to the Club at Eaglebrooke for our monthly meetings

May / June 2013
[email protected]
Volume 7, Number 5
Kent Lilly Receives Jerry DeVane Award
CONTENTS
2
3
President’s Message
Court Administrator
/Minutes from the past
4
5
Board of Governors
Brief word on Mediation /
Member from the past
Immigration Law
March Meeting Photos
Book Review
April Meeting Photos
Race the Bar
Race the Bar Photos
Avvocato di Famiglia
Law Day Photos
Lakeland Roaring Twenties
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
to the Club at
Eaglebrooke
for our
monthly
meetings
September 6
October 4
November 1
No meeting in December
January 3
February 7
March 7
April 4
May 2
Kent Lilly was honored
at Lakeland
Bar
Association’s Law Day
luncheon with the Jerry
A. DeVane Award. This
Award is presented
annually in memory of
Jerry A. DeVane, “a gentleman and
scholar” in the legal profession who died of
cancer in 1995. Jerry was a passionate
student and advocate of the law. His
appellate work and trial advocacy were
well known to all local lawyers who
practice real estate and probate law.
Kent Lilly was born and raised in
Lake Wales, Florida. He graduated from
University of Florida with a degree in
Accounting and then from law school at
Florida State University. He then returned
to Polk County where he has practiced law
since 1977 in the area of Personal
Injury/Wrongful Death law. Mr. Lilly is an
AV Rated lawyer, the highest rating
established by Martindale Hubbell, the
agency which provides attorneys’ ratings
throughout the United States. He is board
certified by The Florida Bar as a Civil Trial
Lawyer. This distinction is held by less
than two percent (2%) of lawyers within
the state of Florida. Mr. Lilly is also Board
Certified in Civil Trial Advocacy by the
National Board of Trial Advocacy
(NBTA), a member of the Million Dollar
Advocates Forum, Florida Super Lawyers
and President-elect of The American Board
of Trial Advocates (ABOTA), Tampa Bay
Chapter.
Kent has been very active in
various Bar Associations, including the
10th Circuit Bar Association, Lakeland Bar
Association, American Association for
Justice, Florida Justice Association and
American Bar Association. He has been
especially involved in the Florida Bar
Association, serving as a member of: The
Board of Governors, Florida Bench-Bar
Commission, Continuing Legal Education
Committee (Advanced Trial Advocacy and
Personal Injury Seminar Instructor), and
Executive Council of the Trial Lawyers
Section
In addition, he has served as President
of the following organizations:
10th Circuit Bench -Bar Committee,
10th
Circuit
Judicial
Nominating
Commission, Polk County Trial Lawyers
Association, Willson American Inn of
Court, Lake Wales Area Chamber of
Commerce, and Lakeland Bar Association
Kent Lilly lives in Lakeland,
Florida with his lovely wife, Cindy, and
their two boys, Justice and Lawton.
Golden Badge Awarded to
Deputy Sheriff Ralph Wilson
The Lakeland Bar Association has given the Golden Badge
Award since 2004 to law enforcement officers in recognition
of his or her professional competence, dedication to duty,
contribution to law enforcement and the community. The
Lakeland Bar Association bestowed its "Golden Badge"
award to Deputy Sheriff Ralph Wilson.
Deputy Sheriff Ralph Wilson has been a member of the Polk County Sheriff’s Office for 13
years. During this time he has worked in patrol. On July 25, 2012, Deputy Wilson was part
of a team of deputies that responded to a call involving a suicide attempt. His efforts, with the
assistance of his team, led to a safe and successful ending to the case.
1
Message
from the
President
Looking Back…Looking Forward
Looking back on the past year, I believe the LBA “took it up a notch” and
expanded our organization’s commitment to community outreach and philanthropy. The
officers, Board of Governors and members stepped up in supporting a number of lofty
objectives and the LBA delivered.
I want to thank Executive Director, Lisa Oliver, for all of her assistance,
professionalism, support and hard work. Lisa is an invaluable asset of the LBA. I also
want to thank all of the Officers, Governors and volunteers for their dedication to the
Association.
Looking forward to the coming year, I predict the LBA will continue to expand
community outreach even further.
I appreciate the opportunity that you gave me to be your President and I wish
President-Elect Natalie Wilson the best during her term! It has been a great honor to be
your President!
