Of the 41 lawyers recognized, 12 of the firm’s attorneys were recognized for the very first time and 12 attorneys were recognized as Ones to Watch. 

Best Lawyers has employed the same transparent methodology for more than 35 years, based entirely on peer review. 

The following includes all Firm attorneys named and areas in which they are recognized:

Miami

• Mitchell A. Bierman (Administrative / Regulatory Law; Government Contracts; Government Relations Practice)
• Lewis R. Cohen (Banking and Finance Law; Real Estate Law)
• Jeffrey Decarlo (Commercial Litigation)
• Ignacio G. Del Valle (Real Estate Law)
• Alan K. Fertel (Sports Law)
• Chad S. Friedman (Land Use and Zoning Law)
• Edward G. Guedes (Appellate Practice) 
• Stephen J. Helfman (Land Use and Zoning Law)
• Juan P. Loumiet (Litigation – Real Estate; Real Estate Law)
• Justin Luger (Commercial Litigation)
• Paul Ryder (Employment Law Management)
• Clifford A. Schulman (Environmental Law, Land Use and Zoning Law)
• Joseph H. Serota (Commercial Litigation)
• Eduardo M. Soto (Real Estate Law)
• Richard Jay Weiss (Government Relations Practice) 
• Laura Wendell (Appellate Practice)
• David M. Wolpin (Employment Law – Management; Government Relations Practice)
• Jake Bland (Ones to Watch: Commercial Litigation; Litigation – Construction)
• Daniela Cimo (Ones to Watch: Land Use and Zoning Law)
• Roger C. Pou (Pnes to Watch: Municipal Law)
• Caroline G. Saiz (Ones to Watch: Litigation – Labor and Employment)
• Samantha W. Soto (Ones to Watch: Labor and Employment Law – Management; Litigation – Labor and Employment)
• Alejandro Uribe (Ones to Watch: Land Use and Zoning Law)

Fort Lauderdale

• Mitchell J. Burnstein (Commercial Litigation; Eminent Domain and Condemnation Law)
• Jamie A. Cole (Commercial Litigation)
• Paul R. Gougelman (Land Use and Zoning Law)
• Michael J. Kurzman (Construction Law; Litigation – Construction)
• Matthew H. Mandel (Commercial Litigation)
• Eric L. Stettin (Commercial Litigation)
• Susan L. Trevarthen (Land Use and Zoning Law)
• Peter D. Waldman (Eminent Domain and Condemnation Law)
• Anne R. Flanigan (Ones to Watch: Appellate Practice; Civil Right Law; Commercial Litigation)
• Narinah Jean-Baptiste (Ones to Watch: Municipal Law)
• Scott Mullin (Ones to Watch: Commercial Litigation)
• Alison F. Smith (Ones to Watch: Labor and Employment Law – Management)

Boca Raton

• Howard D. DuBosar (Commercial Litigation)
• Andrew S. Maurodis (Land Use and Zoning Law)
• Brett J. Schneider (Litigation – Labor and Employment, Employment Law – Management)
• Harrison R. DuBosar (Ones to Watch: Appellate Practice; Commercial Litigation) 
• Ryan Hudak (Ones to Watch: Labor and Employment Law – Management)

Tampa, FL

• Sarah L. Johnston (Government Relations Practice)

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“The trial court decision and the appellate decision will now permit the bond process to proceed and the very important needs of the Village to improve its infrastructure to be addressed,” Joe said to Islander News.

An accomplished litigator and trial lawyer with dozens of successful trials and appeals to his credit, Joe represents private and public clients across a broad range of subject areas. Laura is a Florida Bar Board Certified attorney in Appellate Practice and represents private and municipal clients in state and federal courts. 

