant, v. CARA CATHERINE TUNNEY, Appellee. 5th District.

Child support -- Income -- Deductions -- Administrative support order erroneously allowed deductions for expenses against gross income that were not permitted by statute -- Remand for recalculation of parents' respective net incomes for purposes of child support guidelines

DEPARTMENT OF REVENUE on behalf of HOLLY N. HARRIS, Appellant, v. THADIUS DEMENTRIEL CRAWFORD, Appellee. 1st District.

Civil procedure -- Proposal of settlement -- Attorney's fees -- An offer of settlement is not invalid for failing to state, as required under Rule of Civil Procedure 1.442(c)(2)(F), whether the proposal includes attorney's fees and whether attorney's fees are part of the legal claim, where attorney's fees are not sought in the pleadings

SUSANNE L. KUHAJDA, Petitioner, vs. BORDEN DAIRY COMPANY OF ALABAMA, LLC., et al., Respondents. Supreme Court of Florida.

Civil rights -- Search and seizure -- Arrests -- Excessive force -- Officer's multiple tasings of suspect, after an arrest had been fully secured and any potential danger or risk of flight eliminated, violated suspect's clearly established constitutional right to be free from excessive force -- Where law enforcement officers handcuffed and pinned down the suspect following a struggle and then tased him five times with at least two of those tases occurring after suspect had ceased resisting, a reasonable officer in arresting officer's position and under circumstances would have had fair warning that repeatedly tasing handcuffed suspect after he had ceased struggling and resisting was unreasonable and unconstitutionally excessive under Fourth Amendment -- Evidence construed in favor of plaintiff demonstrates that suspect was not flight risk or a threat to safety of officers or public prior to conclusion of tasings -- Officer was not entitled to qualified immunity on excessive force claim at summary judgment stage of proceedings

PATRICIA JUANITA WATE, individually and as personal representative of the Estate of James Clifton Barnes, Deceased, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. KENNETH KUBLER, Defendant-Appellant. 11th Circuit.

Consumer law -- Mortgage foreclosure -- Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act -- Loss mitigation -- Loan servicer had no duty to evaluate an application for loss mitigation options submitted by borrowers when, at time application was submitted, a foreclosure sale of borrowers' property was scheduled to occur in two days -- Under Regulation X, which implements RESPA, a loan servicer's duty to evaluate a borrower's loss mitigation application is triggered only when borrower submits the application more than 37 days before the foreclosure sale -- Borrowers' application was untimely, even where servicer postponed the foreclosure sale such that sale actually transpired more than 37 days after they submitted their complete loss mitigation application -- To evaluate the timeliness of an application, Regulation X requires counting the number of days between date a complete loss mitigation application is received and date of foreclosure sale, and directs using scheduled date of foreclosure sale as of date complete application was received to determine date of foreclosure sale -- It is irrelevant if servicer subsequently reschedules foreclosure sale to a later date -- Because borrowers completed their application too late to trigger servicer's duty to evaluate the application, summary judgment was properly granted to servicer on loss mitigation claim -- Notice of error -- Borrowers were not entitled to summary judgment on separate claim that loan servicer failed to respond adequately to their subsequent notice of error as required by Regulation X, because borrowers failed to present evidence that they suffered actual damages or were entitled to statutory damages based on pattern or practice of RESPA noncompliance -- Use of a template to respond to borrowers' notice of error was insufficient evidence from which to infer that servicer had a pattern or practice of issuing form letters that were unresponsive to borrowers' notices of error

JOHN LAGE, MARIA MANTILLA, Plaintiffs-Appellants, v. OCWEN LOAN SERVICING LLC, Defendant - Appellee. 11th Circuit.

Mortgages -- Satisfaction -- Failure to timely record certificate of discharge -- Jurisdiction -- Plaintiff who used proceeds of real estate sale to satisfy a mortgage owned by defendant lacks standing to sue when he alleges only a failure to record a satisfaction of mortgage within a statutory period and fails to bring suit until after that statutory violation has been remedied -- Because plaintiff has not alleged that the violation of New York law that occurred when defendant failed to timely record the discharge of mortgage caused or could cause him harm that could constitute a concrete injury in fact, appeal from dismissal of complaint must be dismissed for lack of jurisdiction

ROGER NICKLAW, on behalf of himself and all others similarly situated, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. CITIMORTGAGE, INC., Defendant-Appellee. 11th Circuit.

