Representative Matters
Real Estate
- Representation of developer in all aspects of structuring, development, financing, construction, sales and turnover of a 1,200 unit project.
- Representation of numerous developers in structuring, developing and other aspects of large condominium, mixed-use and condo-hotel projects.
- Representation of brokerage company with over $10 billion in sales.
- Representation of residential developer in obtaining $288 million construction loan.
- Representation of developers in successful termination of 346-unit mixed use condominiums
- Representation of various of large-scale “live work” communities
Corporate
- Disclosure and corporate counsel for corporations engaging in initial and subsequent public and private offerings as well as reverse merger transactions.
- Disclosure and general corporate counsel for several publicly reporting corporations.
- Joint Venture counsel for domestic and international joint venture transactions.
- Corporate/borrower counsel for debt transactions.
- Counsel to businesses engaging in mergers and acquisitions.
- Counsel to corporations and their affiliates on corporate governance matters.
Tax
- Representation of property owners before the Value Adjustment Board and in circuit court in appeals of all commercial property types, including regional malls, and department stores, grocery-anchored retail, big-box, market rate multi-family, low income multi-family, office, hotels, condominiums, timeshare, assisted living facilities and industrial properties.
- Representation of owners of specialty properties including hospitals, gaming and sports facilities, power plants, waste storage facilities and manufacturing facilities.
- Representation of property owners in appeals of personal property tax assessments.
- Representation of property owners in complex exemption and agricultural classification cases.
- Representation of developers seeking historic preservation incentives and abatements.
Litigation¹
Municipal Representation, Government-Related Litigation & Investigations
- Obtained a complete defense judgment after a 5-day bench trial against major law firm in Bert J. Harris Act case for the City of Miami.
- Represented victims in Marjory Stoneman Douglas mass shooting in Southern District of Florida action which resulted in one of the largest Federal Torts Claims Act settlements of all time with the Department of Justice.
- Served as counsel for President Obama’s Auto Task Force in the American automotive bail out.
- Obtained partial summary judgment on behalf of the City of Miami in defense of a $100 million, putative class action lawsuit.
- Court-appointed counsel for SEC receiver, responsible for untangling a multi-million dollar, cross-border fraud and obtaining a substantial recovery for the fraud’s victims.
- Represented clients in defense of U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission civil investigations and enforcement actions under federal securities laws.
- Advised clients in receipt of federal grand jury and Department of Justice subpoenas, and successfully negotiated and resolved related inquiries on their behalf.
Business Disputes, Fiduciary and Director and Officer Claims
- Obtained complete defense judgment in favor of corporate officers and directors after 8-day federal bench trial in financial forecast and software revenue recognition dispute. Later, favorably settled second lawsuit against same defendants brought by bankruptcy trustee in the District of New Jersey.
- Successfully defended corporate leadership in high-stakes disputes arising out of governance and finance decisions.
- Favorably settled Middle District of Florida federal director liability suit relating to management of fuel bunkering company in Orlando.
- Vigorously defended a multi-million-dollar software as a service, misappropriation of trade secrets and breach of restrictive covenant lawsuit on behalf of a nation-wide property management software company, resulting in the plaintiff dropping all claims and dismissing the suit unilaterally.
- Favorably settled complex public company shareholder dispute brought in federal court.
- Obtained final summary judgment utilizing argument which relied upon Australian law in federal court dispute between owners of alternative health care company in Tampa.
- Prosecuted securities fraud case in the Southern District of Florida and obtained favorable settlement.
- Represented businesses in defense of consumer protection claims brought under the Federal Debt Collection Practices Act, Florida Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act and Florida Consumer Collection Practices Act.
Real Estate Litigation
- Successfully settled major multi-year litigation relating to developer turnover obligations for project in Aventura, FL.
- Obtained final judgment and an award of sanctions and prevailing party attorneys’ and costs against perpetrator of 7-figure fraudulent scheme who targeted the elderly.
- Able to settle 8-figure potential liability of historic Brickell-based Miami church through strategy which included passage of clarification by the Florida legislature.
- Represented commercial property owners in successfully evicting in one lawsuit a parking lot and parking garage operator from thirty-five locations in Downtown Miami.
- Represented real estate developers successfully in hundreds of lawsuits brought by purchasers of condominium units seeking to cancel contracts which claimed developers had violated federal and state law.
- Represented hotel operator in successfully obtaining permanent injunctive relief preventing the unauthorized renting of hotel units and use of the hotel’s trademarks without the hotel operator’s consent.
- Received a full bench trial judgment, complete dismissal of counterclaims and immediate determination of fee entitlement for airport hangar owner in complex dispute with publicly traded company tenant, counter-plaintiff.
- Represented real estate developer successfully at trial and through appeal to the Florida Supreme Court in a landmark case where condominium purchasers tried to rescind preconstruction contracts on grounds that the developer had allegedly violated statutory escrow accounting requirements. This ruling impacted hundreds of similar lawsuits filed by purchasers against developers throughout Florida. Defended a multinational petro-chemical company in an environmental action pertaining to the health of the Passaic River.
- Successfully defended major Fortune 200 hotel operator in construction defect lawsuit.
- Favorably settled numerous construction defect and other lawsuits on behalf of some of Florida’s most prolific developers.
- Obtained final summary judgment in state court business dispute between members of LLC which developed a large multi-family development in Miami Beach.
- Represented owners of commercial properties, including the largest corporate campuses, throughout Florida in connection with their disputes with Property Appraisers over ad valorem assessments in excess of $100 million for the properties.
- Represented property owner in title boundary dispute on a Miami Beach island concerning multi-million-dollar, waterfront properties.
Consumer Protection Litigation
- Counsel for Florida and Massachusetts class plaintiffs in a nation-wide putative class action raising consumer protection and privacy claims in the Northern District of Illinois adverse one of the largest manufacturers of doorbell and home security cameras.
- Successfully represented clients in complex probate fraud and fiduciary disputes.
- Represented a number of plaintiffs in confidential actions against crypto exchanges for fraud or errors committed on those platforms.
- Represented property owners, contractors, design professionals and real estate developers successfully in prosecution and defense of claims brought under Chapter 558, Florida Statutes, for alleged construction defects.
- Prosecuted and defended securities investors’ claims in FINRA arbitrations.
- Represented international cell phone distributor successfully in federal court against indemnification claim stemming from a shipment of phones stolen in transit.
- Represented lessor of airplane engines against a leasing airline in successfully repossessing the engines and obtaining a final judgment.
[1] Case captions and docket information for these matters will gladly be made available upon request.