Florida Recent Legal Answers from Lawyers

This is a question for the board counsel as it depends on the details of the board charter and association rules. If this is a board run business, I would expect that there is a right to full accounting of the expenses for the business operation. Again, that would be addressed by the board counsel as to how to address that. ... Read Answer

If the van was titled in your name and you knew your son had it and did nothing to get it back, YES, you are most likely legally liable for what he does with the van. You should have addressed this 4 years ago, and likely reported it stolen, hired a repo agent to recover it, or at least cancelled the tags on the vehicle so it could not have been driven without law enforcement stopping him and seizing the vehicle. You will need to contact the tow yard to address payment of any balance and recvoery of the van or surrendering it to them to pay for the balance. Otherwise, they might sell it and if there is more you owe the could try to have your DL suspended here in Florida for non-payment by statute. ... Read Answer

You generally have the right to sue for breach of contract for any damages caused or enforcement of the lease terms. This is rarely an issue that allows termination of a tenancy under Fla. Stat. 83.56(1). Under Florida law, in most instances, air conditioning is not required for habitability and 84 degrees is not likely to be deemed a health threat by a judge. ... Read Answer

This is unfortunately too broad of a question to answer in a blurb. Defamation is general a statement made to third parties that is known to be false and that causes actual damage to a persons reputation. What is needed to prove this could be a wide variety of things depending on the circumstances. ... Read Answer

Dear Anonymous: You can file a motion with the court to have the guardian ad litem  removed from the case.  You will need to be specific as to why you believe there is a conflict of interest so the judge can review the facts.   However, from the limited information you provided, it seems that perhaps you should file a motion for contempt and/or a motion to compel your husband to comply with the Court order, as the Court can then review his violations and sanction him, or require him to give you make-up timesharing.  As the judge will ultimately decide your case it is important that the judge know that your husband is violating the Court's orders.  The guardian must look at all the facts.  Parties often feel that the guardain is biased when the guardian supports the other spouse's position.   There are probably a number of factors the guardian is considering in testifying, as you state, in "support of your husband."   But bringing a motion before the Court if you feel that you have sufficient facts is the way to go, not   filing a bar complaint. Best of luck, Cindy S. Vova Law Offices of Cindy S. Vova Broward/Miami-Dade: 954-316-3496 Boca Raton: 561-962-2785  ... Read Answer

Dear Ms. Bunce: As you are still married, the vehicle is the property of both parties, regardless of how it is titled.  Thus, your husband cannot legally stop you from using the vehicle.  You stated you need it for your job, which is fine, but since there is only one vehicle you both need to be cognisant of the other party's need to use the car sometimes. Best of luck, Cindy S. Vova Law Offices of Cindy S. Vova, P.A. Broward/Miami-Dade:  954-316-3496 Boca Raton/Palm Beach: 561-962-2785  ... Read Answer

I hope that you are improving. There are issues beyond the action during surgery including potential failures afterward, that must be addressed to determine whether you have a viable Medical Malpractice case. A Medical Malpractice Attorney can assist you in exploring these issues by interviewing you in depth and reviewing your medical records prior to potentially sending them out for review by the appropriate medical experts. The answer to your question can only ultimately be obtained through medical expert review of your medical records to determine whether the standard of care was breached by the surgeon and perhaps others involved and if that breach directly caused or contributed to causing significant and permanent injuries. We all give free consultations; however, you will have to reach out, as we are unable to solicit on this forum. Do not delay, as the Statute of Limitation for bringing a Medical Malpractice lawsuit is relatively short given the complexity involved in such cases involving knee replacements. ... Read Answer

This is a finanical problem not a legal one. Lenders are not typically obligated to negotiate your payment terms after the fact simply because you claim the price is too high. I will defer to your current lawyer as to what rights you do or don't have. That said, you may have to bite the bullet and sell the home, while the market is positive, to get out from under a financial deal you cannot sustain. The notion of "want" vs proper financial decision making is the bitter pill to swallow, but you are now going on 7 years removed from the loss of employment event and still have not recovered. Moreover, you will need to weigh the fact that a decent rental of a one bedroom 1 bath apartment will likely cost you the same as your mortgage payment so that becomes a factor in your decision making also. The notion that you cannot find a PT job is simply untenable as there are literally thousands of them available in any decent sized municiple area, not to mention the tens of thousands of work at home jobs or even ride share driving like Uber. You simply need to find more money even if that means changing jobs to something that pays more. ... Read Answer

