What We Know

Florida Supreme Court Declines to Adopt Florida Legislature’s Daubert Amendment

Thu Feb 16, 2017 Articles, Legal Alerts

For many years Florida followed the Frye standard for the admissibility of expert testimony based upon new or novel scientific evidence.  See Frye v. United States, 293 F. 1013 (D.C. Cir. 1923).   In 2013, the Florida Legislature, through what has been dubbed the Daubert Amendment, replaced the Frye standard with the Daubert standard.  The Daubert standard stems from the United States Supreme Court’s decision in Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharms., Inc., 509 U.S. 579 (1993), which established the federal court standard for expert testimony.  Since then, federal courts have continued to apply the Daubert standard, and 36 states have adopted the Daubert standard.

Motor Vehicle Dealer Bonds: Florida's Fourth District Court of Appeal Punts on Attorneys' Fees Issue

Wed Feb 15, 2017 Articles, Legal Alerts

Florida’s Fourth District Court of Appeal recently had the opportunity to provide much needed guidance on the issue of whether a statutory motor vehicle dealer bond caps the surety’s liability for plaintiff’s attorneys’ fees at the penal sum of the bond.  Unfortunately, the court found another issue to be dispositive and declined to rule on the attorneys’ fees issue. 

Now, a Subcontractor’s Indemnification Payment can be Used to Satisfy a General Contractor’s SIR

Fri Jan 16, 2015 Articles

The recent Florida Supreme Court opinion Intervest Construction of Jax, Inc. v. General Fidelity Ins. Co., 133 So. 3d 494 (Fla. 2014) illustrates the effect contract interpretation principles can have on the evaluation and scope of insurance policies and coverages. Intervest concerned the application of a Self-Insured Retention Endorsement ("SIR"), and whether a general contractor or its insurer was obligated to fund a settlement for a bodily injury claim.

No Success in Successive Suits

Fri Jan 16, 2015 Articles

More than 200 years after the original Tea Party, the English common law principle of res judicata and the related rule against splitting causes of action can produce unanticipated results in Florida lawsuits.

A Complicated Relationship – Is It Necessary To Plead A Special Relationship To State A Cause of Action for Common Law Indemnity?

Fri Jan 16, 2015 Articles

In construction defect lawsuits, parties routinely assert common law indemnity claims against  downstream subcontractors, material suppliers, and other entities whose work or materials caused the respective defects.  Common law indemnity is a claim that shifts responsibility for damages from a party without any active negligence or fault, but who is liable for damages pursuant to vicarious, constructive, derivative, or technical liability principles, to the party who is actively negligent or at fault.