TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (Legal Newsline) - Spouses who married personal injury plaintiffs after the onset of their injuries can recover damages for the loss of companionship, the Florida Supreme Court has ruled.
Signs of discord between medical marijuana advocates and recreational cannabis supporters are emerging in a legal battle now before the Florida Supreme Court that will determine whether the Smart & Safe initiative goes before state voters.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (Legal Newsline) - An absolute two-year limit on liability against the estate of a dead person doomed a lawsuit by women who were injured in an accident with a man driving a company car, the Florida Supreme Court ruled.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (Legal Newsline) - A woman who sued RJ Reynolds over the smoking-related death of her sister can recover legal fees for an appeal that ultimately cost her a $16 million punitive-damages award because her compensatory damages were still higher than a settlement offer RJR had rejected.
Justice Ricky Polston has announced his resignation from the Florida Supreme Court, effective March 31. Chief Justice Carlos Muñiz praised Polston, stating, "Ricky Polston is a good man, and he has been a treasured colleague, friend, and role model to all of us on the Court. We are grateful for Justice Polston’s decades of exemplary service to the people of our state."
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (Legal Newsline) - A decision by the Florida Supreme Court requiring tobacco plaintiffs to identify specific statements that convinced them to smoke will make it “virtually impossible” for such cases to succeed in the future, a dissenting justice said.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (Legal Newsline) – A 1999 tort reform measure applies to tobacco wrongful death cases of smokers who died after, even though a class action on their behalf had been filed years before.
Chief Justice Charles T. Canady has amended an existing order regarding health and safety protocols in Florida state courts. The updated order, reflecting current public health conditions, allows for the voluntary use of face coverings in courthouses. It also mandates that Baker Act and Marchman Act hearings be conducted in person.
Justice Jorge Labarga will continue his leadership role as chair of the newly formed Workgroup on Access to Justice. This group, consisting of nine members including four judges and five representatives from the legal community and justice partners, succeeds the Access Commission, which Labarga established in 2014 during his tenure as Chief Justice.
Former Florida Chief Justice Stephen H. Grimes will lie in state at the Florida Supreme Court's rotunda on Wednesday, September 15, 2021. The public is invited to pay their respects from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. local time.
Justice Stephen H. Grimes, who served on Florida's highest court from 1987 to 1997 and led the state courts system as Chief Justice from 1994 to 1996, has passed away. During his tenure, he oversaw significant changes within the judicial system, notably authorizing a website for the Florida Supreme Court in late 1994. This made it one of the first courts globally with an official web presence.
At this time, effective vaccines for COVID-19 are adequately available in Florida for persons ages 12 and older; almost half of this state’s population has been partially or fully vaccinated; and government-issued health standards and guidance provide that fully vaccinated persons do not need to wear face masks or physically distance in most indoor and outdoor settings unless required by federal, state, or local laws, rules, or regulations,” the administrative order states.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (Legal Newsline) – Because of a case involving a fatal rear-end collision, Florida is changing its summary judgment standards to stay in line with U.S. Supreme Court rulings from more than 30 years ago.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (Legal Newsline) – A Facebook friendship between a judge and an attorney isn’t enough to legally disqualify the judge from ruling on the case, the Supreme Court of Florida decided on Nov. 15.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (Legal Newsline) – The Florida Supreme Court has quashed an appellate court's ruling in a mesothelioma case and recommended that a final judgment issued by a trial court be reinstated.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (Legal Newsline) – On Sept. 27, the Supreme Court of Florida stated a company’s 8,000-pound piece of equipment really is dangerous, voiding the ruling of a lower court as the ruling infringed on decisions the Court and other district courts have made in the past.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (Legal Newsline) – The Supreme Court of Florida rejected the state's 4th District Court of Appeal’s decision to reverse a multimillion-dollar award for a woman whose mother died of lung cancer.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (Legal Newsline) – The Florida Supreme Court on Sept. 7 reversed an opinion by the Circuit Court for the 2nd Judicial Circuit that had ruled that the wording of a proposed constitutional amendment to be voted on in November was defective and could not appear on the ballot.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (Legal Newsline) – The question of whether a deaf academy acted in medical malpractice or negligence was answered in a Supreme Court of Florida’s April 26 opinion.
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