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JohnQuickPartner
John
Quick

Partner

Miami
(305) 854-0800
jquick@wsh-law.com

John Quick is an innovative and creative thinker who is both a local government attorney and a litigator. In his role as city attorney for municipal clients, John handles land use and zoning matters, statutory and code interpretation issues, ethics concerns, taxation and budget matters, special assessments, police and fire issues, disability accommodations, public development and historic preservation.

John’s trial practice experience includes contract disputes, business torts, real estate and construction litigation, bankruptcy and other creditor’s rights issues, maritime and aviation litigation, banking and secured transactions, and employment-related litigation before federal and state courts, as well as mediation and arbitration. John’s appellate practice includes cases before the Florida Supreme Court, Florida’s District Courts of Appeal, and United States Circuit Courts of Appeals. John also handles international litigation, involving the laws of multiple foreign jurisdictions.

John’s  insights as a former in-house corporate counsel for Royal Caribbean Cruises inform his current work. At Royal Caribbean, he represented the company’s subsidiary brands in matters involving bankruptcy and creditor’s rights, shipboard and land-based employment and labor defense, premises liability defense, privacy law, intellectual property, and international law. John partnered with Royal Caribbean’s revenue and accounting departments to implement strategies and programs to capture and manage potential lost revenue.

Civically, John is a passionate advocate for enhanced community relations and improvement of our society and holds leadership positions in numerous organizations dedicated to those issues. He is Chair of the Miami-Dade County Community Relations Board, is President of the Parks Foundation of Miami-Dade, and served on the Miami-Dade County Commission’s 2020 Census Task Force.

John serves as Independent Counsel to the City of Miami Civilian Investigative Panel, which oversees civilian complaints against police officers. As one of only a few attorneys in Florida to serve as a civilian oversight practitioner, John was recognized as a Certified Practitioner of Oversight by the National Association for Civilian Oversight of Law Enforcement. One of John’s most significant litigation victories resulted in the Florida Supreme Court upholding the validity of civilian oversight of law enforcement in the face of a constitutional challenge. This unanimous decision freed local governments impacted by a previous adverse appellate decision to resume operation of civilian oversight agencies.

John is a Past President of the Friends of the Miami-Dade Public Library and in 2014 brought together community leaders to form the Coalition to Save Our Libraries. His efforts ultimately resulted in an increase of the annual library budget from $30 million to $54.4 million, putting an end to four years of budget reductions and marking a turnaround for the library system. Under John’s leadership, the Coalition successfully increased the library’s budget each year for a total increase of almost $35 million, thus expanding the library’s offerings.

John is a Past Chair of the Eleventh Judicial Circuit Historical Society and served on the Board of Trustees for HistoryMiami. John was also previously appointed by the Miami-Dade County Board of County Commissioners to serve on its Parks & Recreations Citizens’ Advisory Committee and was appointed by the Village of Palmetto Bay to serve on its Charter Revision Committee. John was also instrumental in the Town of Cutler Bay’s incorporation.

John has been quoted in the Huffington Post, Associated Press, Miami Herald and Sun Sentinel. He has appeared on NPR, Bloomberg Radio, Sirius XM, WPLG and WLRN.

John has also undertaken pro bono representation of individuals in criminal, probate and family law matters.

Professional & Community Involvement

  • Miami-Dade County 2020 Census Task Force, 2019
  • Miami-Dade County Community Relations Board, Chair, 2018-2023; First Vice Chair, 2017-2018; Board Member, 2016-present
  • Friends of the Miami-Dade Public Library, President, 2012-2014; Vice President, 2011-2012, 2023-present; Board of Trustees, 2009-2018, 2021-present
  • The Parks Foundation of Miami-Dade, President, 2018-2021; Board of Trustees, 2017-2022
  • Miami-Dade County Parks & Recreations Citizens’ Advisory Committee, Member, 2015-2017
  • Eleventh Judicial Circuit Historical Society, Chair, 2015-2016; Vice-Chair, 2014-2015; Secretary, 2014; Board of Trustees, 2011-2019
  • Village of Palmetto Bay Charter Review Committee, Member, 2015-2016
  • Miami-Dade County Mayor’s Blue Ribbon Task Force for the Miami-Dade Public Library System, Member, 2013- 2014
  • HistoryMiami, Secretary, 2011-2014, 2015-2016; Treasurer, 2014-2015;  Board of Trustees, 2009-2016; Education Chair, 2010-2014; Audit Chair, 2014-2016
  • Flagler Street Society, Chair, 2007-2009; Member, 2005-2009

