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DAVIS LAW HIRED TO INVESTIGATE DARK MONEY IN FLORIDA POLITICS

September 9, 2020/0 Comments/in Blog /by Jeffrey R. Davis

The Florida State Senate District 9 Race is shaping up to be the most expensive state race in this election.  The Florida State Senate District 9 covers all of Seminole County and part of southwest Volusia County.  The race is between Republican Jason Brodur and Democrat Patricia Sigman.

 

A dark money entity known as Floridians for Equality and Justice has been spewing false information in mass mailings.  This mysterious entity lists its business address at a Miami UPS location (coincidentally, the same location used by two previous republican campaigns).  This dark money group filed with the Division of Elections after it had already mailed out flyers and emails designed to smear Patricia Sigman.  In one of the more egregious mailing efforts, this group unlawfully used State Senator Annette Taddeo’s image in a false information mailer.  Senator Taddeo has hired Davis Law as local counsel to investigate the origins of this dark money mystery group.  Despite having nearly a quarter of a million dollars in its bank account, there is no information yet on where this outfit gets its money or how much is being spent.  The treasurer of this group, Stephen Jones, likewise remains an enigma.  The phone number listed in the state filings, like the address are not traceable and no one knows who is behind this dark money scheme.  This entity, Floridians for Equality and Justice has a website which is registered to a proxy company. It alleges that it “seeks to educate and highlight dynamic progressive issues across the state of Florida regardless of race, gender, religious beliefs or citizenship status”.  The same “progressive” entity lists no members, has no contact information and only includes links to news stories.  The progressive organizations which are mentioned on this outfit’s website include Equality Florida and Ruth’s List Florida. They have no knowledge of the group or its activities.  Interestingly, this group’s listed address, 1421 S.W. 107th Avenue in Miami is actually a UPS store location that was also used in 2016 by republican State Senator Anitere Flores and in 2020 by Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Jimenez.

 

Senator Annette Taddeo of Miami represents the 40th District encompassing Kendall and surrounding areas in southern Miami-Dade County.  Despite Senator Taddeo being a strong supporter of candidate Patricia Sigman, the shadowy group, Floridians for Equality and Justice sent out mailers claiming that Senator Taddeo supported another candidate in the race and wrongfully used her photograph.

 

“I am outraged this organization would use my likeness to promote a candidate I do not support!”, declared Senator Annette Taddeo.  “Patricia Sigman has my endorsement because she is the only candidate in this race who has a proven track record of fighting on behalf of central Floridians.  Dark money attacks have no place in a democratic primary, and a real progressive would never resort to using dark money in an election.”

 

Senator Taddeo has hired Davis Law to assist Tallahassee lawyer, Mark Herron to investigate this dark money entity and expose the source of their money.

 

To commence the investigation, the lawyers filed what is known as a Pure Bill of Discovery.  The pure bill of discovery is an ancient equitable remedy which seeks relief in the form of discovery.  In this case, it was filed to obtain disclosure of facts within the dark money Defendant’s knowledge, including written materials and other documents in this entity’s custody or possession.  This unusual tactic only seeks discovery – no other remedy unlike a normal lawsuit.  In Florida the Pure Bill of Discovery dates back to the 1882 case of B.H. Thrasher v. Doig & Geiger, 18 Fla. 809 (Fla. 1882).  In 1927, the legislature adopted former Florida Statute 90.17 and 90.18 which allowed for interrogatories and depositions in cases of law under certain circumstances.  While these statutes were intended to be a substitution for the equitable bill of discovery, they were limited to discovery of “essential matters” not to make the “opposite party a witness to testify respecting the whole case”.  See May v. Whitehurst, 144 So. 326 (Fla. 1932).  Despite the current civil practice in Florida making it unnecessary to initiate a separate equitable action to obtain discovery, Florida has never abrogated the complaint for a pure bill of discovery.  According to The Florida Bar, a complaint for a pure bill of discovery, while not obsolete, has limited use in today’s legal environment.  It has said that this archaic device has its place in the toolbox of modern-day lawyers under limited circumstances.  The action filed by Senator Taddeo seeking a pure bill of discovery against Floridians for Equality and Justice and Stephen Jones, as chairman and treasurer of a Florida political committee is a prime example of its applicable use.* Civil E-Filing: Filing # 111991126 E-Filed 08/18/2020 02:29:39 PM

 

So far, a return of service from the process server has indicated that the UPS store which this group claims is its address in State filings, UPS has no such record of the entity.  Additionally, efforts to locate Stephen Jones have been unsuccessful.

