Wall Street Journal

Rare Small-Business Win In Insurer Lawsuits Keeps Hope Alive For Payouts

WPLG Local 10 - ABC

More Than 9,000 Broward Businesses Allowed To Join Class Action Lawsuit Against FPL

For two months, Florida Power & Light and an attorney for several Broward County businesses have been going back and forth in mediation trying to resolve a case without having to go to trial.

The case stems from an incident in the summer of 2019 when several cities were without water service due to an FPL contractor breaking a water pipe.

But the back and forth mediation has not gone well, so now it will be more than 9,000 businesses fighting against FPL.

“They just do not want to resolve this case,” attorney Adam Moskowitz said.

Moskowitz represents businesses who were forced to close for at least two days because of the broken water pipe.

On Monday, a judge granted an order, allowing thousands of Broward County businesses to join a class action lawsuit against FPL.

“We are going to send out 9,000 notices now,” Moskowitz said. “If you’re a business in Broward, look out for that notice, start to gather all the records you have to your damages.”

Moskowitz said an unlicensed FPL subcontractor repairing electric lines in July 2019 hit a water main while drilling near Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport.

Water had to be shut off for two days, and no water meant fire sprinkler systems didn’t work and restaurant dishwashers couldn’t sanitize.

Stores, restaurants, office buildings and hotels were forced to close and evacuate and Fort Lauderdale’s mayor declared a state of emergency.

Moskowitz said FPL refuses to take responsibility even though they and their subcontractor are insured.

“They are blaming the other contractors,” he said. “They are blaming the city of Fort Lauderdale, but nobody hit the water pipe besides these people.”

The Marriott Harbor Beach, Riverside Hotel, Rocco’s Tacos, Press and Grind Café and a law office are already part of the lawsuit.

“I think we have $2 million in damages for just those named plaintiffs,” Moskowitz said. “Imagine what the damages will be for 9,200 businesses, and we’ll see our day in court against FPL.”

Law360

Ex-Cruise Ship Workers Eye Deal Over COVID-19 Claims

A Bahamas cruise ship operator has submitted a motion to force a former employee to arbitrate claims that he was denied severance pay owed to him after the COVID-19 pandemic shut down the cruise industry earlier this year, although settlement negotiations between the parties remain ongoing.

Bahamas Paradise Cruise Line told a Florida court Friday that Dragan Janicijevic, a Serbian man who worked as a casino dealer on board the Grand Classica, is bound by his contract to arbitrate the claims contained in his proposed class action.

Janicijevic is seeking to represent some 276 of his former colleagues who were transferred and remained on board a sister ship after the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a No Sail Order On March 14, saying they were not paid two months' severance required under their employment agreements, nor for work performed after the guests were sent home.

Top Attorneys of 2020

Adam Moskowitz Magazine Cover & Interview

Law360

Fla. Judge OKs Prevagen Deal After Striking Objection

A Florida federal judge granted final approval Wednesday to a class action settlement over accusations that the maker of Prevagen lied about the effects of the memory supplement, after the judge roasted a bid by a "serial objector" to upend the agreement.

"Our main goal was certainly to obtain final approval for this wonderful settlement, but we also have a responsibility to all of our judges and other class action counsel to ensure that Mr. Helfand has now been put out of business [from filing] these frivolous objections and utilizing harassing and intimidating tactics," class counsel Adam Moskowitz of The Moskowitz Law Firm told Law360. "It stops now. The lawyers on any case where he appears should immediately file a copy of this order with their court."

Law360

DLA Piper Atty Wants Out Of Suit Over Alleged Ponzi Ties - Law360

A DLA Piper attorney told a Florida federal court on Wednesday that the real estate investors pushing a proposed class action accusing him, his firm and his previous firm, Fox Rothschild LLP, of taking part in a Ponzi scheme failed to draw a substantial connection between him and his client's alleged misconduct.

DLA Piper partner Paul Wassgren argued in a motion to dismiss that he had no way of knowing whether his former client, EquiAlt LLC, a Tampa real estate firm, was engaged in misconduct. The company was sued by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in February, accused of operating as a $170 million Ponzi scheme.

Investors affected by the scheme sued Wassgren and the two law firms in July. In an amended complaint filed in August, the investors claim that EquiAlt and its promoters "could not have perpetuated the massive fraudulent Ponzi scheme without the active assistance and participation of their lawyers."