Sincerely,
Robert J. Stanz
President
Editorial Committee
Rick Nail, Editor….284-2280 Lisa Oliver, Layout / Graphic Design….619-7160
Editorial Board Angela Pulido Rick Roach
Hon. Susan Roberts Tina Balentine
The Res Integra supports participation of the membership in production of
the publications. We encourage you to submit articles and letters. However,
we reserve the right to edit any submission and to publish only those articles
that we, in our sole discretion, deem appropriate.
Note: The comments, messages, statements, and opinions, legal or
otherwise, expressed in the articles herein are exclusively those of the author
and shall not be considered to be those of the Lakeland Bar Association, its
officers, directors, agents, this publication, its editors or staff. Additionally,
the comments, statements and articles contained herein are general in nature
and should not be relied upon as a basis for any legal opinion, action or
conclusion on the part of the reader with respect to any particular set of facts
or circumstances.
Res Integra
“A whole thing; a new or unopened thing. The
term is applied to those points of law which have
not been decided, which are untouched by
dictum or decision.
3 Mer. 269
Lakeland Bar Association
Officers and Governors for 20132013-2014
President…………………………………...Natalie Wilson
Vice President…………………….……. Braxton Wiggs
Treasurer………………………….……………..Jean Henne
Secretary……………………………….…………. Ali Wright
Past President………………………………….. Rob Stanz
Governor…….....................Julie Ball (13-15 term)
Governor…………… Tina Balentine (13-15 term)
Governor……………..Amanda Salcido (13-15 term)
Governor……..…..….… Nick Troiano (12-14 term)
Governor……….….Kevin Humphries (12-14 term)
Governor………..……Charles Carlton (12-14 term)
Executive Director…………………………..Lisa Oliver
Phone: 863-619-7160
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.lakelandbar.org
2
COURT ADMINISTRATOR’S CORNER
BY NICK SUDZINA
MINUTES FROM
THE PAST
EDUCATING THE “OTHER”
COURT PERSONNEL
In order to have a court system that
instills public trust and confidence, it is
necessary for its judges to be qualified,
professional and highly trained. Florida
has an outstanding education program for
its judges and all judicial officers are
required by the Rules of Judicial
Administration to complete at least 30
hours of approved education programs
every 3 years. Other states should be so
fortunate to have this type of funding for
continual judicial education. But the
Tenth Circuit also has 179 non-judicial
personnel who work outside the
courtroom setting to aid in the
administration of justice and they, too,
need to be highly developed so that this
circuit can continue to strive for
excellence in its support for the trial
courts. High performing courts begin
with the premise that performance rests
with individual attention given to all
cases, treating cases proportionately and
exercising judicial control over the legal
process. The judges in the Tenth Circuit
enable court staff to play an integral role
in these processes.
Through the creation of the Florida
Court Personnel Committee, a system of
funding and curriculum development has
been created that now provides a quality
educational delivery system for court
personnel. This includes magistrates and
hearing officers, case managers, judicial
assistants, family court staff, trial court
staff attorneys and administrative staff.
Each circuit has an opportunity to apply
for funding on an annual basis so that
common educational needs can be
identified and interdisciplinary learning
can occur, whenever possible. Since the
courts employ a large and diverse group
of learners, it is important to embrace
innovative strategies for meeting their
needs. And even though funding can be
circuit specific, there can be statewide
implications for an education program
that will provide direct benefit to staff
counterparts in other jurisdictions.
The Tenth Circuit sought and received
funding to host an Interpreter
Minutes of the Regular
Meeting of Lakeland Bar
Association
Certification class last November in
which staff interpreters, who are
required to seek state certification,
engaged in a program designed to
prepare them for taking the state
interpreter certification exam, both
oral and written. Staff interpreters
throughout the state attended this
program in the courthouse and expert
trainers were brought in to facilitate.
Other effective training programs
have been attended by court staff in
the area of advanced leadership,
applied ethics and professional
conduct in the workplace and
introduction to court interpersonal
skills. Interestingly, some Florida
judges serve as faculty for several of
these classes.
And, there is an
automated evaluation system that has
been developed so that program
effectiveness can be measured and
monitored.