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Attorney fees, child custody, and grass fed corned beef, purple cabbage, and fresh thyme over a bed of sweet potatoes and rosemary

Attorney's fees -- Appellate -- Prevailing party -- Relief from judgment -- Error to deny rule 1.540(b)(5) motion for relief from judgment for prevailing party appellate attorney's fees where the judgment was predicated on district court's affirmance of the trial court's merits judgment, but the district court's opinion was subsequently quashed by the Florida Supreme Court -- Failure to seek review of initial appellate fee judgment or to move to stay district court's mandate pending review by supreme court did not preclude party from seeking relief from trial court's fee judgment via rule 1.540(b)(5) -- Once district court vacated its award of prevailing party attorney's fees upon remand from supreme court's decision, there was no legal basis for trial court to deny second motion to vacate since opposing party was no longer the prevailing party

TRAVELERS COMMERCIAL INSURANCE COMPANY, AN AFFILIATE OF TRAVELERS INSURANCE CO., AND TRAVELERS CASUALTY AND SURETY COMPANY, Appellants, v. CRYSTAL MARIE HARRINGTON, Appellee. 1st District.

Attorney's fees -- Award of fees pursuant to section 57.105 following dismissal of complaint with prejudice must be reversed in light of appellate court's reversal of the order of dismissal

THE LAKE HAMILTON LAKESHORE OWNERS ASSOCIATION, INC., a Florida not-for-profit corporation, on behalf of its Members, Appellant, v. WAYNE L. NEIDLINGER, d/b/a Captain Fred's Airboat Nature Tours; and LAKE HAMILTON COMMERCE & STORAGE CENTER, INC., a Florida corporation, Appellees. 2nd District.

Child custody -- Parenting plan -- Modification -- As constituted, parenting plan set out in final judgment of modification failed to comply with statutory requirements and, accordingly, is legally insufficient -- Remand for trial court to enter more complete plan that complies with statute

PATRICIA MAGDZIAK, Appellant, v. JAMIE SULLIVAN, Appellee. 5th District.

Dissolution of marriage -- Trial court erred in denying husband's motion for reconsideration of order determining temporary needs and child custody issues where order was entered after an evidentiary hearing at which husband's counsel was not present due to a calendaring error

STEVEN WORTMAN, Appellant, v. CHRISTY WORTMAN, Appellee. 1st District.

Employer-employee relations -- Whistleblowers -- Complaint sufficiently alleged causal connection between employee's objection to or refusal to participate in employer's illegal activity, policy, or practice and adverse employment action -- Civil rights -- Age discrimination -- Allegations that defendant was over 40 years of age, that he was employer's oldest engineer at time of termination, that new hires were generally 10-20 years younger, that he was qualified to do job for which he was rejected, and that boss had told him several months before his termination that he didn't “want any of those slow old guys around here any more” were sufficient to withstand motion to dismiss

VAUGHN USHER, Appellant, v. NIPRO DIABETES SYSTEMS, INC., and NIPRO MEDICAL CORPORATION, Appellees. 4th District.

Jurisdiction -- Service of process -- Defects -- Non-final order determining that motion to quash service was moot affirmed -- Before trial court rules on pending motion to quash re-service of process, it must determine validity of original service of process

JOSEPH MICELI and MARIA MICELI, Appellants, v. BANK OF NEW YORK MELLON TRUST COMPANY, N.A., Appellee. 4th District.

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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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Contracts, imputed income, and grilled shrimp on avocado with basil pesto dollops

Contracts -- Statute of frauds -- Oral agreement not to be performed within one year of the making of the agreement -- Terminable-at-will oral agreement to purchase lottery tickets and to equally share in the proceeds of any winning lottery ticket is outside statute of frauds, and is enforceable, because agreement could have been performed within one year

HOWARD BROWNING, Petitioner, v. LYNN ANNE POIRIER, Respondent. Supreme Court of Florida.

