“From a librarian’s perspective, the book provides the perfect answer to so many types of reference questions we hear from litigators, “What are the elements of fraudulent misrepresentation?” “What are the defenses to an action for tortious interference with a contractual relationship?” “Are the elements for negligent hiring the same in all DCAs?” “When can laches be used as an affirmative defense?” “What is laches anyway?” The answers are all here, in a format so convenient and so organized that it warms a librarian’s heart.”
— Liz Chifari, Holland & Knight, SFALL Newsletter
“Any Florida litigator who does NOT have this secret weapon deserves to lose. Great resource; concise and relative to exactly what is needed, with a real perspective of what your mind set needs to be for Discovery, either waging war, or defending it. A MUST-HAVE.”
— J. Michael O’Hara
Elements, authorities, circuit variations, defenses, and related issues for over 100 causes of action
Pleading mistakes can have a variety of negative consequences, including costly hearings, annoying amendment requests, and even dismissal and potential professional negligence claims. Now you can eliminate or greatly reduce the risks of these scenarios with Marc A. Wites Florida Causes of Action. This practical resource saves you from having to dig through opinion after opinion looking for one that lists all the elements of an unfamiliar cause of action.
Over 100 Causes of Action
The book’s causes of action are supported with circuit variations, district-specific authorities, defenses, issues, and references to other texts. Some of the causes covered are:
Negligence
- Fall-Down
- Intentional Infliction of Severe Emotional Distress
- Legal Malpractice
- Medical Malpractice
- Motor Vehicle Negligence
- Negligence
- Negligent Infliction of Emotional Distress
- Negligent Stillbirth
- Parental Liability for Tort of Minor
- Wrongful Death
Physical Torts
- Assault
- Battery
- False Imprisonment
Procedural Torts
- Abuse of Process
- Malicious Prosecution
- Vexatious Litigant
Fraud and Negligent Misrepresentation
- Constructive Fraud
- Fraud
- Fraud in the Inducement
- Fraudulent Misrepresentation
- Negligent Misrepresentation
Business
- Agency
- Alter Ego
- Antitrust Act Violation
- Breach of Fiduciary Duty
- Breach of UCC Warranty
- Commercial Bribery
- Common Law Warranty
- Misleading Advertisement
- Strict Liability
- Tortious Interference with Business Relationship
Contracts
- Breach of Contract
- Indemnity
- Promissory Note
- Rescission
- Tortious Interference with Contractual Relationship
- Unconscionability
- Unjust Enrichment
Defamation and Privacy
- Defamation
- Governmental Intrusion
- Invasion of Privacy
Real Property and Construction
- Building Code Violation
- Cancellation of Deed
- Ejectment
- Equitable Lien
- Eviction of Tenant
- Forcible Entry and Detention
- Inverse Condemnation
- Mortgage Foreclosure
- Prescriptive Easement
- Replevin
- Unlicensed Contractors
- Slander of Title
Withstand motions to dismiss
A motion to dismiss is the thorn in the side of every complaint writer. Even the most meticulous research can leave you shy of one or more of the required pleading elements and vulnerable to procedural attack. Florida Causes of Action helps you avoid the cost, hassle, and risk of a motion to dismiss by providing clear explanations of each element with authorities to help you draft nearly invincible pleadings.
Use elements to fashion a winning discovery plan
Seasoned litigators wisely look to an action’s proof elements to formulate a solid discovery plan, helping to ensure that no point of proof is overlooked. The challenge is determining which elements are required, especially in novel causes of action or emerging fields of law. Florida Causes of Action provides a clear pleading framework for every cause of action to help you form a logical and winning discovery strategy.
Take the guesswork out of responsive pleadings
With Florida Causes of Action’s detailed defenses for most causes of action, and its multi-page sections on duress, estoppel, laches, unconscionability, and waiver, you will never again second-guess the strength of your response. And, Florida Causes of Action helps you detect weaknesses in your opposition’s complaint or cross-complaint. With a clear analysis of every required pleading element, you will be ready to mount your attack, or counsel your client against a needless pleadings challenge.
