Berk v. Choy, Case No. 24-440 (2026).
Rule 8 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure displaces Delaware’s medical-malpractice affidavit-of-merit requirement in federal diversity actions, so failure to file a state-law required affidavit cannot justify dismissal of a complaint that otherwise states a plausible claim for relief.
In re: The Renco Group Inc. & The Doe Run Resources Corp., Case No. 24-13266, No. 24-13266 (11th Cir. 2026).
A law firm asserting attorney-client privilege or work-product protection in a 28 U.S.C. § 1782 (assistance to foreign and international tribunals and to litigants before such tribunals) proceeding must substantiate the claim on a document-by-document basis with an adequate privilege log and supporting evidence, and deficient, categorical assertions for mixed sets of documents forfeit protection even after production because meaningful relief remains available.
Roque v. Swezy, Case No. 3D25-0235 (Fla. 3d DCA 2026).
Florida Statutes section 768.72 permits punitive damages claims by opposing parties when each side’s proffer of defamatory accusations falsely portraying criminal, alcoholic, or drug addiction provides a reasonable evidentiary basis without weighing credibility and constitutes defamation per se that can support punitive damages without proof of actual damages.
Whitehall at Bal Harbour Condominium Association, Inc. v. Raviv, Case No. 3D24-2031 (Fla. 3d DCA 2026).
A party that fully participates without timely objection in an evidentiary hearing and stipulates to costs waives any challenge to the entry of a final attorney-fee judgment before disposition of all claims, and such a judgment is merely voidable – not void – in the absence of defects in jurisdiction or due process.
DG Auto Group Export, Inc. v. Mendez, Case No. 3D24-2060 (Fla. 3d DCA 2026).
Federal law governs the determination of reasonable attorneys’ fees in Fair Labor Standards Act actions litigated in Florida state courts and allows a Perdue-type enhancement of the lodestar in the rare circumstances where defense misconduct causes exceptional delay in fee recovery.
Wepard Corp., Ltd. v. Diaz, Reus & Targ, LLP, Case No. 3D25-0252 (Fla. 3d DCA 2026).
Florida Statutes section 48.197(1)(c) authorizes court-ordered email service on foreign defendants without any statutory due diligence prerequisite, so long as the method is reasonably calculated to provide actual notice and is not prohibited by international agreement, and defendants who seek affirmative relief, such as sanctions and attorneys’ fees, thereby waive objections to personal jurisdiction and service.
The Firm Law Group, Inc. v. Cordero, Case No. 3D25-0292 (Fla. 3d DCA 2026).
An escrow agent holding a residential real estate deposit under an escrow agreement requiring a good faith belief of conflicting demands in order to be awarded attorneys’ fees lacks a contractual or evidentiary basis to charge its attorney’s fees against the escrow in the absence of documented competing claims or a specific, well-supported good-faith doubt as to entitlement; a conclusory self-serving affidavit without corroborating communications cannot create a genuine issue of material fact.
