Opinions & Cases

Florida Third District Court of Appeal affirming the trial court's order vacating a default judgment in foreclosure action, finding excusable neglect properly established where the default resulted from attorney abandonment rather than client conduct. Foreclosure defense / appellate litigation.

Denying motion to dismiss claims brought by hotel workers who alleged they lived on-site in deplorable conditions. Court found sufficient allegations of serious harm under the Trafficking Victims Protection Act and sustained FLSA, unjust enrichment, and emotional distress claims. Pending litigation.

Representing Miami residents challenging Referendum 3 — a ballot question sponsored by Commissioner Joe Carollo asking voters whether to keep outdoor gym equipment installed at Maurice A. Ferré Park. Plaintiffs alleged the ballot language was a leading question that violated Florida election law’s clear-and-unambiguous standard and failed to disclose that the equipment had been installed without proper permitting. The court denied the City’s motions to dismiss. See also: Miami Herald (Aug. 12, 2024); Miami Herald Editorial Board (Aug. 13, 2024).

Representing appellee in consolidated appeals from the dismissal of a domestic violence injunction petition. The Fourth District Court of Appeal affirmed, holding that a stale prior incident of physical violence cannot form the basis for an injunction, and that verbal abuse and general harassment, without a current incident of physical violence, are insufficient to warrant injunctive relief.

Satellite discovery litigation in the Southern District of Florida arising from a trade secret misappropriation dispute in the biotech manufacturing industry. The Burton Firm represented a Florida-based non-party witness subject to a deposition subpoena; when the plaintiff sought to extend her deposition beyond fourteen hours of prior testimony, the court denied the motion under Rule 30(d)(1), finding no good cause to reopen discovery against a non-party witness.

Middle District of Florida dismissing defamation claims arising from public criticism related to the January 6, 2021 Capitol events. Dismissed on statute-of-limitations grounds. Related litigation is presently pending in Orange County, Florida.

Leon County Circuit Court issuing writs of quo warranto against Governor DeSantis and his appointee, ordering the administration to legally justify its executive order removing a duly elected Broward County School Board member from a seat he had won. A constitutional challenge to executive overreach at the intersection of separation of powers and Amendment 4 rights. Covered by Florida Politics.

Representation of a university professor in a defamation case against the university.

Representing appellee in a foreclosure-related appeal. The Third District granted the appellee’s motion to dismiss, holding that the appeal was taken from a non-final, non-appealable order — because a pending motion for rehearing tolled rendition of the final order and the appeal was therefore premature.

Defense of individual accused of online defamation and cyberpiracy. Obtained vacatur of default judgment and dismissal for lack of personal jurisdiction. Court severed and transferred claims to the District of Colorado.

Representing the Florida Democratic Party and individual election observers in a First Amendment challenge to a DeSantis-signed statute broad enough to criminalize election observers for privately communicating vote information to their own party before polls closed. With the case pending before the federal court, the Florida Division of Elections issued an advisory opinion addressed to counsel, and the state represented it would not prosecute the speech at issue. The preliminary injunction was denied as moot; the lawsuit accomplished its purpose.

Representing plaintiff in a workplace tort action arising from claims of sexual assault on the job. The court denied the employer’s motion to dismiss the intentional infliction of emotional distress claim, holding that the complaint’s allegations — that the employer sent a sexual assault victim back to work without medical attention or law enforcement contact, engaged in victim-blaming, and deliberately disseminated information about the attack — were sufficient to state a claim — and that a lower standard of outrageousness applied given the employer’s knowledge of the plaintiff’s susceptibility to distress.

Final judgment of partition in the Eleventh Judicial Circuit, Miami-Dade County, resolving a decades-long dispute over jointly owned residential property. After the marriage was dissolved, the defendant allegedly retained possession without accounting to the co-owner for over thirty years. Following the defendant’s default, a non-jury hearing on damages produced a final judgment of $393,400.85, including prejudgment interest under Fla. Stat. § 55.03 and attorneys’ fees under Fla. Stat. § 64.081. The matter ultimately settled post-judgment and the property sold.

Represented a former biotech executive in a Southern District of Florida employment lawsuit alleging wrongful termination, sexual harassment, and hostile work environment under Title VII, as well as defamation, invasion of privacy (public disclosure of private facts), fraudulent misrepresentation, negligent misrepresentation, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and negligent infliction of emotional distress under Florida law. The court found a prima facie basis for sanctions under its inherent power and 28 U.S.C. § 1927 based on the defendant’s repeated failure to disclose an Employment Practices Liability Insurance policy covering her claims, in violation of Fed. R. Civ. P. 26 and Fla. Stat. § 627.4137. Final ruling was reserved pending full development of harm; the defendant’s cross-motion for sanctions was denied as meritless.

Representing plaintiff, a former Chief Regulatory Officer at a biotech company, in a multi-claim action alleging non-consensual contact by the company’s CEO and CTO, retaliatory termination, denial of promised equity, and a coordinated campaign to disseminate private information and defamatory statements about her. The court denied partial motions to dismiss, sustaining five challenged claims — negligent misrepresentation, two counts of negligent infliction of emotional distress, invasion of privacy (public disclosure of private facts), and defamation — alongside pre-existing claims alleging intentional infliction of emotional distress, battery, and civil rights violations.