The quality of the court
workforce
depends
on
the
effectiveness of the court’s education
and training program for court
personnel. Law and court procedures
are increasingly complex and those
working within the system, both
judges and non-judicial personnel,
face difficult legal and ethical issues,
as well as heightened societal
expectations. Thus, advanced levels
of training and development are
critical to enable those who work
within the system to effectively
perform the challenging work of the
courts and meet demands placed on
them.
The Tenth Circuit is
committed to having a workforce that
is highly qualified and dedicated to
service. It is important that we make
an investment in their learning
opportunities so that competence and
professionalism can continue to be
the hallmark of our circuit’s work
ethic among court staff.
3
The June 7, 1978 meeting of
the Lakeland Bar Association
was a dinner held at the
Lakeland Yacht and Country
Club. The dinner was held in
honor of the Judges from the
Second
District
Court
of
Appeals,
Ten
Circuit
Polk
County, and Lakeland Municipal
Courts were invited as guests
of
the
Lakeland
Bar
Association.
In addition,
members of the Lakeland bar
Association were encourage to
bring their spouses to the
dinner.
After the dinner, the meeting
was
called
to
order
by
President J. Hal Roberts, who
state that the committee had
proposed the names of W. Ray
Fortner for President, Michael
J. Cana for President- Elect,
W. James Kelley for SecretaryTreasurer, and Ira Serebrin
and
Phillip
Allen
for
membership on the Board of
Governors.
There being no
nomination
of
other
candidates, the aforementioned
individuals were elected by
acclamation.
Hal Roberts then introduced
the
guest
speaker,
Chesterfield
Smith,
who
discussed various changes in
the practice of law which had
occurred and could be expected
of the legal profession to
provide legal services to a
great number of people, and
the responsibility of the Bar
in defending the judiciary
against unwarranted attacks.
Following Chesterfield Smith’s
speech,
the
meeting
was
adjourned.
Respectfully submitted,
/s/
Michael J. Canan
Secretary
May 2013
Rick Nail, Representative
The Florida Bar Board of
Governors met on April 19, 2013.
Major actions of the board and reports
received include:
Bar-supported legislative issues,
including court funding, are faring well
with two weeks left in the session.
Weekly updates, links to bills and to
email legislators, and Bar, section and
committee positions are all available to
Bar members at:
www.floridabar.org/legislativesession.
The
Leadership
Academy
Committee held its inaugural meeting
and reviewed more than 250
applications for the 40 academy fellows
in the 2013-14 class. The Leadership
Academy Fellows will be one of many
groups that will meet at the Bar's
Annual Convention in June in Boca
Raton.
Registration
and
hotel
information for the June 26-29
convention are now available. The
recommendations of the Board Review
Committee on Professional Ethics on
the report of the Special Committee on
Lawyer Referral Services will not be
completed until next fiscal year (2013-
10th Judicial Circuit
14), largely because of increasing
feedback being presented to the
committee.
A proposed amendment to Rule 41.5(f)(4) was received on first reading.
The amendment would add a new
subsection
allowing
in
certain
extraordinary cases for a lawyer who
devotes a substantial portion of his or
her practice to lien resolution to be hired
to resolve lien issues in wrongful death
and personal injury cases. The board
will vote on this amendment and others
at its May meeting.
In support of the strategic plan
objective to “ensure the judicial system,
a coequal branch of government, is fair,
impartial, adequately funded and open
to all,” The Florida Bar is gearing up to
increase efforts to educate Floridians
about the judicial system through the
Benchmarks program. Bar member
volunteers will receive training to
present Benchmarks activities to adult
community and civic organizations and
can receive CLE credit for making
Benchmarks presentations (one ethics
credit hour for each presentation for
Alpha Ad
4
up to three presentations in a three-year
reporting
period). Contact the Speakers Bureau
Coordinator for more information.
Complimentary continuing legal
education and law practice management
education programs are offered to
members on the Bar website. Courses
cover a variety of subjects including
Electronic Filing and Electronic Service,
The ABC’s of Starting and Managing
Your Own Law Practice, Building the
Small Firm Marketing Program and Law
Firm Financial Management for the
Non-Financial
Professional.
These
courses, 19 total at present, have
accounted for more than 164,000 hours
of CLE credit awarded to Bar members
at no cost. Free and reduced
rate/discounted CLE programs are
available on the Lawyers Helping
Lawyers webpage, linked from the
homepage under "What Do You Want
To Do" for Lawyers and in the
OnDemand Courses 24/7 Online CLE
catalog linked from the CLE homepage
button
or
by
going
to
www.floridabar.org/cle.
