Blogs

Amid the unprecedented conditions that businesses have been forced to operate under, real estate and construction professionals in particular may be struggling to navigate pandemic related legal challenges in their markets. From executive orders issued at state and local levels, to exceptional circumstances applied to force majeure contract provisions, the confusion inspired by COVID-19 continues to plague businesses as case law develops in the court system.

In our latest Florida Appellate Law Blog post, Fort Lauderdale associate Amy Wessel discusses some of the notable amendments to the Florida Rules of Appellate Procedure and Florida Rules of Judicial Administration that will go into effect on January 1, 2019.

If you are considering buying a commercial note that is in default because you ultimately want to foreclose to buy the property securing the loan, there are several things to consider as part of your due diligence.

Hackers are taking advantage of the health scare to spread their own infections, including creating malicious Coronavirus-related domains and selling malware to other hackers on the dark web. Hackers will use society’s desire of having information on the latest developments. The danger of falling prey to phishing schemes is at an all-time high as people will tend to react more quickly to receive frequent coronavirus updates for their local area especially while working remotely from home.

Andrew Schwartz explains how and why contractors should use Florida’s Public Records Act to maximum effect in this “Bidding Smarter in Florida” series.

Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) claims are common in the hospitality industry and can result in significant financial damage. It is imperative that employers are proactive and review their timekeeping policies with legal counsel. Below are six of the most common FLSA-related pitfalls for employers to avoid.

In response to new telework and remote working arrangements established because of the pandemic, on August 24, 2020 the U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL”) issued a Field Assistance Bulletin (“FAB”) to provide further clarification to employers on teleworker time tracking and compensation challenges.

In Eiser Infrastructure Ltd. et al. v. Kingdom of Spain, claimant investors were successful in securing an arbitral award against Spain based on an ICSID tribunal’s finding that Spain failed to provide claimant investors with fair and equitable treatment under the applicable Energy Charter Treaty. Unfortunately for claimants, the arbitral award was attacked by Spain in an annulment petition due to a perceived conflict of interest arising from an established business relationship between claimant’s appointed arbitrator and claimant’s damages expert. Ultimately, an ICSID annulment committee annulled the entire award due to the arbitrator’s failure to disclose the relationship.

The Supreme Court of the United States held unanimously in Romag Fasteners Inc. v. Fossil Inc., et al., 140 S. Ct. 1492 (2020) that a plaintiff in a trademark infringement suit does not have to prove willfulness for an award of defendant’s ill-gotten profits as damages under the Lanham Act.