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Our Litigation Division represents public and private business clients at every level of the justice system from administrative hearings to matters before the Florida and United States Supreme Courts. We do not just litigate, we try cases, and we try them in front of juries, judges, administrative panels, arbitrators and appellate panels. We know that regardless of the goal, our clients are most likely to obtain the best results if we are prepared and willing to try the case and we live by that promise. We also maintain an active appellate and administrative law practice generated both by our own trial court litigation and by referrals from other attorneys.
Our clients benefit from our extensive knowledge of specialized substantive subject matters including government contracts, municipal law, zoning and land use, commercial law, business law, real estate, employment and labor law, civil rights, election law, eminent domain, environmental law and ADA accessibility, as well as a wide array of state and federal constitutional challenges. Our litigators’ extensive record of reported court opinions has helped shape the law at the local, state and national levels.
We are zealous advocates and we are well prepared, but we always seek to obtain optimum results in a cost-effective manner. We are well-versed in the most current alternative dispute resolution methods and we frequently use them to our clients’ financial and tactical advantage.
Commercial Litigation
Weiss Serota attorneys have prosecuted and defended a wide variety of general commercial and business dispute issues including those establishing law in the areas of:
- Breach of Contract
- Fraud
- Defamation/Libel
- Securities
- Breach of Warranties
- Class Actions
- Liens
Litigation and Dispute Resolution
We are experienced in a variety of alternative dispute resolution (ADR) techniques, including binding arbitration and non-binding mediation. These methods are often used to settle disputes without exposing clients to the risk, time and expense of a trial.
Labor, Employment and Civil Rights Litigation
Because of the interplay among our firm’s extensive governmental practice, its Labor and Employment Group and Litigation Division, our attorneys often litigate key issues in the labor, employment and civil rights area. With regard to labor issues, we have addressed claims involving:
- Employment Discrimination
- Retaliatory Discharge
- Family and Medical Leave
- A union’s waiver of statutory rights
- Due process claims relating to collective bargaining
- Pension issues
- Restraints on hiring smokers
- Fair Labor Standards Act
- breach of employment contracts / non-compete provisions
Our attorneys participate in labor arbitrations on a regular basis and have also created law in the following areas:
- Challenges to arbitration reports
- Internal affairs investigations
- Employee discipline
- Employee termination
Weiss Serota has successfully litigated in jury and non-jury trials, key civil rights issues including:
- Enforceability of an ordinance providing for a pension to a mayor
- First Amendment free speech violations
- False arrest
- Enforcement of employment discrimination ordinances
Real Estate, Zoning and Land Use
Our attorneys have helped shape Florida real estate and land use law. We have litigated a number of cases relating to consistency between a development order and a local comprehensive master plan.
Other cases involving real estate and land use issues include:
- The validity of an amendment to the master plan
- Standing to challenge zoning rulings
- Allegations of regulatory taking and due process violations
- Water rights
- Federal claims arising from land use approvals
We are also experienced in litigation stemming from general real estate transactions as well as the enforcement of commercial leases.
Governmental Law
Because the firm has significant expertise in many different areas of government practice, our experience in litigation in this area is extensive. Our trial lawyers have litigated cases up to the Florida Supreme Court relating to:
- The imposition of municipal taxes
- Special versus general law
- Sovereign immunity
- Election law
- Special assessment
- Safe water issues
- Government health insurance plans
- County fiscal responsibility
Appeals
We pursue and defend appeals and petitions on behalf of public and private-sector clients before Florida’s Circuit Courts and District Courts of Appeal, the Florida Supreme Court, the United States Circuit Courts of Appeals, the United States Supreme Court and appellate courts in numerous other jurisdictions. We have handled some of the most significant constitutional and government law matters to come before the courts of Florida and the United States. We have also handled cases involving commercial disputes, business torts, zoning and land use, municipal bond validations, labor and employment, (including wage and hour issues), intellectual property, environmental regulation, telecommunications, torts, contracts, government purchasing, civil rights, ad valorem taxation and probate matters. In addition to representing litigants, our attorneys are regularly retained by individuals and entities seeking to participate in appellate proceedings as amicus curiae or “friends of the court.”
We also handle matters involving extraordinary writs such as those for certiorari, mandamus, prohibition and quo warranto. Our deep knowledge of appellate practice and procedures allows us to advise clients properly regarding the meaningful and cost-effective use of appellate stays, motions for rehearing and rehearing en banc, and requests for certification of issues for further appellate review. We also know that a successful appeal requires careful creation and preservation of the evidentiary record in proceedings before trial courts and administrative tribunals. In fact, other lawyers frequently retain us as trial consultants to assist in preparation and trial of their cases and in post-trial proceedings.
