LITIGATION DEPARTMENT OF THE YEAR — MIDSIZE LAW FIRMS

Berger Singerman Berger Singerman consistently handles matters typically reserved for much larger law firms. Its dispute resolution team serves a diverse client base with a Florida focus and international scope and frequently handles disputes exceeding $1 billion in controversy, differentiating Berger Singerman from other firms of its size and even larger. Serving as a trusted referral source for other lawyers is a major component of Berger Singerman's business and practice. The firm often serves as co-counsel on Florida matters for out-of-state firms, and a no-poach policy assures referring firms that the clients will return as a client after the referrals, mostly from out-of-state firms. On the litigation front, the firm's 30 litigation attorneys excelled in 2017 at defeating a wide variety of claims. In a case with the most recognizable names, U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams dismissed a copyright infringement lawsuit filed against firm clients Prince, Spike Lee and Warner Bros. Records over the soundtrack for the 1996 film "Girl 6" after James Brandon claimed rights to the music and lyrics. The firm represented Airbnb in obtaining an injunction to bar enforcement of Miami's ban on short-term house rentals in areas zoned residential. The decision also barred the city from requiring public speakers at City Commission meetings to give their names and addresses. The decision is on appeal. The firm also won an appeal in the Fourth District Court of Appeal to require an unwilling Pembroke Pines to supply water to an immigration jail planned across the city line in neighboring Southwest Ranches. An appeal is pending before the Florida Supreme Court. In another appeal, the Third District Court of Appeal ruled for the firm's client, developer R. Donahue Peebles, and reversed a $724,138 damages award in a long-running commission fraud claim filed in 2006 by real estate broker Dora Puig. In a related case, U.S. Chief Bankruptcy Judge Laurel Isicoff issued a directed verdict for Peebles on a trustee's claim of fraudulent transfers seeking $1.3 million in damages in a dispute over a marketing limited liability company controlled by Peebles. The firm also defeated an attempt to recover $2.7 million in insurance payouts for the 2000 crash of a Piper Chieftain in Canada. The law firm has represented Piper Aircraft Corp. since it filed for bankruptcy protection in 1991.   |

PRODUCTS LIABILITY — MIDSIZE LAW FIRMS

Weinberg Wheeler Hudgins Gunn & Dial A half-day outing on Tampa Bay aboard a 33-foot cabin cruiser was a family gathering planned a day before the First Communion of the girl whose name was on the boat, Maddie Mae. An explosion caused catastrophic injuries — one man lost parts of three limbs — and led to three lawsuits against more than 20 defendants, claiming in part that Westerbeke Corp.'s gas generator was defective. Six of 14 passengers were hospitalized after the boat burned to the water line. The plaintiffs alleged the generator leaked gas vapors that were ignited by an internal short circuit. Weinberg Wheeler Hudgins Gunn & Dial attorneys were retained to defend the company, which suffered a legal setback when the trial court denied a request to disassemble a generator part. Westerbeke's defense was that the ignition source was a hot water heater that was not marine grade, was installed by the boat owner and was used for the first time on the fateful trip. Weinberg Wheeler insisted the motion denial effectively eviscerated its ability to defend Westerbeke. The plaintiffs argued a spark wouldn't necessarily leave evidence but the physical examination of the generator would destroy evidence. The cases had been consolidated for discovery, but the evidence decision would apply to all three lawsuits. The Second District Court of Appeal ruled last August for Miami partner Lawrence Burkhalter, determining Hillsborough Circuit Judge Rex Barbas applied the wrong legal standard — collateral estoppel — because none of the cases had reached final judgment. The appellate court advised the trial court to reconsider the proper standard without specifying what it should be. Weinberg Wheeler, which formed in 1999, has 13 attorneys in Florida and a total of 91, all devoted to litigation. The firm's attorneys have tried cases to verdict in 47 states and currently are involved in cases in 25 states. The firm is often called on in bet-the-company cases and has been known to parachute in on the eve of trial.   |

REAL ESTATE & OTHER LITIGATION — MIDSIZE LAW FIRMS

Stearns Weaver Miller Weissler Alhadeff & Sitterson The 48 litigation attorneys at Stearns Weaver Miller Weissler Alhadeff & Sitterson focus on business litigation and class action defense. On the class action side, the law firm in 2017 won the dismissal of a putative class action trying to block a Fort Lauderdale-based BFC Financial Corp. merger and a voluntary dismissal of a lawsuit filed under the federal Telephone Consumer Protection Act against Boca Raton-based timeshare operator Bluegreen Vacations Unlimited Inc. Another lawsuit filed against Bluegreen under the federal law and the Ohio Consumer Sales Practices Act also was voluntarily dismissed. An appeal is pending on a trial court judge's refusal to dismiss a Stearns Weaver class action claiming state officials owe $1 billion in matching funds on donations to Florida's public universities and colleges under four state laws. On the business litigation side, the firm successfully represented BBX Capital Corp., which owned the 100-branch BankAtlantic, and chairman and CEO Alan Levan in a six-week trial that ended with a jury rejecting Securities and Exchange Commission charges tied to the housing crash. The firm obtained a New York court order holding Benihana of Tokyo LLC in contempt for violating an injunction in litigation against longtime client Benihana Inc. The companies divided ownership in 1995 and split trademarks geographically, but a string of litigation followed. Stearns Weaver also prevailed in a state administrative hearing contesting an environmental permit modification, which could have delayed the start of northward service by All Aboard Florida's Brightline passenger train. Martin and St. Lucie counties and the town of St. Lucie Village filed the challenge. Summary judgment was granted to Stearns Weaver client Gibraltar Private Bank & Trust Co. in a defamation case filed five years ago by former COO Jonathan Hullick. Some of the resources the law firm cites in its string of successes are an in-house, state-of-the-art courtroom, a proprietary system for electronic evidence presentations and an in-house multimedia department that produces courtroom aids. The courtroom is used by firm attorneys for mock trials and appellate arguments to acclimate attorneys and witnesses to courtroom settings and circumstances.