Read more here: 

Islander News (July 20,2022) GO Bond lawsuit once again rejected, clearing path for Village to move on resiliency infrastructure projects

Key Biscayne Independent (July 20, 2022)  Appeals court upholds $100 million resiliency bond

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Last week, Judge Alan Fine said he won’t hold an injunction hearing before the Miami Grand Prix begins May 6, denying a request by Miami Gardens residents who say noise from the event could cause hearing damage. He determined that the evidence presented in opposition to the event was “highly speculative.”

Joe, Chad, and Laura effectively prevented the economic loss of an estimated $300 million dollars, which could have been the result of canceling the F1 Miami Grand Prix races so close to the event date.

The post Joseph H. Serota, Chad Friedman, Laura K. Wendell successfully represented the City of Miami Gardens and the 2022 Formula One Miami Grand Prix Event appeared first on Weiss Serota Helfman Cole + Bierman.

Many commercial property policies contain business income or business interruption coverages.  This type of coverage is intended to return to an ongoing business profits it has lost, if there had been no interruption.[1]   Typically, businesses losses must result directly from a “covered peril” and commonly cover direct physical injury or damage that causes the interruption.[2] Businesses whose operations are vulnerable due to supply-chain or customer-related losses may have coverage when their business operations are disrupted due to circumstances directly affecting such third-parties.

Policies may expressly exclude coverage for losses caused by “pollution,” and, depending how such insurance clauses are written, such exclusions may or may not reach the threat of communicable diseases.[3]  Some policies may contain express exclusions for specified communicable diseases.  Policies may implicate the effect of government orders or shut downs on businesses.[4]

Event cancellation insurance may cover certain expenses and loss of net profit, usually when the cancellation is beyond the insured’s control, though such insurance may or may not be subject to exclusions related to the spread of communicable disease or government orders.   In the case of leased premises, rental insurances may be implicated.   In addition, businesses should review their commercial general liability coverages in the event that third parties make claims against them related in some way to the spread of the disease.

Every policy is different.  Coverage depends on many different variables, including the nature of the coverages in place, the timing of any claims made and how carefully claims are presented to the carrier to maximize coverage.  Most important is the express language that the policies utilize.

[1]           See, e.g., Dictiomatic, Inc. v. U.S. Fidelity & Guaranty Co., 958 F. Supp. 594 (S.D. Fla. 1997) (“Business interruption insurance is intended to return to the insured’s business the amount of profit it would have earned had there been no interruption of the business.”)

[2]           See, e.g., National Union Fire Ins. Co. of Pittsburgh, Pa  v. Texpak Group N.V., 906 So. 2d 300 (Fla. 3d DCA 2005) (policy did not cover losses from business interruption where coverage existed only if the losses resulted from damage or loss to real or personal property).

[3]           Cf. Nova Cas. Co. v. Waserstein, 424 F. Supp. 2d 1325 (pollution exclusion reached exposure to indoor pollution, “microbial populations,” “microbial pollutants”); with Westport Ins. Corp. v. VN Hotel Group, LLC, 761 F. Supp. 2d 1337 (M.D. Fla. 2010) (pollution exclusion did not reach Legionella bacteria).

[4]           See, e.g., Dickie Brennan & Co., Inc. v. Lexington Ins. Co.,  636 F. 3d 683 (5th Cir. 2011) (civil authority coverage applied to situation in which access to insured’s property was prevented by order of civil authority) ;  Kilroy v. United Pacific Ins. Co., 608 F. Supp. 847 (C.D. Cal. 1985) (coverage applied where a government ordered offices vacated when determined unsafe, following earthquake); Southlanes Bowl Inc. v. Lumberman’s Mutual Ins. Co.,  46 Mich. App. 758 (Mich. Ct. App. 1973) (losses stemming from closure of restaurants, taverns, motels, etc. were forced to close due to a declaration of state of emergency following the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.).

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A number of our attorneys were proud to show up to support the United Way Miami-Dade Chapter at the 2018 Veritage Miami 8th Annual Associate Legal Mingle.