Daily Business Review

'You Need To Close Him Down': Disbarred Lawyer Objects to Proposed Prevagen Settlement

In Miami, a federal court has a final fairness hearing Tuesday involving a “professional objector” to a nationwide settlement with a biotechnology company based over alleged deceptive advertising for Prevagen, a product advertised as a brain-health supplement.

And Adam Moskowitz, a Coral Gables attorney at The Moskowitz Law Firm who represents the lead plaintiffs, John Fowler and Juan Collins, said federal and state judges must firmly address improper objections by alleged professional objectors, like Steve Helfand.

“Because if you don’t deal with it now, this guy is going to come and appear before your other brothers and sisters on the bench and he will keep doing it and corrupt the whole process unless you deal with these professional objectors head-on,” Moskowitz said. “You need to close him down for business.”

Helfand did not respond to a request for comment.

In this case, the dispute stemmed from a settlement reached with Quincy Bioscience, where class members can obtain a cash refund of 30% of the manufacturer suggested retail price of the brain-health supplement.

Now, out of the three million class members, only one, Helfand, who was disbarred by the State Bar of California, has voiced opposition to the settlement.

And Jan L. Jacobowitz, the director of the professional responsibility and ethics program at the University of Miami School of Law, said Helfand is just delaying the resolution of this case.

“That’s why there is this history of objectors being paid to resolve the objection and why now the payment has to be approved by the court,” Jacobowitz said. “So the settlement is not being held hostage by a professional objector who does not have a valid objection and hasn’t presented it in accordance with Rule 23.”

Rule 23 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, was recently amended to put into place uniform practices for settlements subject to objections by professional objectors that were previously addressed on a court-by-court basis, according to the American Bar Association.

Among the implications of the rule amendment was that objectors to class actions, such as Helfand, cannot be paid for withdrawing their objection to a proposed settlement.

Still, Jacobowitz said there is a valid purpose to having objectors because their criticism can benefit the class members as a whole. But the change to Rule 23, in part, clamped down on these small groups of professional objectors.

In his response, Moskowitz provided several reasons for the federal court to strike down Helfand’s objections. These included claims that Helfand did not prove his burden to show he is a class member; that he has no credibility because he was disbarred from the State Bar of California for lying to a federal judge regarding objections to a settlement; and he has a history of filing more than 50 previous objections, without proving he purchased the product to show he has standing.

“They kicked him out of the California Bar. That doesn’t stop him because he’s pro se, so he can just say, ‘I’m filing on my own behalf,’” Moscowitz said. “Helfand said sometimes they paid him off in the past, but we will never pay him a penny.”

Law360

Intervention Blocked In $12M Ocwen Mortgage Fees Deal

Non-class members can't intervene in Ocwen Loan Servicing LLC's $12.6 million settlement with consumers over claims the mortgage servicer unlawfully charged fees for payments made via phone or online, a Florida federal judge has ruled, saying the individuals have no interest in the proposed deal.

Ocwen and PHH Mortgage Corp., which merged in 2018, reached a deal with consumers in August, agreeing to offer a refund to customers who paid convenience fees of $7.50 or $17.50 for phone and internet mortgage payments between March 2016 and August. The companies agreed to set up a $12.58 million settlement fund, of which 30% is proposed to be set aside for plaintiffs' attorney fees and costs.

Under the proposed deal, which ends claims that the companies violated the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, class members will be refunded 28% of the fees paid if their mortgages were serviced but not owned by Ocwen and PHH, and all other class members will receive an 18% refund.

WPLG Local 10 - ABC

‘Extraordinary’ Class Action Lawsuit Takes On FPL Over Fort Lauderdale Water Main Break

Very few people and business owners take on a powerful giant and monopoly such as Florida Power & Light, but a judge recently cleared the way for a class action lawsuit.

Attorney Adam Moskowitz said this allows up to 9,300 businesses to seek damages for the losses incurred during last year’s water main break in Broward County.

“It’s very extraordinary,” Moskowitz said, adding there haven’t been “many cases that have ever gotten this far at all.”

Moskowitz, of Coral Gables, said about 500 businesses have already called to join the lawsuit.

Attorney David Dipietro is among the plaintiffs in the class action lawsuit. He said he had to close his downtown Fort Lauderdale law office that day, and it would be too costly for him to file a lawsuit against FPL on his own.

“The whole day was wiped out. We are about 15 employees; seven lawyers,” Dipietro said. “I think it is between $7,000 to $10,000 we lost that day in workable billable hours.”

FPL did not release a statement on the pending litigation. Dipietro and Moskowitz are expecting FPL to appeal Broward Circuit Judge William Haury’s decision to grant the class certification.