Awards & Recognition

  • Recognized for his work as past president by the Parks Foundation of Miami-Dade, 2023
  • Daily Business Review, Unsung Hero, 2022
  • South Florida Business & Wealth 2021, Social Impact, 2021
  • South Florida Legal Guide
    • Top Lawyer, 2019 – present
    • Top Up and Comer, 2015-2018
  • Florida Super Lawyers, Rising Star, 2009-2011, 2014-2017
  • South Florida Business & Wealth, Up and Comer Finalist, 2016 & 2017
  • South Florida Legal Guide, Top Lawyers, 2016
  • Sun Sentinel Top Workplace Professionals, 2016
  • South Florida Business Journal, 40 Under 40, 2015
  • Miami-Dade County League of Cities, President’s Community Service Award, 2014
  • Daily Business Review, Rising Stars 40 Under 40, 2014
  • Florida Library Association, Friends, Foundations & Boards Outstanding Member Award, 2014
  • Florida Trend’s Legal Elite, Up and Comer, 2007-2010

Representative Experience

  • Successfully defended multiple Bert J. Harris Act claims on behalf of municipalities.
  • Successfully defended a Miami-Dade municipality in an alleged First Amendment violation.
  • Successfully defended the development of a large mixed use project in South Miami-Dade anchored by one of the largest retailers in the state.
  • Successfully enforced the ownership rights of a large, multi-building condominium association.
  • Successfully defended multinational corporate manufacturer of breath-alcohol testing instruments used by Florida law enforcement against declaratory judgment action challenging corporation’s ownership of intellectual property associated with the instruments.
  • Successfully represented a large bank in a series of multimillion dollar commercial foreclosures of hotel properties throughout the United States.
  • Successfully represented a large international shipping company in a $5 million arbitration claim against a former shipping agent.
  • Successfully defended dozens of municipalities throughout Florida against a challenge to the home venue privilege.
  • Successfully prosecuted pension forfeiture matters against police and firefighters engaged in felonious behavior.
  • Successfully enforced contractual mining rights against both corporate defendant and environmental regulators.
  • Successfully asserted a constitutional challenge to a municipal ordinance precluding a private country club from fencing its property.
  • Successfully opposed a competitive bid challenge concerning a municipality’s stormwater system.
  • Successfully defended a constitutional challenge to a municipal charter provision allowing for appointment of official to fill vacancy on elected body.
  • Successfully challenged a statewide ballot question as unconstitutional, invalidated an unconstitutional statute , and upheld the constitutional powers granted to various government officials.

Practice Areas

Admissions

Florida, 2003


District of Columbia, 2004 (inactive)


U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida, 2004


U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, 2004


U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida, 2004


U.S. Court of Appeals, 1st Circuit, 2004


U.S. Court of Appeals, 5th Circuit, 2004


U.S. Court of Appeals, 9th Circuit, 2004


U.S. Court of Appeals, 11th Circuit, 2003

Education

Boston University School of Law, J.D., 2003


University of California at Los Angeles, B.A., 2000

Certifications

Certified Practitioner of Oversight, National Association for Civilian Oversight of Law Enforcement, 2018