M_m\_r From
Th_ P[st….
Hor[]_ K.
Olliph[nt, Jr.
Hor[]_ K. Olliph[nt, Jr., \orn
P_ns[]ol[, Fl[., 1890. @^mitt_^
to \[r 1916, Flori^[, E^u][t_^
Univ_rsity of Flori^[, LL.B.,
1916; Inf[ntry 38th Division,
Worl^ W[r. M_m\_r @lph[
T[u Om_g[, Phi D_lt[ Phi;
Polk County, Flori^[ St[t_
[n^ @m_ri][n B[r
@sso]i[tions; @m_ri][n L_gion.
M[rri_^, On_ D[ught_r, Offi]_
B[rtow, Fl[.
Legal Laughs
I think I’m coming down with
motion sickness
Used by permission of copyright owner.
A Brief Word on Mediation
I have conducted mediations for
the past fifteen years and would like
to make some observations that might
be helpful to my colleagues. I respect
the fact that some of you will not
agree with all of my comments.
Selecting the mediator is only the
beginning. It is a good idea to
communicate with your mediator
before your mediation day. These
telephone conferences will, of course,
be conducted as confidential and
privileged communications as if
taking place during the mediation.
Most experienced mediators can be
helpful to you and your client before
the actual mediation conference with a
brief telephone conversation. This is
a good time for you to discuss issues
such as “client control” problems and
other matters that might be helpful for
your mediator to know prior to the
mediation.
It is important to the mediation
process that all attorneys remember
that the mediation process is not
adversarial in nature. It is not only
important in the general caucus to say
what needs to be said to inform your
mediator as well as the other side of
your position in the case, but it is
equally important to say it in the
proper manner. The general caucus
can and often does set the “tone” for
the remainder of the mediation
conference. I cringe whenever a
lawyer points his or her finger at the
opposing attorney or opposing party
or makes disrespectful remarks during
the general caucus. That type of
presentation
invariably
makes
settlement more difficult to achieve
for your mediator.
I can honestly say that nearly
every mediation that I have conducted
(circuit civil and/or family) was about
“money”. If you are representing
someone seeking monetary damages
from the opposing side, there are two
things that you do not want to do.
First, you do not want to make the
people with the money angry. Also,
you do not want to make the
5
by David Dale
people with the money lose interest
in your case. If you were to walk
into a bank and ask for money you
would not criticize the loan officer
before requesting the money you
want to get from him.
Same
principle. Don’t get me wrong,
aggressive representation of your
client is not a problem. That is your
job. However, I have seen many
cases that in my opinion could have
been settled that ended up impassing
because of overly aggressive tactics
and/or remarks made by one or more
attorneys during the mediation.
In closing, I must say that the
overwhelming majority of attorneys
that I have dealt with for the past
fifteen years have done an excellent
job at mediation for their client or
clients. I hope that my observations
and comments prove to be beneficial
to you and your clients in your
future mediations.
As always,
please do not hesitate to contact me
at Central Florida Mediation Group
(863) 594-1113 should you wish to
ask me any questions or make any
comments about this article.
About Our Author
David C. Dale has
been a personal
injury / wrongful
death litigator for
thirty years. He
has served and
continues to serve
as a mediator in the
areas of personal injury / wrongful
death, insurance claims, medical
malpractice,
and nursing home
negligence as well as family cases.
He has conducted over 2,000 plus
mediations in seventeen different
counties of Florida.
He is certified as a circuit mediator,
family mediator, and is one of the
mediators at the Central Florida
Mediation Group.
Bipartisan Group of Senators Introduces Bill for Immigration Reform
By Jean Pierre Espinoza1
On April 17, 2013, a bill to
reform the current immigration law
and a path to legalization for
millions of undocumented residing
in the United States before
December 31, 2011, was introduced
in the United States Senate
Committee on the Judiciary. The
“Border
Security,
Economic
Opportunity,
and
Immigration
Modernization Act of 2013” was
co-sponsored by eight (8) senators
from
both
political
parties,
Democrats (D) and Republicans (R),
they are known as the “Gang of
Eight”: Richard J. Durbin (DIllinois), Marco Rubio (R-Florida),
Michael Bennet (D-Colorado), Jeff
Flake
(R-Arizona),
Robert
Menendez (D-New Jersey), Lindsey
Graham (R- South Carolina), John
McCain (R-Arizona) and Charles E.