“So many people have thought, ‘OK. It’s just over. What am I gonna do against FPL? ... How will I ever see my day in court?’ And that is the wonderful thing about class actions," Moskowitz said.

There will be a hearing in the case on Oct. 2. Moskowitz is asking anyone who wants to join the class lawsuit to fill out the Moskowitz Law Firm’s contact form online.

Law360

Class Seeks To Block Intervention In Ocwen, PHH $12.6M Deal

A proposed class of consumers who had mortgages with Ocwen Loan Servicing LLC and PHH Mortgage Corp. urged a Florida federal judge Tuesday to bar a group of lawyers from using "obstruction ploys" and intervening in their $12.6 million settlement over claims the mortgage servicers charged illegal processing fees for making phone or online payments.

Shortly before consumers sought approval for the deal in August, several individuals filed a motion to intervene in and stay the case, which the consumers on Tuesday said would undo months of work that ended in a proposed settlement for the class and would circumvent the Rules of Civil Procedure. They asked the judge not to grant intervention.

The proposed settlement class are those customers of Ocwen Loan Servicing LLC and PHH Mortgage Corp. who paid fees of either $7.50 or $17.50 for phone and internet mortgage payments between March 25, 2016, and Aug. 21, 2020.

The Miami Herald

Lauderdale Businesses Cleared To Sue FPL Over Broken Water Main That Forced Closures

A judge in Broward has cleared the way for a lawsuit against Florida Power & Light by more than 9,200 businesses who contend a utility contractor was negligent in causing a massive water main break that left more than 200,000 people without water in Fort Lauderdale last year, some for up to two days.

On July 18 last year, an unlicensed subcontractor struck a 42-inch pipe at Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport while drilling underground to repair electric lines, according to court documents. Emergency crews had to shut off the water to repair the pipe, leading stores, restaurants and hotels to close for as many as two days as the city issued a boil water notice to thousands of residents.

The courthouse, universities and even the Broward Center for the Performing Arts were forced to shutter. Fort Lauderdale Mayor Dean Trantalis declared a state of emergency.

Judge William Haury granted class action certification on Friday in a suit that could have damages reaching into the hundreds of millions, said Adam Moskowitz, the attorney representing the plaintiffs.

“The utility showed reckless disregard for the work that its contractors were doing,” Moskowitz said. “FPL didn’t supervise its contractors as it should, so it’s responsible for what happened.” Attorneys Cristina Pierson and William R. Scherer are also working on the case.

Moskowitz said a hearing to seek punitive damages is set for October 2.

Fort Lauderdale has been plagued by sewer and water main breaks over the past year as the city’s crumbling pipes can’t keep up with rising volumes.

Law360

Fla. Businesses Win Class Cert. In Suit Over Water Main Break - Law360

Thousands of businesses forced to temporarily close last year when a water main broke in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, have won approval to move forward with a class ac"on against Florida Power & Light Co. and the contractors they say are responsible for hundreds of millions of dollars in economic damages.

Broward County Circuit Judge William Haury issued a ruling from the bench Friday, cer!fying a class covering all businesses within the area impacted by the July 17, 2019, incident, according to a court transcript. The incident also resulted in fresh water being cut off to 200,000 residents for a few days.

"We are very appreciative for Judge Haury providing almost 10,000 businesses in Broward County, many of them family-owned, their day in court before a jury," Adam Moskowitz of The Moskowitz Law Firm, one of the lawyers for the businesses, told Law360 on Tuesday. "We are very excited to seek from the jury not only compensatory damages, but also punitive damages to hopefully prevent this reckless conduct in the future."

Daily Business Review

Broward Judge Grants Class Certification in Lawsuit Against FPL, Subcontractors

Around 9,300 businesses will collectively seek hundreds of millions of dollars in damages in the class-action lawsuit.

A ruling by a Broward judge could be bad news for Florida Power & Light, which faced litigation over a 2019 water main break.

Broward Circuit Judge William Haury granted a motion for class certification in the case in which a subcontractor of the Florida-based utility company allegedly bore a six-inch hole into a 42-inch major water main pipe at Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport.

William Scherer, a partner at Conrad & Scherer in Fort Lauderdale, and Adam Moskowitz of The Moskowitz Law Firm in Coral Gables, are also involved in the litigation. Now, they are preparing for an Oct. 2 hearing when the litigators will seek punitive damages from Florida Power & Light and its subcontractors. The amounts of the punitive damages could be based on the net value of Florida Power & Light.