Clerkships

Clerk, Honorable Stephen P. Nugent of the State of Rhode Island Superior Court

Press Mentions
Presentations
  • The Importance of Community Activism, John Due and Patricia Stephens Due Freedom Spirit conference, Atlanta, GA, May 5, 2022
  • Policing the Police, Guest Lecturer, Williams College, February 25, 2022
  • Road to Civilian Oversight in Miami-Dade County, 2021 Annual NACOLE Conference, Tucson, Arizona, December 14, 2021
  • How Do We Mobilize? Understanding Your Right to Protest, Wilkie D. Ferguson, Jr. Bar Association, May 2021
  • Independent Civilian Oversight for Miami-Dade County, ACLU of Florida Greater Miami Chapter, June 2020
  • The Role of Independent Counsel for Civilian Oversight, 25th annual NACAOLE conference, Detroit, Michigan, September 2019
  • In the Company of Women Awards Gala, March 2019
  • Miami-Dade County Parks Department 90th Anniversary Presentation, January 2019
  • ParkLife: Celebrating 90 Years of Miami-Dade Parks, November 2018
  • Civilian Oversight in Florida, 24th annual NACOLE conference, St. Petersburg, Florida, October 2018
  •  50 Years, 50 Voices, Legal Services of Greater Miami, October 2015
Publications
  • Why have we forgotten that children detained in Homestead are human beings? Miami Herald, July 23, 2019
  • Controlling Pandora’s Box: The Need for Patent Protection in Transgenic Research, 15 U. Miami Bus. L. Rev. 303, 2007
  • Genetic Discrimination and the Need for Federal Legislation, 8 J. BioLaw & Bus. 22, 2005
  • Intellectual Property: Plants Patentable Under the Utility Patent Statute, PVA, and PVPA, 30 J.L. Med. & Ethics 317, 2002
Reported Cases
  • City of Tallahassee, Fla. v. Fla. Police Benevolent Assoc., Inc., __ So. 3d __, 2023 WL 8264181 (Fla. Nov. 30, 2023)
  • Rohttis v. School Dist. of Lee County, Fla., 2023 WL 4082126 (M.D. Fla. June 20, 2023)
  • Rohttis v. School Dist. of Lee County, Fla., 2022 WL 3028071 (M.D. Fla. Aug. 1, 2022)
  • Jenner v. School Board of Lee County, 2022 WL 1747522 (M.D. Fla. May 31, 2022)
  • Rohttis v. School District of Lee County, 2022 WL 523605 (M.D. Fla. Feb. 22, 2022)
  • CRSJ, Inc. v. Miami-Dade County, 325 So. 3d 976 (Fla. 3d DCA 2021)
  • Morgan v. Miramar, 2019 WL 3713695 (Fla. Div. Admin. Hrgs. June 26, 2019).
  • Homestead-Miami Speedway, LLC v. City of Homestead, 241 So. 3d 280 (Fla. 1st DCA 2018).
  • Mullen v. Bal Harbour Village, 241 So. 3d 949 (Fla. 3d DCA 2018).
  • D’Agastino v. City of Miami, 220 So. 3d 410 (Fla. 2017).
  • Brock v. Ochs, 2016 WL 661203 (Fla. 20th Cir. Ct. Feb. 18, 2016).
  • Preserve Grove Isle, LLC v. Grove Isle Yacht & Tennis Club, LLC, 2015 WL 5769084 (Fla. 11th Cir. Ct. Aug. 13, 2015).
  • Key Biscayne Gateway Partners, LTD. v. Village of Key Biscayne, 172 So. 3d 499 (Fla. 3d DCA 2015).
  • E.H. ex rel. Moore v. City of Miramar, 111 F. Supp. 3d 1307 (S.D. Fla. 2015).
  • Cutino v. Untch, 2015 WL 1855788 (S.D. Fla. April 22, 2015).
  • Cutino v. Untch, 79 F. Supp. 3d 1305 (S.D. Fla. 2015).
  • Cutino v. Untch, 303 F.R.D. 413 (S.D. Fla. 2014).
  • Fernandez v. Bal Harbour Village, 49 F. Supp. 3d 1144, (S.D. Fla. 2014).
  • Ulloa v. CMI, Inc., 133 So. 3d 914 (Fla. 2013).
  • O’Boyle v. Bradshaw, 952 F. Supp. 2d 1310 (S.D. Fla. 2013).
  • Apothecary Development Corp. v. City of Marco Island, Fla., 517 Fed. Appx. 890 (11th Cir. 2013).
  • Lobegeiger v. Celebrity Cruises Inc., 869 F. Supp. 2d 1356 (S.D. Fla. 2012).
  • Lobegeiger v. Celebrity Cruises Inc., 869 F. Supp. 2d 1350 (S.D. Fla. 2012).
  • Lasky v. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd., 850 F. Supp. 2d 1309 (S.D. Fla. 2012).
  • CMI, Inc. v. Ulloa, 73 So. 3d 787 (Fla. 5th DCA 2011).
  • Lobegeiger v. Celebrity Cruises, Inc., 2011 WL 3703329 (S.D. Fla. Aug. 23, 2011).
  • Atwater v. City of Weston, 64 So. 3d 701 (Fla. 1st DCA 2011).
  • Apothecary Dev. Corp. v. City of Marco Island, Fla., 2011 WL 1071448 (M.D. Fla. March 18, 2011).
  • Addison v. City of Tampa, 33 So. 3d 742 (Fla. 2d DCA 2010).
  • City of Weston v. Crist, 2010 WL 4956375 (Fla. 2d Cir. Ct. Aug. 26, 2010).
  • Flagler Retail Assoc., Ltd. v. Dep’t of Cmty. Affairs, 2010 WL 2948165 (Fla. Div. Admin. Hrgs. July 23, 2010).
  • Bloch-Mullen v. Bal Harbour Village, 23 So. 3d 725 (Fla. 3d DCA 2009).
  • Companion v. City of Hollywood Police Officers’ Ret. Sys., 1 So. 3d 1283 (Fla. 4th DCA 2009).
  • Simcox v. City of Hollywood Police Officers’ Ret. Sys., 988 So. 2d 731 (Fla. 4th DCA 2008).
  • Hames v. City of Miami, 281 Fed. Appx. 853 (11th Cir. 2008).
  • Hames v. City of Miami Firefighters’ & Police Officers’ Trust, 980 So. 2d 1112 (Fla. 3d DCA 2008).
  • Swerdlow v. Dep’t of Cmty. Affairs, 2007 WL 2253612 (Fla. Div. Admin. Hrgs. August 6, 2007).
  • Hames v. City of Miami, 479 F. Supp. 2d 1279 (S.D. Fla. 2007).
  • Mancini Enterprises, Inc. v. American Express Co.,236 F.R.D. 695 (S.D. Fla. 2006).
  • United States v. Norwegian Cruise Line, Ltd., 2004 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 22585 (S.D. Fla. May 25, 2004).

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