Procedural rules can make or break an appeal. A recent decision from Florida’s Fifth District Court of Appeal, Platt v. Cape Marine Services, Inc., underscores that reality. Our firm, Widerman Malek, successfully defended a trial court’s attorneys’ fee award that the appellant sought to overturn based on missing factual findings. The Fifth DCA’s opinion confirms […]
The appellate team of Scott Widerman, Eric Hostetler and Tiffany Ann Jones secured a reversal and remand at the Fifth District Court of Appeals on a case they have been litigating since 2017. The case involves a dispute over the ownership of church property after a schism developed within the membership of the church, with […]
The trial team of Scott Widerman and Eric Hostetler obtained a Plaintiff’s jury verdict in Indian River County over a two-day period in late December 2022. The lawsuit began in 2018 when an auger pilling machine overturned on a property in The Fingers in Vero, Florida after part of the machine sunk into an unabandoned […]
There is a problem happening throughout Florida which is affecting the rights of small business owners and taking advantage of the Title III American with Disabilities Act (“ADA”). This ongoing issue was prevalent in our recent case of Patricia Kennedy v. Rhoda Solano, et.al. Our client owns and operates a small restaurant located in Cocoa […]
Are you the owner of a condominium that suffered damage from the recent hurricane? It is frustrating when the condominium association points the finger at the insurance company and the insurance company points back at the condominium association. Or maybe they are both pointing the finger at you. Meanwhile, your unit was damaged, it was […]
By: Eric L. Hostetler, Esq. Whether you are president of your condominium association or homeowner’s association, you are aware of those few owners that are not paying their monthly or yearly assessments. This could be due to any number of reasons, but the effect is not singular. More likely than not, the board will meet […]
No matter how hard TV shows try, they are just not the reality they portray. Prime example is law related shows. First you have the crime or the incident and then you are in trial, the most exciting part. But what happens in the middle can be the deciding factor whether your case survives, settles, or […]
I have been approached lately with the issue of oral modifications made outside the main written lease/rental agreement and what impact they have on the lease/rental agreement. Are they valid? Are they enforceable? If the landlord doesn’t live up to his end of the oral modification, do I have any recourse? What do I do? […]
If you have reached this stage, either the defendant did not fill out the Financial Information Form pursuant to the Florida Rules of Civil Procedure or the form was not attached to your final judgment. It has been over 30 days since the Judge granted your judgment and you haven’t been paid, no offers have […]
