The purpose of this summary provided by the Communications Department of The Florida Bar is to present media coverage that may be of interest to members. Opinions expressed in the articles are attributable solely to the authors. The Florida Bar does not adopt or endorse any opinions expressed below. For information on previous articles, please contact the publishing newspaper directly.
July 18, 2024
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The Florida Bar
JALA’s Aylmar Thompson Receives Florida Registered Paralegal of the Year Award
The Florida Bar | Article | July 18, 2024
Aylmar Thompson, a paralegal with the Jacksonville Area Legal Aid’s Veterans Services Unit has been named The Florida Bar’s Florida Registered Paralegal of the Year for his “exemplary performance and outstanding leadership.” As an FRP and designated paralegal for JALA’s Veterans Service Unit, Thompson ensures the unit runs smoothly by providing timely, professional, and compassionate services to clients. Thompson maintains partnerships with other community organizations to expand client services and “understands and respects ethical rules and never hesitates to ask questions if ever in doubt.”
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Criminal Justice
These voter fraud cases brought by the DeSantis administration aren’t dead after all
Miami Herald | Article | July 17, 2024
Two people whose charges of voter fraud were dismissed by South Florida judges could still face jail time after two appellate courts overturned the decisions Wednesday [July 17]. Ronald Lee Miller, 59, and Terry Hubbard, 66, were two of the roughly 20 people targeted by Gov. Ron DeSantis’ Office of Election Crimes and Security during a high-profile news conference in 2022. Their arrests were the first by DeSantis’ newly created office. But judges in Miami-Dade and Broward counties tossed the cases against Miller and Hubbard, ruling that the attorney general’s statewide prosecutors didn’t have jurisdiction to bring the charges. The decisions prompted the Republican-led Legislature to change the state law clarifying that statewide prosecutors could handle the cases. In Miller’s case Wednesday, two out of three judges ruled that he could be charged. In Hubbard’s case, two out of three judges ruled that the new law could be applied retroactively to bring charges against him. Attorneys for Miller and Hubbard said they would consult with their clients about whether to appeal to the Florida Supreme Court.
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Civil Justice
ACC, Florida Attorney General reach agreement in lawsuit
The Tribune Content Agency | Article | July 17, 2024
The ACC will share redacted versions of its ESPN contracts and related documents with the state of Florida, ending Attorney General Ashley Moody’s lawsuit against the league. The shared records will be public, but the conference will be able to shield what it says are trade secrets. The full contracts are at the center of the nine-figure litigation between Florida State and its league. That’s why the Attorney General’s Office sued the ACC in Leon County in April, accusing the conference of violating public records laws by shielding the contracts.
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Civil Justice
Florida sues Palm Beach County moving companies accused of bait-and-switch scams
Daytona Beach News-Journal | Article | July 18, 2024
A network of South Florida moving companies is accused of multiplying prices on the day of customers’ scheduled move and holding their belongings for ransom. A lawsuit against the owner claims he defrauded clients across the country out of more than $1 million since 2018. Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody sued Palm Beach County resident Richard Falcone after investigating the complaints of at least 150 jilted customers who described a pattern of unscrupulous business practices by Falcone’s companies: Alliance Moving and Storage, based in Boca Raton; American Wide Relocation Inc. and American Movers and Storage, based in Lake Park; and First Priority Van Lines, based in West Palm Beach. Each markets itself as an interstate moving company but acts instead as a broker — a sales company that books a person’s move and sells the job to an actual moving company, with whom customers have no contact or knowledge of. By using low estimates to entice customers and broken promises to burn them, Moody said Falcone violated the Florida Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act. Falcone has not responded to the allegations in court filings, nor does he have an attorney listed. Moody’s office has filed a motion asking Palm Beach County Circuit Judge Carolyn Bell to enter a default judgement against all the defendants.
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Civil Justice
Judge rejects requests by New College’s board to dismiss a higher-ed law challenge
News Service of Florida | Article | July 18, 2024
A Leon County circuit judge has rejected requests by the New College of Florida Board of Trustees and the state university system’s Board of Governors to dismiss a challenge to a 2023 law that did away with arbitration in university employment disputes. Judge J. Lee Marsh last week allowed the lawsuit filed by the United Faculty of Florida, its New College chapter and a professor, Hugo Viera-Vargas, to move forward. The 2023 law prevented arbitration of grievances filed by faculty members over issues such as tenure denials. It said grievances could not be appealed beyond the level of university presidents. The lawsuit alleges that the law violates constitutional collective-bargaining rights and impairs existing union contracts.