Deceptive and unfair trade practices -- Sovereign immunity -- Florida State Lottery -- Action against Florida Lottery based on its refusal to pay $500,000 prize where ticket, which initially appeared to be a winning ticket, was on closer inspection a “misprint” which was not a winner and was not able to be validated through the Lottery's system -- No merit to any of plaintiff's several claims -- Although sovereign immunity has been waived for breach of contract claims against the state and its agencies, it has not been waived for the unfair and deceptive trade practices and misleading advertising claims asserted by plaintiff -- Even if the claim were not barred by sovereign immunity, claim lacks merit because summary judgment evidence establishes the ticket was not a winner -- Contracts -- Trial court properly held Lottery did not breach contract embodied in lottery ticket where relevant statute provides that no prize may be paid arising from tickets that are produced or issued in error -- Promissory estoppel -- Trial court properly concluded promissory estoppel claim was a recasting of breach of contract claim

ANNA MARIA CURCIO, Appellant, v. STATE OF FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF THE LOTTERY D/B/A FLORIDA LOTTERY, Appellee. 1st District.

Dissolution of marriage -- Alimony -- Modification -- Imputed income -- Trial court erred in failing to impute to former wife income for earnings that could reasonably be projected based on her liquid assets while imputing the same type of income to former husband -- Remand for recalculation of alimony

ALBERT JOSEPH WINNIER, Appellant, v. CAROL ANN WINNIER, Appellee. 2nd District.

Dissolution of marriage -- Attorney's fees -- Trial court abused its discretion in awarding attorney's fees to wife where parties were equally able to pay their own fees -- Amounts husband was obligated to pay in alimony and child support should have been deducted when determining husband's ability to pay

RICHARD KEITH HAYWALD, Appellant, v. DENISE MICHELLE FOUGERE, Appellee. 1st District.

Garnishment -- Circuit court acting in its appellate capacity departed from essential requirements of law when it affirmed county court order dismissing judgment creditor's garnishment action against judgment debtor's employer based on bankruptcy discharge of the underlying debt owed to creditor by the judgment debtor -- Discharge of judgment debtor's liability to creditor did not eliminate employer's independent liability under garnishment statute -- Under clear terms of garnishment statute, garnishee was independently liable for amounts that it should have retained for creditor's benefit between date writ of garnishment was served and date debtor filed for bankruptcy protection -- Circuit court's departure from essential requirements of law resulted in miscarriage of justice when circuit court also affirmed county court's sua sponte dismissal of creditor's garnishment action in response to motion for judgment on pleadings -- Dismissal was not only improper response to the denial of a motion for judgment on pleadings, but dismissal was form of relief not requested by either of the parties and, accordingly, violated creditor's due process rights

PAUL DAVID DANIELS, Petitioner, v. SORRISO DENTAL STUDIO, LLC, Respondent. 2nd District.

Real property -- Homeowners associations -- Impairment of contracts -- In granting summary judgment to homeowners' association, enforcing payment by foreclosure sale purchaser of assessments accrued under previous owner, trial court's reliance on statute providing that parcel owners are jointly and severally liable with previous owners for unpaid assessments, rather than on provisions of association's declaration providing that obligation for delinquent assessments shall not pass to successors in title, violated new owner's constitutional right against impairment of contract, where new owner was a third-party beneficiary of the declaration -- No merit to homeowners association's claim that the statute amended the declaration -- Remand for entry of summary judgment in favor of new owner

PUDLIT 2 JOINT VENTURE, LLP, a Florida limited liability partnership, Appellant, v. WESTWOOD GARDENS HOMEOWNERS ASSOCIATION, INC., a Florida corporation not-for-profit, Appellee. 4th District.

