Guardian Ad Litem v. Viajehoy, LLC, No. 3D18-182 (Fla. 3rd DCA 2019).
Claims by Cuban nationals against a United States limited liability company for breach of contract, unjust enrichment, and promissory estoppel are barred by the Cuban AssetsControl Regulations, 31 C.F.R. § 515.201., et. seq., and the Trading with the EnemyAct,50 U.S.C. § 4303, et. seq., unless there has been prior compliance with the laws.Quintero v. Diaz, Case No. 3D18-2545 (Fla. 3d DCA 2020).
Florida Statute section 768.28(9)(a)does not abrogate the common law immunityafforded public officials from per se defamation claims, and public officials acting within the scope of their official duties are entitled to absolute immunity such that they are shielded from claims of defamation no matter how false, malicious or badly motivated their statements may have been.Real Estate Solutions Home Sellers, LLC v. Viera East Golf Course District Association, Inc., Case No. 5D18-3569 (Fla. 5th DCA 2020).
A party that purchases at foreclosure sale is entitled to continue its declaratory suit to determine whether it is entitled to “safe harbor” protection from association assessments even after it sells the property it purchased at foreclosure.Williams v. First Advantage LNS Screening Solutions Inc. Case No. 17-11447 (11th Cir. 2020).
Whether in a civil or criminal proceeding, the Due Process Clause requires that adefendant be put on fair notice of the severity of the punitive damages awarded and a civil defendant has not receivedfair notice (and the award is unconstitutional)when the award is grossly excessive in relation to the relevant state interest prohibiting the particular conduct at issue. The “guideposts” to determine whether notice is imputed to a civil defendant are, first and most importantly, the degree ofreprehensibility of the defendant’s conduct, and second, the disparity between theharm or potential harm suffered by the plaintiff and the punitive damages award.Berlin v. State of Florida Department of Transportation, Case No. 4D18-3057 (Fla. 4th DCA 2020).
Whether attorney’s fees are awardable for counsel obtaining non-monetary benefits in a condemnation action is an evidentiary question.Ghani v. Deutsche Bank National Trust Company, Case No. 4D19-18 (Fla. 4th DCA 2020).
Mailing of a breach letter is proven by producing additional evidence such as personal knowledge if relying on routine business practices, an affidavit swearing that the letter was mailed, or a return receipt from the letter; boarding information alone is insufficient.Picture It Sold Photography, LLC v. Bunkelman, Case No. 4D19-1427 (Fla. 4th DCA 2020).
A contractor that breaches a restrictive covenant with his former employer cannot defend on the basis that customers would not hire the former employer anyway.Nationstar Mortgage, LLC McDaniel, Case No. 5D19-1070 (Fla. 5th DCA 2020).
Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.130 does not require a foreclosing servicer to attach the servicing agreement to the complaint, only the note and mortgage need be attached.Ritzen Group, Inc. v. Jackson Masonry, LLC, Case No. 18–938 (2020).
Orders on bankruptcy stay relief motions are immediately appealable under 28 U.S.C. §158(a) as doing so disposes of a discrete procedural unit with the bankruptcy case.Rodriguez v.Avatar Property & Casualty Insurance Company, Case No. 2D18-65 (Fla. 2d DCA 2020).
An affidavit in support of summary judgment must be based on personal knowledge and may not contain conclusory statements or mere restatements of the motion for summary judgment.De Soleil South Beach Residential Condominium Association, Inc. v. De Soleil South Beach Association, Inc., Case No. 3D18-1423 (Fla. 3rd DCA 2020).
A declaratory action filed by one association in a mixed-use project to declare itself the sole association able to levy assessments is not an action to “collect” assessments and thus, under the condominium declaration, must satisfy conditions precedent.Massachusetts Department of Revenue v. Shek (In re Shek), Case No. 18-14922 (11th Cir. 2020).
So long as it complies with 11 U.S.C. § 523(a)(1)(B), a tax return does not have to be timely filed in order for the tax to be dischargeable.Sabal Trail Transmission, LLC v. 3.921 Acres Of Land In Lake County Florida, Case No. 18-11836 (11th Cir. 2020).
Federal Rule of Evidence 702 permits lay witnesses to testify about the value of their land.TLC Properties, Inc. v. State of Florida, Department Of Transportation, Case No. 1D17-5034 (Fla. 1st DCA 2020).
Visibility from a roadway – unlike leaseholds, easements,personal property, and incorporeal hereditaments – is not a recognized property right under Florida law.Hardeman Landscape Nursery, Inc. v. Watkins,Case No. 2D18-4792 (Fla. 2d DCA 2020).
A trial court deciding a breach of contract action must, absent compelling circumstances such as the contract being breached by both parties or neither party proving a breach, declare which party prevailed.The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation as Trustee Hernandez, Case No. 3D19-328 (Fla 3rd DCA 2020).
A mortgage due on sale clause that becomes operative upon any transfer is triggered by an involuntary foreclosure; Yelen v. Bankers Trust Company, 476 So.2d 767 (Fla. 3d DCA 1985), is distinguished as its due on sale clause required voluntary transfer by the borrower to become effective.