“Geo & Yus was the actual driller, and their insurance company claimed it wasn’t a million-dollar limit that applies,” Pierson said. “So the insurance company filed a coverage lawsuit in federal court claiming they only have a $50,000 limit.”

Moskowitz said this minimal insurance coverage is not allowed.

He said, “The insurance limitation violates the requirements set by Florida Power & Light for all of their subcontractors, to ensure the public is protected, in the event of just this type of mass disaster.”

Daily Business Review

$19 Million in Attorney Fees After Coral Gables Lawyer Helps Land $88M Settlement With Transamerica

A Coral Gables attorney co-led litigation in an $88 million class action settlement approved by a federal judge in Los Angeles.

And as part of the recovery obtained from Transamerica Life Insurance Co., which is part of an American conglomerate composed of numerous life insurance companies and investment firms, a further $19 million in fees and costs will be allocated to the attorneys in the case.

The class action involved policyholders who claimed Transamerica improperly increased monthly charges withdrawn from their universal life policies.

Many class members obtained their policies decades ago when U.S. interest rates were significantly higher. These policyholders claimed that Transamerica violated the express contractual term of the polices by increasing the monthly cost of insurance charges to recoup past losses, instead of paying future expected costs.

Adam Moskowitz, managing partner at The Moskowitz Law Firm in Coral Gables, said many of the policyholders are older than 80.

“You could be paying life insurance for years, and all of a sudden your premium increase gets to a point where you can’t afford it,” Moskowitz said. “This protection you thought you had your whole life is gone. That’s how crucial it is that these types of charges are fair and according to the contract language.”

Now, customers who owned Transamerica life insurance policies as of Dec. 31, 2019—which were issued between 1997 and 2001—will be eligible for compensation.

Daily Business Review

Ocwen, PHH Corp. Pay $12.5 Million Settlement to Homeowners Charged 'Processing Fees' on Mortgage Payments

Two major mortgage processors agreed to pay $12.5 million to settle a nationwide class action alleging they engaged in abusive collection practices by charging “convenience”and “processing” fees to clients to process mortgage payments on time.

The defendants, PHH Mortgage Corp. and OCWEN Loan Servicing, will pay mortgage loan credits or cash refunds of 28% or 18% to class members who paid convenience fees to make telephone or web-based mortgage payments.

As a result, the defendants have agreed to injunctive relief that will reduce the charge to pay mortgages online. They’ve also agreed not to increase any of these charges for three years and to clarify the language on their website. The new online text will emphasize the charges for these optional services, while pointing out that there are also free options.

Adam Moskowitz and Howard M. Bushman, partners at The Moskowitz Law Firm in Coral Gables, represented the homeowners. Moskowitz said this mediated settlement could be a framework for settlements with other companies in numerous pending class actions nationwide.

“Such abusive collection practices surrounding convenience fees have run rampant across the country in recent years, and some courts have found them to be illegal,” Moskowitz said. “The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau recently cautioned lenders and servicers to review applicable laws to determine whether they may charge processing fees, and to review underlying debt agreements to determine whether such fees are authorized by the contract.”

Moskowitz alleged the defendants “knowing full well” that these convenience fees were not expressly authorized by standard-form mortgages or permitted by law. And, “the question at the heart of this lawsuit,” is whether by charging customers extra fees to make payments by phone or online is a violation of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, according to court documents.

“This question has the exact same answer for each and every settlement class member who paid these fees,” Moskowitz said.

Class members will get a credit worth 28% of the fee if PHH didn’t own their mortgage, if it acquired servicing rights when the loan was 30 days or more delinquent, and if they were charged a convenience fee from March 25, 2019, to Aug. 25, 2020.

Any settlement class member not fitting into these two categories will receive 18% as a mortgage loan account credit or a cash payment. In either instance, if the settlement class member’s mortgage loan has been paid off, a cash payment will be paid rather than a mortgage loan credit.

Law360

Ocwen, PHH Ink $12.6M Deal To End Mortgage Fees Suit

A proposed class of consumers who had mortgages with Ocwen Loan Servicing LLC and PHH Mortgage Corp. told a Florida federal court Tuesday they had agreed to a $12.6 million settlement that will end their claims that the mortgage servicers charged illegal processing fees for payments made online or over the phone.

Under the terms of the deal, consumers will be refunded up to 28% of any fees they paid when they made online or phone mortgage payments during the class period. The fees were either $7.50 and $17.50, according to the complaint filed in March that accuses the defendants of violating the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.

