Judge Suarez Congratulations to Judge Suarez on his election to chief judge-elect! Coincidentally, the two opinions below were both authored by him. INADVERTENT DISCLOSURE OF PRIVILEGED DOCUMENTS Constr. Sys. of Am. v. Travelers Cas. & Sur. Co. of Am., 2013 Fla. App. LEXIS 12329 (Fla. 3d DCA August 7, 2013) involved a petition for certiorari in a seven-year-old suit where counsel inadvertently received privileged...

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — (Mealey’s) A Florida appeals court vacated $50,000 in punitive damages in a smoking wrongful death case Aug. 14, but allowed a compensatory damages award of approximately $957,000 to stand ( R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company v. Pamela Ciccone , No. 4D11-3807, Fla. App., 4th Dist.; 2013 Fla. App. LEXIS 12726 [ enhanced opinion available to lexis.com subscribers ]). The Fourth District...

MEDIATION / CONFIDENTIALITY Benes v. A.B. Data, Ltd., 2013 U.S. App. LEXIS 15270 (7th Cir. Wis. July 26, 2013) Are mediations really confidential? The facts as set forth in the opinion are that Benes was an employee who sued his employer after only for four months on the job, alleging sex discrimination. At the EEOC-arranged mediation, the parties caucused after an initial joint session and, upon receiving the...

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - (Mealey's) A Florida appeals court conditionally struck $5 million in punitive damages from a tobacco wrongful death suit June 12 and directed a trial judge to grant remittitur on $15 million in survivors' consortium claims ( Philip Morris USA Inc., et al. v. Sharon Putney, et al. , Nos. 4D10-3606 and 4D10-5244, Fla. App., 4th Dist.; 2013 Fla. App. LEXIS 9279). ( Opinion available. Document...