Florida Bar Journal articles from March 2006

Florida Bar Journal archives from March 2006

Florida's grade in democracy 101.(President's page)
March 1, 2006... We all should be concerned that a recent survey indicates that 46 percent of Florida adult residents cannot define the term "separation of powers." Among those least likely to identify the meaning of separation of powers were those aged 18 to...

The last unlikely hero: Gerald Bard Tjoflat and the Jacksonville desegregation crisis - 35 years later.(Florida)
March 1, 2006... Resistance to public school desegregation in this country was often contentious, and sometimes violent. Little is more precious to parents than the education of their children, and few things evoke more loyalty than the local school. Yet...

Construction arbitration: the arbitration process and practice tips for advocates.
March 1, 2006... The objective in construction arbitration is to resolve a dispute privately, promptly, and economically by one or more experts in the construction industry. Resolving construction disputes via private arbitration means there are no reported...

Statutory offers of settlement in Florida practice: uses, problems, and solutions.
March 1, 2006... It has been 15 years since the Florida Legislature passed F.S. [section] 768.79, (1) the offer of settlement (and judgment) (2) statute, and nearly 10 years since the Florida Supreme Court amended Rule 1.442 to harmonize the Rules of Civil...

Must information in the public record be disclosed to buyers of residential real property and may it be mispresented?(Florida)
March 1, 2006... In many cases of alleged nondisclosures or misrepresentations, where information in the public record is relevant or material, an issue frequently arises regarding what information contained in public records a buyer of residential property...

Using shared application mortgages to avoid FIRPTA.(Foreign Investment in Real Property Tax Act of 1980)
March 1, 2006... The combination of a weak U.S. dollar and low interest rates has resulted in an enormous increase in foreign investment in U.S. real estate. (1) While investment is not expected to continue at the same pace, the U.S. is expected to remain the...

Codifying cohabitation as a ground for modification or termination of alimony - so what's new?(Florida)
March 1, 2006... Cohabitation has long been recognized as a basis for seeking the modification and/or termination of an alimony obligation. Until recently, such applications were governed strictly by case law and decided on a case-by-case basis. In the exercise...

Reply briefs: rules and protocol in the battle for the last word.(Florida)
March 1, 2006... The Florida Supreme Court in Boca Burger, Inc. v. Forum, 912 So. 2d 561, 573 (Fla. 2005), recently adopted the Fourth District's maxim that outcomes should not "depend on who is the most powerful, most eloquent, best dressed, most devious and...