Not sure why the car was left for 2 weeks to fix a "damaged spot"  nor the kind of damage was caused by the "spray" but the remedy would be to make an insurance claim if you can or simply to sue for the cost of repainting the vehicle or fixing the "spray." If this is less than $3-4,000.00 to repair, it might not be financially viable to spend money suing over. I would not buy another vehicle from them for obvious reasons. ... Read Answer

Very little other than the leverage of simply refusing to pay and saying "sue me." While there is no inherent obligation for you to settle any claim there is equally no obligation on the part of the other party not to sue for whatever damages were caused. THIS is why its critical to hire a lawyer to negotiate with the other party, even though it might cost more than the difference between the estimates. ... Read Answer

Your complaint is more that the local government does not support your business. That is a political issue not a legal one. As to the water issue, thats generally covered by soveriegn immunity where you cannot sue the goverment for its discretionary or decision making conduct. Water contaminaiton is typically a short term issue solved by boiling the water or using bottled water temporarily.... Read Answer

YOu went from CAN the LL do this or that to "do I have the right to not pay rent" and they are 2 different concepts. You can always ASK but rarely DEMAND or break a lease. You would be better off hiring an HVAC specialist to see what is specifically wrong with the A/C and then what it would cost to fix it. I might be cheaper in the long run to have the AC repaired... Read Answer

Your son may pursue a civil lawsuit against the cousin and any third party who owned the home where the abuse occurred. The case against the third party may result in substantial recovery of money if that party had homeowners or renters insurance. The key questions are 1) how old is your son now and 2) where did this incident occur? Florida’s civil statute of limitations includes multiple provisions that may affect the timing for these cases: 1. When the victim is a minor alleging an intentional tort based upon abuse, they can file a lawsuit up to the latest of the following: Seven years after turning 18 years old; Four years after leaving the dependency of the abuser; OR, Four years after discovering the injuries and the link to child sexual abuse. 2. When the victim of child sexual battery was under 16 years old, there is no statute of limitations. Note that the default Florida statute of limitations does apply to child sexual abuse cases IF you are pursuing a party whose negligence caused your injuries. Examples might include a daycare center, church, or other organization that did not use proper care to protect a child from abuse by an employee. My analysis only pertains to civil statutes of limitation and not criminal ones. You should discuss this case in a private phone call with an attorney here in Florida in more detail. ... Read Answer

Dear Ms. Duncan:   Prioer to July, 2023, typically when  child support is ordered through the Department of Revenue as the petitioner, the order did not confer upon the father the rights of  shared parental responsibilityand the right to access records of the child. However, as of July, 2023, under Florida Statute 742.10, if paternity is adjudicated by the Department of Revenue per Florida Statute 409.256, (which appears to be the case) then a father who has established paternity under  742.10 is " the natural guardian[s] of the child and [are] entitled and subject to the rights and responsibilities of parent[s]. Accordingly, father should contact the providers he seeks the records from, provide the order where he is deemed the father (as well as the birth certificate if available) and request the records.  If the provider declines to produce these records, then he can cite the above statute to them.  Hopefully, this will be enough and he will be given access to the requested records. Best of luck, Cindy S. Vova, Esquire Law Offices of Cindy S. Vova, P.A. Broward/Miami-Dade:  954-316-3496 Boca Raton/Palm Beach: 561-962-2785     ... Read Answer

Dear Mr. Summerlin:    Under Florida law, if you signed an affidavit of voluntary acknowledgment of paternity then there is a rebuttable presumption you are the father of the child.  This voluntary acknowledgment is different from the birth certificate so I would check to see if you actually signed that document, because if you did not, then no paternity has actually been established and you can challenge that.  If the Department of Revene cannot produce the voluntary acknowledgment you should  ask the Court to have a paternity/blood test to show that you are not the child's father. As to the acknowledgmentm there is an automatic 60 day period from signing the voluntary acknowledgment  when it can be revoked.   After that period of time the court may only allow a collateral challenge to the acknowledgment of paternity based on fraud, duress or marterial mistake of fact.   You would have to bring that challenge before the Court, if there was in fact fraud, duress or a material mistake of fact, which you would have to prove.   Best of luck, Cindy S. Vova Family Law Offices of Cindy S. Vova, P.A. Broward/Miami-Dade: 954-316-3496 Boca Raton/Palm Beach: 561-926-2785    ... Read Answer