Torts -- Conspiracy -- Fraudulent transfers -- Action by shareholder and creditor of corporation alleging that defendants improperly transferred assets to another corporation, which did not pay reasonably equivalent value in exchange for the assets -- Trial court erred in entering summary judgment for corporate defendant on count alleging fraudulent transfer -- Plaintiff was creditor for purposes of fraudulent transfer statute where he classified his contributions to first corporation as loans, not equity -- Accordingly, trial court erred in finding that plaintiff needed to bring derivative action as opposed to a direct action -- Trial court erred in concluding that plaintiff sued wrong entity -- Suit was not premised on agency relationship between corporate defendant and wholly-owned subsidiary which employed the individual who actually transferred the assets at issue -- Trial court erred in finding that record was devoid of evidence that transfer was made with intent to hinder, delay, or defraud plaintiff -- Genuine issues of material fact exist as to existence of two “badges of fraud” -- In light of appellate court's reversal of summary judgment on fraudulent transfer claim, it was error to enter summary judgment on conspiracy count, which was premised on existence of actionable claim for fraudulent transfer

MARK S. YARALLI, individually and as 50% shareholder of Digiplot, Inc., Appellant, v. AMERICAN REPROGRAPHICS COMPANY, LLC, a Florida limited liability company, Appellee. 4th District.

Torts -- Legal malpractice -- Discovery -- Depositions -- Non-party material witness -- Trial court did not depart from essential requirements of law by denying non-party's motion for protective order to prevent continuation of deposition -- As material witness, the fact that certain financial information may be disclosed is not sufficient reason, standing alone, to preclude deposition -- Trial court properly issued order limiting subject matter of pending deposition to those specific issues framed by amended complaint

CARLOS KAUFFMAN, Petitioner, vs. FRANKLIN DURAN, Respondent. 3rd District.

Torts -- Malicious prosecution -- Attorney's fees -- Claim or defense not supported by material facts or applicable law -- Trial court erred in awarding attorney's fees pursuant to section 57.105, Florida Statutes, in favor of defendant, an unlicensed contractor who had filed an invalid lien against plaintiff's property, on the basis that plaintiff's malicious prosecution action against defendant was not supported by material facts or applicable law -- Evidence was sufficient to establish all elements required for a prima facie case of malicious prosecution, including legal malice and damages

COLLEEN J. MacALISTER, Appellant, v. BEVIS CONSTRUCTION, INC., and MICHAEL BEVIS, Appellees. 2nd District.

Torts -- Negligence -- Contractors -- Unlicensed contractor -- To be considered licensed under contract for construction of home for plaintiffs, defendant, as of date of contract, had to have a primary or secondary qualifying agent in accordance with statute concerning scope of work to be performed under the contract -- Trial court erred in entering judgment in favor of plaintiffs based on finding that defendant was acting as unlicensed contractor where defendant met this requirement -- Statute precludes considering events that occur after the contract date by instructing that a contractor be considered unlicensed “only if” the contractor is unlicensed at that specific time -- Licensure question under section 489.128(1) turns on whether the business organization is associated with a person licensed for the type of work to be performed under the contract as of the effective date of the contract, irrespective of whether that person ultimately obtains the permit and supervises the construction under the contract -- Evidence that defendant may have violated law by building home with a contractor other than the one whose name appeared on building permit, by using former agent's license when she was not affiliated with project, and by conducting project with inadequate supervision was irrelevant to narrow issue of whether defendant was licensed on date of contract

TAYLOR MORRISON SERVICES, INC. f/k/a Morrison Homes, Inc., Appellant, v. CAROL ECOS AND SUSAN BESSING, Appellees. 1st District.

Wrongful death -- Sovereign immunity -- State university's Athletic Association, a university direct-support organization, is entitled to limited sovereign immunity because the university has the right to control the association and exercises actual control over association -- Remand for entry of judgment corresponding to jury's award of damages but limiting athletic association's liability for payment to $200,000 pursuant to section 768.28(5), Florida Statutes

ENOCK PLANCHER, etc., Petitioner, vs. UCF ATHLETICS ASSOCIATION, INC., et al., Respondent. Supreme Court of Florida.

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Injunctions, voluntary dismissal, product liability, and spinach-rosemary gnocchi over glazed onions, tomatoes, and garlic

Injunctions -- Domestic violence -- Error to enter final judgment of injunction for protection against domestic violence where petitioner failed to present sufficient evidence that she was victim of domestic violence or was in imminent danger of becoming victim of domestic violence

AMY HAIR, Appellant, v. CAMMY HAIR, Appellee. 4th District.

