As Hurricane Ian impacts Florida, it is important to know what sort and level of coverage your policy contents. Florida Statute 627 requires an insurance carrier who issues a residential property insurance policy to provide for hurricane and windstorm coverage. The insurance carrier also must offer, at the option of the policyholder/homeowner, an exclusion of hurricane coverage or windstorm...
Compensatory Damages: The objective of compensatory damages is to make the injured party whole as possible with a monetary figure and in hopes to restore the injured party to the position he or she would have been in had the wrong not been committed. If the wrongdoer’s liability is established, an injured person is entitled to compensatory damages as a matter of right. Punitive Damages: In...
In Florida, the owner or legal possessor/controller of property owes a duty to licensees, invitees (such as customers), and guests to maintain the premises in safe condition and to a duty to warn of concealed, unknown dangers (if known or should have been known by the owner). There is a defense for the premises owner though if the injured person knew of the danger beforehand or the danger was...
Liability Insurance If a business owner is sued by a person contracting coronavirus on their premises, a CGL policy may come into play as a protection. Additionally, for larger companies, the action or omissions taken by leadership could implicate protections under the directors and officers liability policies (D&O), whether actions from shareholders or others. Marine Insurance The marine...
Employers should establish policies for dealing with health issues related to the coronavirus.The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has issued non-mandatory coronavirus guidance encouraging employers to develop response plans, implement prevention measures against the virus, such providing as personal protective gear for some healthcare workers, develop protocol for sick...
In Florida, employers have an affirmative duty to provide a
reasonably safe workplace for its employees. Therefore, employers can be liable for
negligence for injuries sustained by its employees that are ordinarily caused
by the unsafe conditions in the workplace. Applying tort law to the current pandemic, a growing question is should the hospitals and health care facilities in Florida be...
In light of the recent developments, such as the WHO and the CDC publishing statements, the various cruise companies have relaxed their cancellation policies for customers. Below is a synopsis of some of the cruise lines current cancellation policies and procedures: Norwegian Cruise Line: All cruises suspended from March 13 to April 11, 2020. Guests who are booked on voyages dated to embark from...
This is often a question
I am asked. There are many aspects to international law. For example, environmental
law is a facet of international law. There are Treaties and agreements such as
the Paris Agreement under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate
Change, the Vienna Convention for Protection of the Ozone Layer, and the Basel
Convention on Transboundary Movement of Hazardous...
In Expeditors and Production Service Company, Inc. v. Director, OWCP (Garrick Spain), No. 18-60895 (5th Cir. Nov. 4, 2019), the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit affirmed the lower administrative rulings finding that an employee injured in his living quarters was covered under the Longshore & Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act (LHWCA). The employee, Mr. Spain, was employed...
Perfunctory questions to be asked in a yacht sale is whether the yacht is eligible for sale in the US, and what states sales or use tax will be implicated by a sale. Foreign-built yachts brought into the US for sale or charter must pay a 1.5% customs duty. An exception is if the foreign-flagged yacht is brought into the US for personal use, which in that case, a cruising license can be obtained...
With the hurricane season in full swing, some homeowners and
property owners may not understand all the components in their property insurance
policy. An insurer issuing a residential
property insurance policy must provide the option for hurricane or windstorm
coverage and additionally, an option for the policyholder to clearly exclude that
coverage. As for insurable interests and subject...
In many initial conversations with a case, many clients ask the question, “Well what about my pain and suffering or emotional distress…I have anxiety, loss of sleep, etc., because of all this.” Although unfortunate, these non-economic damages are not always as easy and available as many people think. In the personal injury context, if tortfeasor liability has been established (the...
Although most states have a maritime boundary of three nautical miles from the shoreline, Florida's maritime boundary is not always so. The Atlantic boundary of the state is: ue east to the edge of the Gulf Stream or a distance of three geographic miles whichever is the greater distance; thence in a southerly direction along the edge of the Gulf Stream or along a line three geographic miles...
It is important to note that the sale of a vessel and a contract for the construction of a vessel do not fall within the federal court's maritime jurisdiction. However, a contract for the repair of a vessel are deemed a maritime contracts and admiralty law applies. This an area of contention. For example, in one case, where the customization components of a new yacht were in dispute, the court...
Depending on the circumstances, a marina may have a duty to care for a boat owner’s vessel. Now, if the agreement between the parties is simply for a space or slip, then the marina has a duty to provide security, and keep the dock and mooring components in good condition. However, if the vessel is in dry rack storage or is given over to the care of the marina, then the marina is to keep the...
Not many people are aware of what is called the independent tort doctrine. Essentially, the doctrine prohibits tort actions between parties to a contract such that a plaintiff cannot assert a mirrored tort claim, such as a claim of negligence, independent of or in addition to a claim for breach of contract against the defendant. In other words, the plaintiff cannot assert a tort action premised...
Pursuant to Florida statute 767, a dog owner is held strictly liable for any injury by the dog, whether it is a bite or other injury to person or property (such as another dog), even without the owner’s knowledge of the dog’s vicious propensities. Remember, this strict liability pertains to the owner of the dog, so keepers, custodians, or owners of the property where the animal is kept would...
To establish a qualifying need, an employee must be unable to work, including even telework due to one or more of the following reasons: 1. The employee is subject to a Federal, State, or local quarantine or isolation order related to COVID-19. 2. The employee has been advised by a health care provider to self-quarantine due to concerns related to COVID-19. 3. The employee is experiencing...