Truckers Must Now Comply with Electronic Logging Device Rule
Motor carriers and commercial drivers are now required to fully comply with the federal electronic logging device (ELD) rule that recently took effect in mid-December. The rule, issued by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), applies to motor carriers and commercial truck drivers who must maintain records of duty service (RODS) under hours-of-service (HOS)…
The Florida Ban on Texting While Driving Law
As of January 1, 2020, Florida drivers caught texting while driving may face a non-moving violation with a fine of $30 for first time offenders under the Florida Ban on Texting While Driving Law. A second-time offender caught texting while driving within five years of the initial offense will be charged with a moving violation…
Florida Creates Framework for Self-Driving Vehicles
In an effort to put Florida in the forefront of the growing autonomous vehicle technology, on June 13, 2019 Governor Ron DeSantis signed CS/HB 311, which seeks to establish a statutory framework in hopes of accelerating the development and operation of self-driving vehicles. Governor DeSantis proclaimed that “[s]igning this legislation paves the way for Florida…
Florida Supreme Court to Address Insurer Right to Sue Defense Counsel
Earlier this year, the Fourth District Court of Appeal of Florida (Fourth DCA) concluded in Arch Insurance Company v. Kubicki Draper, LLP, that an insurance company that hires a lawyer to defend one of their insureds has no standing to bring a malpractice claim against the lawyer who is hired to represent the insured. Following…
Can Solar Energy Foes Block the Sun?
In a popular Simpsons episode, the diabolical Mr. Burns builds a giant disc to eclipse the sun and force residents into around-the-clock reliance on electricity from his power plant. A parody plan in South Park is withdrawn after Professor Chaos (Butters) is told that his scheme was already hatched in Springfield. It’s a pitch-perfect cartoon…
Florida Will Not Allow Insurance Holders to be Indemnified for “Ill-Gotten Gains”
The United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit recently affirmed the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida’s decision against allowing insurance holders to be indemnified for “ill-gotten gains.” Sabal Insurance Group provided workers’ compensation and general liability insurance to Quality Aircraft Services (QAS), paid for by Miami-Dade Aviation Department…
Claims for Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress
From an early age, every child learns some variant of the Golden Rule: do unto others as you would have them do unto you. This is, or should be, the starting benchmark for human interactions. As everyone reading this article knows, however, people are rude, mean, and simply jerks towards one another every day. Oftentimes…
The Curious Matter of the Disappearing Talc Cases
Remember the frustration, the anger even, the last time that you lost a dollar in a vending machine – the clunk of coins followed by silence and suspended disbelief. Did you thump the machine, or even shake it in the hopes that something would break free? Remember that feeling, and then multiply it 4.7 billion…
Daubert
All interesting and complicated cases involve battles of the experts, persons whose education, experience, skill, and training provides knowledge not within the ken of the common man. For a plaintiff, a skilled expert can illuminate a pathway of causation that is both manifest and clear. For a defendant, a skilled expert can reveal the fallacies…