Schumer (D- New York).
Before granting legalization to
the undocumented, the bill requires
the effective control of high risk
border sectors along the southern
border. It proposes to improve the
protection of the border by 90% in
order to reduce the number of people
entering the U.S. without inspection.
In order to achieve this, the bill
proposes to allocate $3 billion for a
“Comprehensive Southern Border
Security Strategy.” The money will
be used for surveillance systems,
additional border patrol agents and
additional training. It also requires
the Secretary to establish a strategy
to be known as “Southern Border
Fencing Strategy” to identify where
double-layer fencing will be
required. The bill appropriately
allocates
$1.5
billion
for
implementation. After the Secretary
submits to the Congress notice of
commencement upon completion of
each strategy, then legal status could
be granted for undocumented
immigrants.
The bill creates a new
immigration status: “Registered
Provisional Immigrant Status” (RPI).
This will be a temporary status that will
allow undocumented immigrants to work
and travel. The requirements for
obtaining this temporary status will be:
residence in the U.S. prior to December
31, 2011, penalty fee of $500 and no
conviction of an aggravated felony or
several misdemeanors. The status would
be initially for six (6) years, with the
possibility of having it extended for an
additional four (4) years. After ten (10)
years in this status, individual will be
allowed to adjust their status as lawful
permanent resident if they pay a fine and
a fee, pay any owed back taxes to the
IRS, learn English and civics, and are not
disqualified due to criminal history. This
adjustment of status would occur only if
the border protection measures have been
implemented and the visa backlog has
been reduced. This backlog reduction is
related to the “back of the line”
provision.
This
measure
intends
preventing undocumented immigrants
from becoming lawful permanent
residents sooner than those who had
legally filed a visa petition earlier and are
waiting for the approved visa to become
available.
Furthermore, the bill proposes the
creation of an agricultural worker
program. This includes the creation of the
“Blue Card” status and a nonimmigrant
agricultural visa program (guest worker
program). The Blue Card will be a
temporary legal status similar to the RPI
status. This status will be for
undocumented immigrants that can
demonstrate that they have been in the
U.S. performing qualifying agricultural
work for a certain amount of time. They
will be able to adjust their status as
lawful permanent residents after five (5)
years. The nonimmigrant visa program
will be the replacement of the current H2A visa program and the number of visas
will be increased.
It also proposes that people in
DREAM Act status (Deferred Action for
Childhood Arrivals) be able to apply for
lawful permanent resident status in five
(5) years. Immediately after they
6
get their greencard
they will be eligible
to apply for U.S.
citizenship. Among
other provisions, the
bill creates
a
merit based visa for
awarding points to
individuals based on education,
employment, length of residence in the
U.S. and other considerations. Those
individuals with the most points earn the
visas. The bill proposes mandatory and
enhanced
E-Verify
for
certain
employers to verify the legal status of
their employees. It also proposes
amendments to the temporary visas for
employments (H-1B and L-1) and the
cap numbers. Additionally, the bill
creates
a
new
nonimmigrant
classification known as W-visa for
lower skilled workers.
The bill has 844 pages. A proposal
like this is a necessary first step in
creating a common-sense immigration
system that will meet the needs of the
U.S. economy, businesses, and families.
The bill will also assist in integrating
into our society aspiring immigrants
who work hard and want only a better
life for themselves and their families.
The language contained in the
legislation reflects key issues necessary
to any successful immigration reform,
such as border and interior enforcement,
legalization, backlog reduction, asylum,
family unification, and both current and
future business needs. The bill is not
perfect (no compromise measure ever
is) but for the most part it addresses the
difficult issues embedded in current
immigration policy.
1
Mr. Espinoza practices Immigration
Law and Deportation Defense in
Lakeland. He is a member of the
American Immigration Lawyers
Association. Any comment or
question could be sent to:
[email protected]
Our March Meeting & Golf
Outing at The Club at
Eaglebrooke
County Commissioner John Hall
and Myrtice Young
Thank you to the Hon. Mary Catherine Green ,(left)
our Guest Speaker.