Injunctions -- Repeat violence -- Amended final injunction against repeat violence was unsupported by competent, substantial evidence of any overt act on respondent's part that indicated an ability to carry out any of her alleged threats against petitioner or that justified belief that violence was imminent

SHERRY CORRIE, Appellant, v. DAVID LEE KEUL, Appellee. 1st District.

Name change -- Error to summarily dismiss facially sufficient amended petition for name change on ground that name change was being sought for fraudulent purpose without holding evidentiary hearing

THE NAME CHANGE OF: JAMES PATRIC WAGES, JR., Appellant, v. STATE OF FLORIDA, Appellee. 4th District.

Real property -- Partition by sale -- Where court had entered judgment providing for a private sale of property based on stipulation of parties, with a deadline for parties to negotiate a private sale, it was error to thereafter impose an earlier deadline by which parties were to submit their highest bids to one another, thereby creating a forced buyout between the parties -- Postjudgment order altered provisions of partition judgment by imposing an expedited bidding scheme that was neither stipulated to by parties nor authorized by statute governing actions for partition

MARY ANN MARKS, Appellant, v. STEFAN V. STEIN, as Personal Representative of the Estate of Janet C. Stein, Deceased, Appellee. 2nd District.

Torts -- Automobile accident -- Limitation of actions -- Amended complaint -- Relation back -- Trial court did not err in denying plaintiff's motion to amend complaint to substitute wife of defendant for defendant, filed after original defendant filed a motion for summary judgment with supporting affidavits establishing that wife was sole owner of vehicle involved in crash and that wife was driving vehicle at time of crash -- Trial court correctly determined that amended complaint was barred by statute of limitations and did not relate back to date of original complaint -- “Identity of interest” exception to general rule that amendment adding new party does not relate back to original complaint does not apply, as suit against one spouse is separate and distinct from suit against the other spouse -- Each spouse has own legal rights and obligations, and Florida law is clear that one spouse is not responsible for the torts of the other

SYLVIA A. RUSS, Appellant, v. CAROLYN WILLIAMS, Appellee. 1st District.

Torts -- Legal malpractice -- Arbitration -- Jurisdiction -- Where plaintiff served notice of voluntary dismissal of one of defendants after that defendant had filed motion to compel arbitration, trial court was without jurisdiction to order that defendant to proceed with arbitration -- Notice of voluntary dismissal terminated trial court's jurisdiction over party

ESTATE OF GENEVIEVE A. WILLIAMS, Appellant, v. KEVIN F. JURSINSKI, P.A.; and JAMES HARWOOD, P.A.; and JAMES HARWOOD, Appellees. 2nd District.

Torts -- Product liability -- Bicycle -- Negligent failure to warn -- Proximate cause -- Injuries suffered when an object got caught in the front wheel of plaintiff's bicycle, causing the wheel to suddenly stop when the object hit the front carbon fiber forks of the bicycle, resulting in plaintiff falling forward onto the handlebars -- Defendant manufacturer's failure to place a warning on the bicycle alerting plaintiff to the potential of carbon fiber to crack and possibly fail when damaged was not the proximate cause of injuries suffered by plaintiff -- Proximate cause was road debris getting caught in front spokes, causing wheel to suddenly stop -- Trial court erred in denying defendant's motion for directed verdict on claim of negligent failure to warn

TREK BICYCLE CORPORATION, etc., Appellant, vs. ANTONIO MIGUELEZ, Appellee. 3rd District.

Torts -- Product liability -- Tobacco -- Trial court did not err in denying defendant's motion for directed verdict as to plaintiff's membership in Engle class -- Expert and lay evidence was sufficient to prove that plaintiff was addicted to cigarettes -- Argument -- Where defendant, in opening statement and during closing argument, informed jury that it was not disputing any of Engle findings, but denied the existence of conspiracy to conceal, the fifth Engle finding, it was not reversible error for plaintiff's counsel to rebut such arguments in closing and rebuttal arguments -- Comments did not deny defendant its right to a fair trial -- Trial court did not abuse discretion in denying defendant's motion for new trial

R.J. REYNOLDS TOBACCO COMPANY, Appellant, vs. RALPH BALLARD, et al., Appellees. 3rd District.

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