REVISION 12 HIGHLIGHTS
For more than a decade, Florida Causes of Action has saved you research time, helping you to work more efficiently and advocate more effectively for your clients. The 2018 edition carries on that tradition of excellence, with new and updated coverage of 40+ causes of action, remedies, legal theories and defenses. Author Marc Wites has added dozens of new case citations, covering a broad range of issues, including:
Negligence
- Distinguishing ordinary negligence claims from medical negligence
- Relationship between an uninsured motorist action and a first-party bad faith action
- Relevant facts considered in determining whether a plaintiff has a right of action under the wrongful death statute
- Statute of limitations on a claim for wrongful death based on acts constituting murder or manslaughter
Contract Cases
- Defense to breach of contract claim: failure to satisfy conditions precedent
- Defense to claim for breach of third-party beneficiary contract: no evidence of intent to benefit third-party
Business and Commercial Cases
- Viability of a cause of action for civil conspiracy based on an underlying wrongful act which would not be actionable against an individual person
- Consent as a defense to a claim of conversion
- Evidentiary burden that must be met to establish a resulting trust
- Defenses to a claim of breach of joint venture agreement: statute of frauds; Florida Constitution, Article VII, §10
Fraud
- “Promise not performed” as a defense to a claim of fraud
- Fraud as an improper subject for summary judgment
- Representations made by an adverse party during settlement negotiations as an improper basis for a fraudulent misrepresentation claim
- “Flexible” theory of damages in fraudulent misrepresentation cases
Lien Cases
- Attorney’s ability to enforce a charging lien under a contingency fee agreement
- Source and nature of an attorney’s retaining lien
Consumer Protection, Debt Collection Cases
- Distinguishing recoverable actual damages under FDUTPA from fraud consequential damages
- Preemption of FCCPA by federal regulations, promulgated pursuant to the Higher Education Act (HEA), governing collection procedures on defaulted student loans
Trusts and Estates
- Revocation of probate based on undue influence: burden of proof and presumption of undue influence; dependent relative revocation
ABBREVIATED TABLE OF CONTENTS
CHAPTER 1 PLEADING IN FLORIDA
CHAPTER 2 NEGLIGENCE CASES
CHAPTER 3 CONTRACT CASES
CHAPTER 4 BUSINESS & COMMERCIAL CASES
CHAPTER 5 WARRANTY CASES
CHAPTER 6 INDEMNITY ACTIONS
CHAPTER 7 EMPLOYMENT CASES
CHAPTER 8 FRAUD
CHAPTER 9 DEFAMATION & PRIVACY
CHAPTER 10 INTENTIONAL TORTS
CHAPTER 11 PROCEDURAL TORTS
CHAPTER 12 PHYSICAL TORTS
CHAPTER 13 REAL PROPERTY ACTIONS
CHAPTER 14 CONSTRUCTION CASES
CHAPTER 15 LIEN CASES
CHAPTER 16 CONSUMER PROTECTION, DEBT COLLECTION CASES
CHAPTER 17 PROCEDURAL REMEDIES
CHAPTER 18 LEGAL THEORIES & DEFENSES
CHAPTER 19 TRUSTS & ESTATES
INDEX
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Wites & Kapetan, P.A., is a law firm that has represented injured persons and their families since the firm was founded in 2001. Marc A. Wites is a founding shareholder of the Firm, and he directs the Firm’s trial and litigation practice.
Marc has achieved great success for his clients in his core practice areas. This includes multi-million dollar jury verdicts and settlements in (1) personal injury and wrongful death actions (in cases such as auto and truck crashes, sexual assault and molestation, and slip and falls), (2) the successful prosecution of insurance claims, (3) industry changing class actions that have returned monies to class members and changed the way in which companies do business, and (4) the recovery of investment losses of individuals and families against brokerage firms, banks and investment advisors. These victories have been achieved in state and federal trial and appellate courts throughout the country, as well as arbitration proceedings.
Marc is a graduate of The University of Florida College Law, where he served as a board member of The University of Florida Law Review and the Justice Thornal Campbell National Moot Court Board. Marc earned a Bachelor of Business Administration from The University of Michigan.
He is admitted to the Florida Bar, the United States District Courts for the Southern and Middle Districts of Florida, the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, and the United States Supreme Court.
Marc was named as a Florida Super Lawyer in 2009-2017. These honors were the result of voting by members of the Florida Bar.
Marc is the author of The Florida Litigation Guide (www.flalitguide.com), a well-known practice guide used by thousands of lawyers throughout Florida since 2001. The Guide contains a listing of the elements of popular common law causes of action, citations for the most recent state and federal court cases listing the elements of the actions and various defenses to the actions. Tens of thousands of lawyers, from virtually every major Florida law firm, as well as countless practitioners from medium and small firms, solo practitioners and government attorneys, as well as members of the judiciary, have relied on Marc’s publication in Florida litigation matters.
In 2014, Marc issued the first editions of The New York Litigation Guide and The California Litigation Guide.
In 2007 Marc became the author of Florida Causes of Action, an annual treatise published by James Publishing. This publication provides a detailed analysis of Florida common law and statutory causes of action.
Marc authored The Florida Civil Litigation Handbook: Actions, Defenses and Evidence and Rules, which was published annually by Matthew Bender & Co., Inc. from 1997 through 2000.
Marc also has published several articles, including Does Copying an In-House Lawyer on Corporate Correspondence Render It Privileged, The Federal Lawyer, March 2014; Do Equine Immunity Acts Provide a False Sense of Security, The Chronicle of the Horse, Vol. LXI, Number 33, August 14, 1998; Back in the Saddle Again: An Analysis of Florida’s Equine Immunity Act, Florida Bar Journal, Volume LXXI, Number 10, November 1997; and The Franchisor as Predator: Encroachment and the Implied Covenant of Good Faith, The University of Florida Journal of Law and Public Policy, Volume VII, Issue 2, Spring 1996.