 

Where did the nearly $250,000 for this committee come from?  Who are the owners? Who are the people involved and why are they hiding? Was an entity related to the opposition candidate somehow involved?  The search for the truth continues.  Davis Law is proud to assist Senator Taddeo in her lawful efforts to pull this shadowy entity out into the sunlight.  Transparency is essential for the political process to function.

 

As Patrick Henry famously said, “The liberties of a people never were, nor ever will be, secure, when the transactions of their rulers may be concealed from them.” 

 

Davis Law is proud to be associated with the search for truth!

DAVIS LAW SETTLES DIMINISHED VALUE CLAIM

September 2, 2020/0 Comments/in Blog /by Jeffrey R. Davis

DAVIS LAW is proud to announce a resolution of a diminished value automobile claim. The diminished value claim involved a car being worth less money, even after a repair, because it was in a crash. The law firm represented a client that had purchased a pre-owned BMW from a Miami car dealership. The car came with a 14-day return policy. 4-days after buying the car, the client was rear-ended, and the car sustained $16,000 in property damage. There was no injury claim made. The client contacted Davis Law to see whether a claim could be made for loss of value to the vehicle following the repair. The client claimed that he took the vehicle for repair to the dealership where he purchased it. The dealership explained the two-week return warranty was now void because of the crash and, that even though the vehicle was restored to its pre-accident condition, it now was not worth the same as it was pre-crash. The dealership explained that a Carfax would disclose the crash and that a potential future buyer would not pay the same amount of money for the vehicle as one that had not been in an accident. The car now had “stigma” damage and market psychology had lowered the value.
The law firm researched Florida law and found that such a claim could be asserted against the at-fault party. At first, the insurance company for the careless driver denied the diminished value claim and said once a vehicle was repaired, they had no further responsibility. The law firm retained an expert witness in the field of auto appraisals. An automobile appraisal company can evaluate the minimum diminished value of a vehicle, following a crash. Typically, that analysis follows a detailed physical inspection of the vehicle, a review of all accident repair information and a comprehensive and thorough market analysis. The expert witness determines the minimum diminished value based on wholesale market pricing and the standard sliding scale established by the International Society of Automotive Appraisers or a fair market offer to purchase after the date of loss. Fair market value is the highest price on the date of the valuation that would be agreed to by a good faith buyer and seller. The replacement value of a vehicle is defined as the actual cost of exactly duplicating the vehicle as if it were subject to a total loss. The fair market value of the vehicle must be determined prior to the loss/crash and utilizes a method of valuation that involves current market data comparison supplemented by cost information.
Carfax and Autocheck, the nation’s largest vehicle history report providers, buy their data from a variety of sources including police departments, fire departments, vehicle auction, insurance
companies, departments of vehicle agencies, car dealerships, collision repair shops, car rental companies, and replacement part suppliers. In today’s digital world, crash reports and insurance repair histories are almost always captured by these reporting agencies and serve to notify a potential buyer of the car’s history. With this detailed information available to the average buyer, dealerships are now routinely providing a vehicle history or Carfax with every car they sell to avoid subsequent accusations of incomplete disclosure.
Following a determination from the expert witness retained for our client, a significant loss of value or diminished value was placed on his BMW. The law firm then reviewed the state of Florida law and found no specific case, statute or rule that prevented the presentation of the diminished value case. The only cases which directly addressed such claims deal with people that are presenting a diminished value claim to their own insurance company. Most insurance policies do not cover their own insured for this type of loss. In the case of Rezevskis v. Aries Insurance Company, 784 So.2d. 472 (Fla. Dist. Ct. 2001), the appellate court determined that the insured (Rezevskis) could not recover damages for diminished value of his car following damage from hurricane Irene from his own insurance company, Aries. The court held that the insurance policy only had an obligation for repairs or replacement and not to restore the car to its previous value. This rule was similarly followed in Siegle v. Progressive Consumers Ins. Co., 819 So.2d. 732 (Fla. 2002), where the Supreme Court of Florida held that an automobile collision policy which provides that the insurer must repair or replace the damaged vehicle with other of like kind and quality, does not obligate the insurer to compensate the insured in money for any diminution in market value after the insurer completes a first rate repair which returns the vehicle to its pre-accident level of performance, appearance and function. These cases that prevent claims against one’s own insurance company (first-party claims) for diminished value also extend to prevent diminished value claims where a contract exists for repairs for real property. In Orkin Exterminating Co. v. Delguidice, 790 So.2d. 1158 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 2001), the appellate court reviewed the trial court’s decision in a case where a homeowner sued Orkin for the loss of value to his home that had repeated instances of termite infestation that Orkin failed to resolve. The homeowner had a contract with Orkin that provided for Orkin’s termite treatment guarantee. The homeowner had sued Orkin claiming that the repeat instances of termite infestation severely diminished the value of his home. The Court held that the homeowner was limited to the specific remedies set forth in the contract that he had with Orkin and that Orkin was not responsible for the diminished value.
These are first-party cases against companies where an insurance contract or other agreement exists. There is no such rule where the injury, loss or damage is caused by a third-party where no relationship or privity of contract exists.
In the 1982 case of McHale v. Farm Bureau Mutual Ins. Co., 409 So.2d. 238 (Fla. 3DCA 1982), the Third District Court of Appeal held that it is not necessary to present evidence of market value of a damaged vehicle to prove a compensable claim based on a cost of repair theory. The court in McHale discussed what is known as the Restatement of Torts which is a treatise issued by the American Law Institute that summarizes the general principles of common law in the United States Tort Law. Section 928 of the Restatement of Torts provides for, “due allowance for any difference between the original value and the value after repair”. The court noted that compensation for repairs is an alternative method of proving damages which purposes to restore the injured party to the same position he was in prior to the injury. The court gave further detail which likely forms
the basis for diminution of value claims in Florida. They stated, “the proper interpretation of the Restatement of Torts rule is that damages are not limited to the cost of repairs actually made where Plaintiff shows that the repairs did not put the property in as good a condition as it was before the injury. In such cases, the cost of the repairs plus the diminution in value will ordinarily be the proper measure of damages, with the burden on the Plaintiff to prove in addition to the cost of repairs, that he suffered the additional damage of diminution of value by virtue of the vehicle having been involved in an accident.
That case doctrine allowed for the creation of the Florida Standard Jury Instructions in Civil Cases Relating to Property Damage (501.2h) which clearly allows for the Plaintiff to claim “the difference between the value of the vehicle immediately before the incident complained and its value immediately afterward”.
After a significant amount of litigation over whether or not the owner of the BMW had the right to assert a claim against the at-fault driver for the diminution of value of his vehicle*, the insurance carrier decided to pay 100% of the diminished value damages plus the costs of the litigation.
*(There was no argument about the quality of the repair which the insurance company had already paid for.)
If you are in an automobile accident involving a late model vehicle (less than 5-years old), your vehicle may still be worth less money because of the accident even with a first-rate repair job. Please contact Jeffrey R. Davis at Davis Law for a free consultation as to whether or not you have a diminished value claim for your vehicle. We are bilingual and available on a 24/7 basis. Our telephone number is (305) 577-3777 and our offices are located in Coral Gables, Florida; however, we handle cases throughout the state.