Andrea Smith, Deborah Ruster & Howardene Garrett
Jean Henne, Amy Tucker and Andrele Brutis
Hon. Glenn Shelby, Tim McCausland, & Dale Jacobs
Team Langston ready to play golf
Our meeting sponsor
Our Meeting sponsor
Bank of Central Florida
Accurate Serve
7
Book Review / Report of
Age of Barbarity
Reviewer:
Susan W. Roberts, Senior Circuit Judge, 10th Judicial Circuit, Florida
Age of Barbarity, The Forgotten Fight for the Soul of Florida, by Billy Townsend (self-published,
2012, 472 pages, Sections 1-3, 14thA, US Constitution, Key Characters, Introduction, 6 Chapters,
Endnotes. (Paperback $25.00)
The Age of Barbarity concerns
white supremacy and its rule in Putnam
County, Florida, in the 1920s and into
the ‘50s. The story begins before
World War I and ends in the ‘30s when
Doyle Carlton was Governor. The
author’s sources include newspaper
accounts, government records and
family lore. The author is passionate
about his subject and often times rough
in his descriptions which cause the
reader to become immersed in the
story.
Recounted first is a most
gruesome, cruel act of a group of
masked Ku Klux Klaners: the
nighttime abduction and castration of a
Catholic Priest on the steps of his
parish Church. The Priest’s ‘crime’
was two fold: he was Catholic and
worked for UF as a recruiter of their
male only student body. His job
included training and managing the
popular group of student actors that
toured Florida putting on plays. The Klan
accused the Priest of being a seducer of
‘nancy actor boys’. In those days, in that
part of Florida, actors were popularly
thought of as homosexuals and anyone
who was Catholic drank Christ’s blood,
etc
Those anonymous citizens that
‘rode’ with the Klan would kill those who
were different thereby ‘offending’ their
sensibilities. For instance, they would
abduct, strip and whip white and black
women they labeled as whores and leave
them in the woods, bleeding and unable to
walk out. One such woman’s young son
and friend sought to locate her when they
heard of her abduction.
As they
approached the area by car, they were
shot. Unbeknownst to them, the mother
and another were in the back seat and saw
the murderers - the Klansmen, who were
identified to the authorities, yet were
never prosecuted.
In that time a Putnam County
8
Sheriff assumed the job of keeping a
black man safe for trial at the behest of
the Sheriff of Alachua County. The
Alachua County Sheriff had reports of
the Klan coming to kill the man. Way in
the night, the Putnam County Sheriff
heard the Klan outside his jail where he
and his family were housed as was
common. The family was prepared with
shotguns. The Klan proceeded to open
fire on the building as the Putnam County
Sheriff shut the door. The Sheriff was
shot. For attending to his duty, the
Putnam County Sheriff lost his elected
position to a man thought to be a member
of the Klan.
Much of the information in this
book comes from the author’s ancestor, a
lawyer, who represented blacks charged
with ‘forcing a white man off the
sidewalk’, other misdemeanors of that ilk
and the occasional ‘high crime’. The
events described in the book when
recalled should shame all of us that we
ever tolerated that sort of behavior.
Our April Luncheon
A Tribute to our Judicial Assistants
Our 10th Judicial Circuit JA’s are the best around
Our 2nd DCA Judicial Assistants are “Second to None!”
City Commissioner Candidate Michael Folsom
Rick Nail & Chief Judge Bruce Smith
Kent Lilly and LBA President Rob Stanz
Our Meeting Sponsor
Community Southern Bank
2nd DCA Judges Morris Silberman & Craig Villanti
with Chief Judge Bruce Smith
Emily Yehia & Amy Tucker
Hon. Wayne Durden & John Shannon
9
First Annual “Race the Bar”
is a Huge Success!
The Lakeland Bar Association kicked off its
2013 Law Week festivities with the first ever
"Race the Bar" 5K Run/Walk.
Over 120
runners competed in the event, raising
$2,000.00 for Florida Rural Legal Services.
Runners also attended a post-race party at
Hurricane Alley where members of the local
bar and the Lakeland community swapped
running stories and training tips. Christine
Larson, Deputy Director of Florida Rural
Legal Services, traveled from Fort Myers to
attend the event and praised the LBA for a
"wonderful, fun and extremely collegial
event." Based on feedback from the local
bar and race participants, the LBA hopes to
host the event on a yearly basis in
conjunction with Law Week.
