Litigation often offers multiple opportunities to inject an argument or an issue into a case. Pleadings, motions, and responses to motions allow parties to frame the issues. Unfortunately, there are times when an adverse...more
As courts across the country begin resuming jury trials, litigators returning to in-person proceedings must be prepared for the myriad logistical considerations brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic — from mask-wearing and...more
6/9/2021
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Among the many benefits of utilizing appellate counsel at trial is that appellate counsel can assist in timely raising possible errors, and if error is not asserted when it occurs, then appellate counsel may be able to raise...more
A recent Pennsylvania Supreme Court decision demonstrates how easy it can be not to preserve, or even waive, error in a trial court’s jury instructions....more
Your opponent files a motion for summary judgment. At a hearing on the motion, you point to an affidavit in the record to show that material questions of fact exist. Long before your opponent moved for summary judgment, you...more
Imagine a trial judge is trying to move things along at a charge conference. An issue arises, trial counsel begins to voice objections, and the judge short-circuits the discussion by saying, “Your rights are saved on the...more
Trials often are preceded or interrupted by hearings on motions in limine, where parties attempt to limit the evidence or arguments that their opponents can utilize in the trial. These hearings are often fast-paced, with...more
The trouble began with an off-the-record charge conference. Both sides proposed standard breach of contract jury instructions, but the defendant added additional language. The trial court gave the defendant’s version. The...more
Where a party challenges a trial court’s ruling excluding testimony, appellate courts generally require the substance of the excluded evidence to have been set forth on the record or else the challenge will not be properly...more
The Fifth Circuit’s decision in Blessey v. Marine Services, Inc., --- F.3d ---, 2014 WL 5837059 (5th Cir. Nov. 10, 2014), highlights two different ways that adverse pretrial rulings can wind up unreviewable. ...more
1. Florida’s “two-issue rule” generally holds that an appellant cannot show reversible error when an error relates to one claim or defense and the verdict does not reveal whether the appellee prevailed on that basis or...more
Jury instructions are important in winning the case before the jury. They can also provide grounds for appeal if errors are properly preserved. The following points address the most common problems we appellate lawyers see...more
1. Always bring appellate counsel into the case before trial. If the case is important enough to try, it almost certainly will be important enough for the loser to appeal.
2. Always, at the very least, involve...more
A recent Florida appellate decision examines some new twists on Florida’s “tipsy coachman” doctrine. Before we discuss the new decision, though, it may be useful to discuss what the tipsy coachman doctrine is and where it...more
Jury instructions obviously are important in winning the case before the jury. ...more
On June 6, for the first time, the Florida Supreme Court approved standard jury instructions for use in contract and business litigation. ...more