Representation of a City of Miami Beach financial analyst who alleged gender discrimination, sexual harassment, and hostile work environment, alleging that a supervisor repeatedly made denigrating comments about her appearance and body. Plaintiff further alleged she was placed on a performance improvement plan while on family medical leave and ultimately wrongfully terminated. Covered by Miami New Times.

Representing plaintiff in an employment discrimination action arising from the termination of a long-tenured international salesperson. The court denied summary judgment on age discrimination (ADEA) and race/national origin discrimination (Title VII) claims, finding that the employer’s statements at the time of termination constituted direct evidence of age discrimination and that systematic disparate treatment of non-Korean employees — including exclusion from Korean-language business meetings and denial of salaried pay and benefits — raised genuine issues of material fact, with the employer’s proffered performance-based justification undermined by inconsistencies in its own sales records.

Representing the ACLU of Florida, the Florida Immigrant Coalition, and individual plaintiffs challenging the Trump administration’s collection of personal voter data from all fifty states. Filed against the Executive Office of the President and the Office of the Vice President. The presidential commission was dissolved while litigation was pending; the government confirmed the data would not be transferred to DHS.

In 2023, the Federal Judicial Center — the research and education arm of the federal judiciary — selected the case as a case study in emergency election litigation and published it in the FJC’s judicial education catalog. See also: Wikipedia.

Counsel in ballot image retention litigation against the Miami-Dade Supervisor of Elections. In October 2025, the Supervisor agreed to begin preserving digital ballot images going forward, mooting the case on the eve of trial. See also: Florida Bulldog, Jan. 2022.

Partial summary judgment in the Fifteenth Judicial Circuit, Palm Beach County, for a condominium employee who alleged he developed lung cancer from years of exposure to sulfur emissions from Chinese Drywall installed at the building. The court denied the association’s two motions for summary judgment — rejecting both a federal MDL bar defense and a statute of limitations argument — and granted plaintiffs’ cross-motion. On the limitations issue, the court applied the discovery rule for creeping diseases under Fla. Stat. § 95.031(2)(a), holding that a cancer diagnosis alone does not start the four-year clock absent evidence the plaintiff knew the disease was caused by Chinese Drywall.

Obtained disbursement of surplus foreclosure proceeds for a homeowner who retained The Burton Firm after the foreclosure sale had already occurred. Applying Garcia v. Stewart, 906 So. 2d 1117 (Fla. 4th DCA 2005), the court ordered the full surplus remitted to the former owner over a competing creditor.

Wrongful death and personal injury claim alleging that Chinese Drywall in a rental unit at an Aventura high-rise caused a tenant’s fatal lung cancer. Plaintiff Adriana Grillet alleged her husband Juan Merino was assured before signing his lease that no Chinese Drywall was present. Defendants denied causation. Covered by NBC Miami.

Representing intervenor Sandra Del Castillo in a voting rights action brought by the Florida Democratic Party. Following Hurricane Matthew, the court granted a preliminary injunction extending Florida’s voter registration deadline by seven days — to October 18, 2016 — finding that the storm had deprived affected citizens of a meaningful opportunity to register to vote.

In 2023, the Federal Judicial Center — the research and education arm of the federal judiciary — selected the case as a case study in emergency election litigation.

Securities fraud action on behalf of plaintiff Janos Solyom, who claimed he was induced by an alleged “boiler room” operation to purchase stock and pay advance fees to fictitious companies. Claims were brought under Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act and Rule 10b-5, along with common law fraud, negligent misrepresentation, and civil conspiracy. The Southern District of Florida denied summary judgment, finding genuine issues of material fact on both agency attribution and the statute of limitations discovery rule.

Representing defendant blogger Irina Chevaldina against copyright infringement claims brought by a Miami real estate developer and Miami Heat minority investor who had obtained the copyright to an unflattering candid photograph of himself specifically to wield as a litigation weapon against her criticism blog. The court granted summary judgment on fair use grounds — finding the use transformative and non-commercial, the photograph primarily factual, and no potential market to harm, given that plaintiff had obtained the copyright solely to suppress the image rather than exploit it commercially. Affirmed by the Eleventh Circuit, which held that plaintiff had attempted to deploy copyright “as an instrument of censorship against unwanted criticism.”

Final judgment in the Eleventh Judicial Circuit, Miami-Dade County, on claims arising from breach of promissory notes.

Jury verdict for plaintiff Rumbaut & Company, Inc. after a five-day trial in Miami-Dade County. Julio Rumbaut, a veteran media broker and co-founder of Telemundo of Florida, alleged that he introduced two Spanish-language broadcasting groups, facilitated their negotiations, and was then cut out of the joint venture they formed without notice or compensation. Claims for unjust enrichment, quantum meruit, and civil conspiracy.

Representing plaintiff Katherine Murphy, the founding principal of Aventura City of Excellence School, in a defamation, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and conspiracy action against the city manager of Aventura and the charter school management company following her abrupt termination in 2006. The city manager had accused Murphy of accepting kickbacks to admit a student outside the school’s waitlist — allegations a jury flatly rejected — and Murphy alleged the city manager subjected her to years of harassment that left her unable to find work in education and caused catastrophic physical harm, including intestinal rupture and a six-week coma. After a month-long trial before a Miami-Dade jury, Murphy prevailed with a $155.7 million verdict — the 17th largest in the United States in 2012. The trial court subsequently granted judgment notwithstanding the verdict on sovereign immunity grounds.