Thank you to our
Sponsors
Lakeland Bar Association, Inc.
Fields Auto Group
Sandhill Palms RV Resort
Robert J. Stanz, P.A.
Law office of Amanda Salcido
Morgan & Morgan
Verizon
Black & Brew Coffee House & Bistro
David’s World Cycle
Brooke Pottery
Logo Out Loud
Jean M. Henne, P.A.
First
Annual
Race the
Bar
T-Shirts
Still
Available
M, L, XL
$10
Contact
Lisa at
838-6691
10
April 26, 2013
11
Letter to the Editor
Avvocato di Famiglia
"no notice: no final judgment"
Dear Editor,
An interesting case appeared this week from the 4th
DCA regarding the lack of notice of a final hearing
and the impact to the parties because of this
omission.
I would like to get more involved with
your organization. How can I do this?
Ready to work
Dear Ready to Work,
Thank you for our interest in Lakeland Bar Association. LBA
has many opportunities for involvement and we encourage
you to contact us and get involved in the area of our talents
and expertise.
Our many committees include Bench Bar, Law Day,
Membership, Outreach, Sponsorship & Advertising, and the
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In Taylor vs.Taylor, 38 Fla. L. Weekly D891a (4th
DCA, April 24, 2013), the Circuit Court granted a
final judgment of dissolution of marriage to Sherry
B. Taylor on October 16, 2008 after 22 years of
marriage to George W. Taylor. At the final hearing,
which the husband did not attend, the Court found
that the husband demonstrated hostility towards
providing any spousal support to the wife, and to
award monthly support would only encourage the
husband to continue to defend the wife’s right to
permanent alimony. Therefore, the Circuit Court
awarded the wife the husband’s one-half interest in
the marital residence as lump sum alimony. The
marital home was the only significant asset and was
valued at $380,000.00.
On February 28, 2009, the wife remarried and
continued to live in the former marital home.
In 2011, the 4th DCA reversed the final judgment
based on the husband never having received notice
of the final hearing. (See Taylor vs. Taylor, 67 So.
3d 359 (Fla. 4th DCA 2011). Upon remand, the
Circuit Court confirmed all aspects of the final
judgment of dissolution of marriage, nunc pro tunc
to October 16, 2008.
The 4th DCA again reversed the Circuit Court ruling
that the original justification for the lump sum
alimony award had evaporated by the time of the
2011 hearing and that the Circuit Court could not
overlook the wife’s 2009 remarriage. The case was
again remanded to the Circuit Court to divide the
marital home according to Section 61.075, Florida
Statutes (2008).
There may be a lesson to be learned in this case
about notices of final hearings. Since the husband
was unrepresented throughout the case, would not a
private process server been a good idea to serve a
notice of hearing on the husband?
C. Richard Nail
Gray-Robinson, P.A.
Florida Bar Board Certified Marital & Family Law
Florida Supreme Court Certified Family Mediator
12
Florida Bar President Gwynne Young
was our guest speaker
Judges Tim Coon, Bruce Smith
Susan Roberts & David Langford
Kent Lilly shares a moment with special
friends and colleagues
Tina Balentine with Hon. Mark Hofstad
Tim Coyle, Mitch Franks, & Rick Nail
John Shannon and Braxton Wiggs
Hon. Craig Villanti & Natalie Wilson
Dan Brawley and a Boring Colleague
Alex Srsic, FRLS, receives a check
for $2000 from Rob Stanz
Judge Villanti swears in the new board and officers
Kent Lilly & his lovely wife, Cindy
Meeting Sponsor
Meeting Sponsor
Bank of Central Florida
Boring Business Solutions
13
Lakeland Bar Association
PO Box 2883
Lakeland, FL 33806
RETURN SERVICE REQUESTED
You are invited
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Lakeland Bar Association
Invites you & a guest
to our annual Social
Friday, June 7 6:30 PM
Magnolia Building
698 E. Orange St.
Roaring Twenties or
Business Casual Attire
Admission
Admission limited to LBA members
and their guests who have responded by May 31, 2013.
LBA members attend at no charge
Guest cost $20 per person
14
Look for your
membership
renewal letter
and form in the
mail in July. Our
membership year
begins in August.
Have a great
summer!