"Given the immediate and substantial benefits the settlement will provide, there is no question that the settlement is 'within the range of reasonableness' and warrants preliminary approval," the plaintiffs said in the motion for preliminary approval.

Law360

Cruise Line Workers Stranded By COVID-19 Reach $875K Deal

Bahamas Paradise Cruise Line has reached a tentative agreement to pay $875,000 to quickly settle claims that it effectively has held crewmembers hostage on board its ships without pay since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

A Florida federal judge administratively closed the case in an order entered Monday after the cruise line's parent, Classica Cruise Operator Ltd., and plaintiff Dragan Janicijevic gave notice that "aggressive and active early mediation" had produced a tentative deal for a classwide settlement to resolve Janicijevic's Aug. 4 suit.

"We are glad to have reached a global settlement and been able to work expeditiously with Bahamas Paradise to reach a class action settlement that will provide almost full relief for all of their crew for all of their lost hourly wages," said Janicijevic counsel Adam Moskowitz of The Moskowitz Law Firm PLLC, who said the parties plan to file the proposed settlement agreement and motion for preliminary approval in the Miami district court later this week.

The Miami Herald

Pay Promises, Threats Of Jail. How Bahamas Paradise Cruise Line Made Crew Work Without Wages.

According to a new lawsuit filed in Miami federal court last week and interviews with five Grand Celebration crew members, kitchen and cleaning staff were required to continue to work without wages after the company stopped passenger cruises in mid-March while others, including casino staff, had to relieve those still on the job.

As of Friday, there were 143 people still on board the ship, currently docked in the Port of Palm Beach, according to the U.S. Coast Guard. Some are still working without pay.

Bahamas Paradise Cruise Line has used threats of jail time and promises of a one-time $1,000 payment to keep crew working without wages during the pandemic, according to crew members. The Bahamas Paradise Cruise Line crew members interviewed for this story said they have not been paid for their work since mid-March.

New Jersey Law Journal

As Business Interruption Lawsuits Pile Up, Several Lawyers Question the Strategy

The District of New Jersey saw 20 COVID-19 business interruption suits filed or removed from state court in July alone. A similar pattern is taking place across the nation, and a proposal before the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation to consolidate those suits could create the largest MDL ever.

Insurance carriers typically say that claims for closures related to COVID-19 are not eligible for business interruption coverage because of a lack of damages to the premises. The plight of businesses whose claims for coverage were turned down has been a high-profile issue, with lawmakers in New Jersey and elsewhere weighing various measures that would mandate coverage under some circumstances.

A bill that would require insurance companies to cover business interruption claims related to the COVID-19 emergency declaration was introduced earlier this year in New Jersey’s Legislature, where it stalled. The Assembly gave the bill a second reading on March 16 but it never reached a floor vote because of discussions over amending it. The measure never made it to the Senate floor as part of a group of bills that made up a COVID-19 emergency package.

On the plaintiffs’ side, at least a half-dozen suits were filed by a team of three law firms. Merlin Law Group of Tampa, Florida, which specializes in representing policyholders in insurance disputes, teamed up with The Moskowitz Law Firm of Coral Gables, Florida, a class action firm; and Bathgate, Wegener & Wolf of Lakewood. Another team of class action firms, Carella Byrne Cecchi Olstein Brody & Agnello of Roseland, along with Seeger Weiss and Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd, have also filed a couple of suits.

Adam Moskowitz of the Moskowitz Law Firm likewise said he vetted prospective clients carefully and brought suits only where insurance policies don’t exclude coverage for communicable diseases. He also noted that some other law firms were filing suits with policy language excluding coverage for communicable diseases.

“There are always class actions filed and you question why,” he said. “Some firms do different types of due diligence than others.”

Moskowitz filed business interruption suits in California and New Jersey as well as his home state of Florida. He said he picked New Jersey as a venue because some insurance companies have regional offices in the state, and because the state’s federal judges are known for their handling of mass tort litigation.

Time

In Lawsuit, Cruise Line Crew Members Say They're 'Effectively Held Hostage' on Stranded Ships, Working Without Pay

Crew members say they’ve been trapped aboard Bahamas Paradise Cruise Line ships for months without pay, “effectively held hostage” during the coronavirus pandemic, according to a class action lawsuit filed in federal court on Tuesday.

The suit alleges that thousands of workers have been “unnecessarily kept on the ships for months on end, many thousands of miles away from their homes and families” and “suffered lost wages and lost employment opportunities” as a result. After the pandemic shut down cruises in March, crew members were required to continue cleaning, cooking and maintaining their ships without pay, according to the lawsuit, which was filed in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida.