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Jeff Davis Law P.A.

jeffPersonal injury law is our main practice. Personal injury cases arise when the tortious action or inaction of a person or corporate entity causes harm to another individual. “Tortious” acts may be based on negligence, recklessness, intentional acts, or even strict liability in certain cases (such as abnormally dangerous activities and defective products).

Accordingly, the firm handles a wide range of cases involving accidents, medical malpractice, insurance disputes, products liability, and premises defects. For specific areas please browse our complete list of practice areas.

Recent Blogs

  • A dark money mystery in Florida state senate race – CNNPoliticsNovember 25, 2020 - 8:34 am
  • MIAMI HERALD- OPINION: CONTEMPT OF COURT BY JEFF DAVISNovember 11, 2020 - 4:17 pm
  • DAVIS LAW HIRED TO INVESTIGATE DARK MONEY IN FLORIDA POLITICSSeptember 9, 2020 - 5:04 am
  • DAVIS LAW SETTLES DIMINISHED VALUE CLAIMSeptember 2, 2020 - 12:47 pm
  • The Right to Vote!August 16, 2020 - 4:54 pm
  • COVID-19 WORKGROUP RELEASES VIDEO ABOUT THE STEPS BEING TAKEN TO PROTECT THE PUBLIC AT COURTHOUSESJune 25, 2020 - 10:36 am
  • Falling Gate Case ResolvedApril 30, 2020 - 12:47 pm

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