Pictured from Left to Right are Elizabeth Coppolecchia, Ed Guedes, Haydee Sera, Laura Wendell, and Alex Uribe.

The post Weiss Serota Helfman Cole & Bierman Attorneys Attend 2018 Veritage Miami’s 8th Annual Associate Legal Mingle appeared first on Weiss Serota Helfman Cole + Bierman.

Laura Wendell, as lead appellate counsel, along with Eric Stettin, secured from the First District Court of Appeal a significant workers compensation win.  Last week, the Court denied rehearing, certification and rehearing en banc on its decision which reversed a final compensation order on behalf of the City of Homestead.  The claimant had relied on the statutory presumption of compensability under the Heart-Lung Bill, by which a law enforcement officer whose medical condition is caused by heart disease is entitled to a presumption that his condition is compensable, provided that the officer successfully underwent a physical upon entry into his position as a law enforcement officer. The Court clarified unsettled law in rejecting the argument that the City had waived the statutory prerequisite and that a twenty-one month old physical examination sufficed.  Here is a link to the opinion-https://bit.ly/2L1djgy

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On behalf of Scenic America, Inc., Partner Laura Wendell and Member Susan Trevarthen presented a petition for writ of certiorari to the United States Supreme Court in December, 2016.   The Court was intrigued.  In unusual moves, the Court called for responses from the government, called for Scenic America to file a reply and all told, distributed the petition for conference a total of four times.  In the end, on October 16, 2017, the Court denied the petition.  In announcing the denial, the Court issued a rare statement, authored by Justice Gorsuch and joined by Chief Justice Roberts and Justice Alito.  Although ultimately persuaded that certiorari should be denied because the case itself came with “difficult and close” jurisdictional questions that would complicate the Court’s efforts to reach “the heart of the matter,” Justice Gorsuch wrote to address the importance of the legal issue presented in the petition.-[http://bit.ly/2hPWeZb]?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss

In the lower courts, Scenic America challenged a 2007 Guidance Memorandum issued by the Federal Highway Safety Administration (“FHWA”), which interpreted a prohibition in federal-state agreements against “flashing,” “intermittent” or “moving” lights on billboards to allow digital billboards which changed their images every 8 seconds.  Scenic America maintained that FHWA’s interpretation ignored the obvious meaning of the terms of the prohibition.  In particular, Scenic America argued, the FHWA’s interpretation of the prohibition against “intermittent” lighting to mean that the illumination could go on or off more than one time, at any interval, is contrary to the plain meaning of “intermittent.”

In its petition, Scenic America urged the Court to accept the case for review to answer the question of whether Chevron-style deference should be afforded to FHWA’s interpretation of the federal-state contracts to which it is a party.  Under Chevron, courts defer to the “reasonable judgment” of agencies with regard to the meaning of ambiguous terms in statutes they are charged with administering.  That approach should not apply to contract interpretation, Scenic America argued, where the agency itself is an interested party to the contract and judicial deference might lead to endorsement by the court of an agency’s self-serving, after-the-fact reinterpretation. No fan of Chevron-deference, Justice Gorsuch wrote that even if one assumes that Chevron-deference is proper in the context of statutory ambiguities, “whether Chevron-type deference warrants a place in the canons of contract interpretation is surely open to dispute.” 

This is just one example of the depth and breadth of Weiss Serota Helfman Cole & Bierman’s Appellate Practice.  Laura Wendell is a member of the firm’s Appellate Practice Group.   She is Board Certified by The Florida Bar in the field of Appellate Law and practices at all levels of state and federal courts.  Susan Trevarthen is a Board Certified municipal attorney who chairs the firm’s Public Land Use and Zoning Group.  She specializes in constitutional law issues and, as such, regularly collaborates with the Appellate Practice Group. 

The post Laura Wendell and Susan Trevarthen Get Attention of U.S. Supreme Court in Scenic America v. U.S. Department of Transportation appeared first on Weiss Serota Helfman Cole + Bierman.