In an Orlando Business Journal (OBJ) article titled “3 Big Changes to Court Rules Set to Help Businesses in Litigation,” Orlando Partner Christian Leger discusses recent amendments to the procedural rules in Florida’s court system, including the new “apex doctrine,” appealing punitive damages and the federal summary judgment standard.

Christian’s article was featured in the most recent edition of the OBJ, alongside the release of the 2022 “Largest Litigation Law Firms” List, which highlighted Shutts & Bowen. In the article, Christian explains that the apex doctrine provides protections to businesses’ upper management from civil discovery depositions. Christian states “under the newly formulated apex doctrine, businesses can now seek protection from the court to preclude these burdensome depositions from going forward through submission of a simple affidavit explain that the officer or high-ranking employee lacks unique personal knowledge of the issues.” Additionally, the appealing punitive damages is the approval of immediate appellate review of orders permitting punitive damages against a defendant and the federal summer judgment standard determines whether there is sufficient evidence favoring the non-moving party for a jury to return a verdict for that non-moving party at trial.

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About Christian M. Leger

Christian M. Leger is a partner at the Orlando office of Shutts & Bowen LLP, where he is a member of the Business Litigation Practice Group. Christian’s practice focuses on complex commercial litigation with an emphasis on corporate matters and class action defense. He has represented developers, healthcare providers, technology companies, financial institutions, and professional sports franchises.