Category: Florida Law Weekly

In Vyas v. American Van Lines, Inc., the Fourth District Court of Appeal clarified an important distinction that is often blurred in practice: while a mandatory forum-selection clause may control venue, it does not, by itself, establish personal jurisdiction over a non-resident defendant. The case arose from a...

In Meritxell Pons Torres v. A&P Air Conditioning Corporation (Fla. 3d DCA Mar. 4, 2026), the Third District Court of Appeal addressed important procedural and substantive limits on granting judgment in a construction lien foreclosure action. The court affirmed the denial of the homeowners’ motion for summary judgment but reversed the...

Watkins v. Corbett (Fla. 2d DCA Mar. 25, 2026) If you litigate in Florida long enough, you learn one lesson about proposals for settlement: they are powerful, but they are unforgiving. The Second District’s decision in Watkins v. Corbett is a blunt reminder that courts demand strict compliance...

In John McDonald v. Amanda McDonald (Fla. 5th DCA Mar. 13, 2026), the Fifth District warned that continued frivolous or abusive pro se filings in the same case may result in sanctions, including a prohibition against future pro se filings in that court. The opinion cites State v. Spencer, 751...

In CBRE, Inc. v. DidierGroup, LLC, (Fla. 6th DCA Mar. 13, 2026), the Sixth District reversed part of a judgment, holding that a defendant is entitled to a setoff when the plaintiff settles identical claims with a co-defendant. What happened:
DG sued CBRE for tortious interference and aiding/abetting a...

In Dorn v. Hatwood as Personal Representative of the Estate of Dorn (Fla. 4th DCA Feb. 18, 2026), the Fourth District Court of Appeal addressed whether attorneys’ fees incurred in probate administration could be included as part of a lien against protected homestead property. What happened: 

In Universal Property & Casualty Insurance Co. v. Griffin (Fla. 4th DCA Feb. 25, 2026), the Fourth District reversed a jury verdict for an insured in a property insurance dispute because the insured failed to comply with the statutory pre-suit notice requirement. What happened:
The insured filed a breach...

In Chetrit Group, LLC v. EquiShares, Inc., the Third District Court of Appeal addressed whether communications between business parties and an attorney involved in drafting a proposed joint-venture agreement were protected by the attorney-client privilege, or instead fell within Florida’s statutory common-interest exception. The dispute arose from a...

In McBride v. Keller, 51 Fla. L. Weekly D280a (Fla. 5th DCA Feb. 13, 2026), the Fifth District vacated a county court order dismissing a complaint with prejudice because the trial court entered the final dismissal while an interlocutory appeal was still pending, even though the appellate court had dismissed the...

A recent Florida Third District Court of Appeal decision highlights a point that often gets overlooked in business and estate planning: when a trust owns an LLC, and the governing documents give trustees/managers broad authority to act independently, courts will generally enforce that authority as written—even in the middle of a personal...