“This egregiously delayed repatriation is tantamount to false imprisonment of the crew,” the lawsuit states.

Dragan Janicijevic, the lead plaintiff in the lawsuit, is a Serbian citizen who was employed on one of the cruise ships as a casino dealer. He told the Miami Herald that he and other employees had asked to be sent home in April, but were told the cruise line could not afford charter flights, which were initially required by the CDC to prevent disembarking crew members from potentially spreading the virus on commercial flights. “They were keeping us captive,” Janicijevic, who left the ship in late June, told the Herald.

When sailing operations were halted in March, the cruise line “forced all crew members aboard the ship to sign a document stating they were voluntarily staying onboard, without pay,” according to the lawsuit.

“The crewmembers were forced to sign these agreements by being threatened that they would not be rehired if they did not sign,” the lawsuit states. “This system of requiring crewmembers to work, without pay, is the equivalent of forced labor or peonage.”

In July, the CDC extended its no-sail order for cruise ships through September. Other cruise ship companies—including Carnival Corporation, Royal Caribbean Group and Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings—have been paying working crew members, but not paying the non-working crew who remain on their ships, the Herald reported.

Forbes

Workers Trapped On U.S. Cruise Ship For Months Doing Unpaid ‘Forced Labor,’ Lawsuit Claims

According to the lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, workers on two of the company’s cruise ships have been forced to remain at sea for months.

After the CDC issued a “No Sail Order” on March 14, crew members were required to sign a document saying they voluntarily chose to remain onboard “without pay until the government has lifted restrictions” or else they might lose their job, the lawsuit says.

“The crew were unnecessarily kept on the ships for months on end, many thousands of miles away from their homes and families,” the lawsuit says. “Remarkably, there are still crew members effectively held hostage on the ship. This egregiously delayed repatriation is tantamount to false imprisonment of the crew.”

The Sun-Sentinel

Fort Lauderdale Water Crisis Drama Started With ‘Hey, We Broke Something Here’

It was supposed to be an easy job — not one that would shut down an entire city.

But a series of major goofs and errors turned an underground drilling project into a nightmarish tale where the water pipes ran dry, leaving 250,000 people and businesses without water in Fort Lauderdale and several nearby cities.

A three-man crew started work around 11 a.m. on July 17, digging a trench for an underground pipe near the runways at Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport. Sometime after 3 p.m., their drill hit Fort Lauderdale’s main water supply line, a 42-inch concrete pipe that carries water from the city’s wellfields to its Fiveash Water Treatment Plant.

Neither Rivera nor his workers had a clue there was a massive water pipe right where they were digging.

But they should have, according to a lawsuit filed by five businesses forced to close that day: The Las Olas Company (owner of the Riverside Hotel), Press & Grind Café, Rocco’s Tacos & Tequila Bar, Di Pietro Partners and HHR Lauderdale Beach Limited Partnership.

With no running water, fire sprinklers wouldn’t work and toilets wouldn’t flush. Several hotels, including the Riverside, were forced to evacuate guests and cancel reservations.

Harbor Beach Marriott estimates it lost $300,000 from the whole ordeal.

“It was like a hurricane,” said Bill Scherer, an attorney representing the plaintiffs along with Adam Moskowitz. “Everybody went home and bunkered down for a day.”

Scherer estimates businesses throughout Broward County lost up to $300 million in revenues.

“They just screwed up at every turn,” Scherer said of the contractors. “With directional drilling, you don’t know where you’re going because it’s underground. Water started coming out and then it was just a geyser. Like a fire hydrant on steroids times 1,000.”

Torres and the other two men on the crew are not licensed by the state to do the work they were doing, Moskowitz said. The crew did not use ground penetrating radar. If they had, they would have found the pipe.

Daily Business Review

DLA Piper, Fox Rothschild Sued in $170 Million EquiAlt Real Estate Ponzi Scheme

A DLA Piper partner formerly with Fox Rothschild is accused of drafting deceptive and misleading documents intended for prospective EquiAlt investors.

Big law’s DLA Piper and Fox Rothschild were sued in a class action alleging they played a role in a $170 million real estate Ponzi that defrauded over 1,100 investors, many of them elderly who sunk in their retirement savings.

The law firms’ alleged involvement was based on the work of attorney Paul Wassgren, a DLA Piper Los Angeles partner formerly at Fox Rothschild. He drafted documents given to prospective EquiAlt investors that he knew contained misleading and deceptive information, according to the federal complaint filed in Tampa.

Among the alleged falsehoods in Wassgren’s private placement memoranda were statements that the securities were exempt from federal and state registration requirements and that no more than 35 unregistered investors would be permitted.

Securities are exempt from registration if they are sold to no more than 35 unregistered investors, which wasn’t the case at EquiAlt.

Attorneys Adam Moskowitz of The Moskowitz Law Firm in Coral Gables, Jeffrey Sonn of Sonn Law Group in Aventura and Phoenix attorney Andrew Friedman, shareholder at Bonnett, Fairbourn, Friedman & Balint, filed the complaint July 21.

Daily Business Review

Magic City Casino Sues Insurers Over Coronavirus Losses

Magic City is suing AXA XL Insurance Group, AXA subsidiary Indian Harbor Insurance Co., Hallmark Specialty Insurance Co. and Ategrity Specialty Insurance Co., saying they sold “all risk” property insurance policies to the casino that include covering business-interruption losses.

WLRN - 91.3 FM

Miami Casino Sues Insurers Over COVID-19 Losses

WFOR - CBS 4

Miami’s Magic City Casino Sues Insurers Over COVID-19 Losses

A Miami casino has filed a lawsuit arguing that insurers should cover financial losses stemming from the facility being shut down because of COVID-19.

The lawsuit, filed last week in federal court in South Florida by the operators of Magic City Casino, contends that four insurance companies wrongfully denied coverage for “business interruption” losses.

“The policies are all-risk,” the lawsuit said, referring to the defendants. “In an all-risk insurance policy, all risks of loss are covered unless that are specifically excluded.”

The lawsuit also focuses, in part, on the fact that the casino could not operate because of orders issued by Gov. Ron DeSantis and local officials. It said the disputed policies contain identical sections about providing coverage for losses resulting from an “order of civil or military authority.”

“As a result of the presence of COVID-19 and the closure orders, plaintiff … sustained a suspension of business operations, sustained losses of business income, and incurred extra expenses,” the lawsuit said. “Plaintiff has also sustained business income losses due to direct physical loss or physical damage at the premises of dependent properties.”

Florida Politics

Casino Sues Insurer Over COVID-19 Losses

The Center Square

Federal Panel Could Consolidate Florida Business Interruption Claims Into Class Action Suit

A group from South Florida has filed one of three petitions requesting the JPML consolidate more than 100 lawsuits filed by businesses seeking coverage for business-interruption losses caused by pandemic stay-home orders into one case before the U.S. District Court in Miami.

Similar petitions have been filed before the JPML on behalf of plaintiffs in Philadelphia and Chicago.

The insurance industry has uniformly stated standard business interruption policies do not provide coverage for pandemic-related impacts. They argue business interruption policies cover losses incurred during business shutdowns caused by catastrophes, such as floods or hurricanes, but not those incurred during the economic fallout of a pandemic.

Business interruption policies specifically exclude pandemics, industry officials say, unless businesses specifically purchase pandemic coverage. It’s in every policy’s fine print, they say.

The American Property and Casualty Insurance Association said forcing insurers to pay such claims would undermine the solvency of the industry. APCIA estimated business closures are costing businesses with fewer than 500 employees from $393 billion to $668 billion per month.

But in lawsuits filed across the nation, policyholders argue business interruption policies should be applied to instances when there is no physical damage or destruction to a business that is being prevented from conducting business as usual by a government order.

In late April, Florida Insurance Commissioner David Altmaier warned Gov. Ron DeSantis’ Re-Open Florida Task Force that many business owners were only then realizing their business interruption insurance policies did not cover financial losses stemming from pandemic shutdowns.

In May, state Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis called on Florida’s 27-member congressional delegation to find a way for small businesses to recover losses related to the COVID-19 emergency shutdowns that many business interruption insurance policies don’t cover through legislation rather than litigation.

“There are a lot of business owners who purchased business interruption insurance policies thinking they would be used for times like these,” he wrote. “Many responsible businesses that care deeply for their employees and their communities have spent a lot of their hard-earned dollars on business interruption insurance policies for years, and Congress should take that into consideration as they craft programs to help businesses during this crisis.”

Law360

DLA Piper, Fox Rothschild Sued Over Alleged Ponzi Ties

Investors in a Florida real estate company, which the SEC accused of operating as a $170 million Ponzi scheme, have filed suit against a DLA Piper attorney, his firm and his previous firm, Fox Rothschild LLP, over his role in preparing the company's offering documents. The complaint filed in Florida federal court on Tuesday claims that Paul Wassgren was a knowing participant in the illegal sale of securities offered by EquiAlt LLC, a firm sued by the U. S. Securities and Exchange Commission in February for allegedly operating as a massive Ponzi scheme. The SEC said more than 1,100 investors were duped.

News & Guts

Twitter Investigates “Coordinated Attack” That Duped Some Users Into Sending Money

Twitter is dealing with the fallout today after what they are calling “a coordinated social engineering attack by people who successfully targeted some of our employees with access to internal systems and tools.” Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s account was reportedly the first account taken over. But several high profile accounts were impacted including Barack Obama, Joe Biden, Jeff Bezos, Bill Gates, and others. Tweets on the accounts read: “I am giving back to the community. All Bitcoin sent to the address below will be sent back doubled! If you send $1,000, I will send back $2,000. Only doing this for 30 minutes.”

Twitter released a statement saying: “We know they used this access to take control of many highly-visible (including verified) accounts and Tweet on their behalf. We’re looking into what other malicious activity they may have conducted or information they may have accessed and will share more here as we have it. Internally, we’ve taken significant steps to limit access to internal systems and tools while our investigation is ongoing. More updates to come as our investigation continues.”

And now Twitter will be dealing with a separate issue – is it liable for the scam? CNET says, “As of Wednesday afternoon, a spot check of the BTC address from the tweets shows a total received of 12.30776555 BTC, or roughly $113,572.” There are some Twitter users who are now asking whether they will be reimbursed. Class action attorney Adam Moskowitz, who has handled lawsuits involving other tech companies, says people may have a hard time getting their money back: “There is certainly no guarantee based upon the type, location, or size of the companies that sell or trade-in bitcoin, that’s why these class actions have been so difficult to bring. Hopefully, the state and federal officials will get Involved to help all of the consumers.”

Moskowitz says it will also be hard to get Twitter to return money to users who were duped, “Typically when there is allegedly intentional misconduct by the hacker, it is more difficult to hold the company responsible unless they had a lack of necessary and adequate precautions”

Law.com

Reverse-Mortgage Borrowers Foreclosed From Class Suit on Insurance Fees, Circuit Says

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit has nixed a class action challenge to rates charged for force-placed insurance coverage by a reverse mortgage company. Under the so-called filed-rate doctrine, ratepayers may not bring suits to challenge insurance fees that have been registered with state insurance regulators, the appeals court said.

Florida Record

Class Action Filed On Behalf Of Broward Businesses Affected By Water Main Break

Businesses forced to shut down temporarily after a work crew bored a hole into a key water main at Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport are suing Florida Power & Light Co. (FPL) for negligence over last year’s accident.

The complaint was filed by The Moskowitz Law Firm in Coral Gables on behalf of six plaintiffs whose businesses could not operate for several days due to insufficient water. Attorney Adam Moskowitz filed for class certification in the case in Florida’s 17th Judicial Circuit in a bid to provide compensation to thousands of businesses

“We have finally been able to uncover in the discovery process that FPL hired three smaller contractors to perform the job so they could save money and that they all committed various reckless acts that caused hundreds of millions of dollars to almost 80,000 businesses in Broward County,” Moskowitz said in an email to the Florida Record.

Contractors and subcontractors hired for an FPL electrical project were performing “ultra-hazardous” horizontal drilling work when the accident took place on July 17, 2019, according to the lawsuit.

“... Defendants’ conduct was so reckless and grossly negligent that had it not resulted in tremendous damages to thousands of businesses in our community, it would be almost comical,” the complaint states.

In addition, the workers who did the drilling were unlicensed and failed to take standard measures to locate the water main prior to the work, the claim says.

A hearing is scheduled for late September, when Judge William Haury will decide whether to certify the class action, according to Cindi Avila, spokeswoman for the law firm. A liabilities and damages trial has been set for January.

“That means it is not brought just on behalf of these five businesses just for them, but we make the case on behalf of all 10,000 businesses that all had damages,” Avila said.

Law.com

Prevagen Ruling Could Provide Check on Competitive Field of Consumer Supplements

The nationwide settlement could be one of the largest consumer class settlements in the country and might award tens of millions in damages.

A nationwide class action settlement was just reached involving approximately 3 million consumers of a popular supplement claiming to improve brain health. The settlement, which is subject to court approval, will provide those consumers with partial refunds, and the supplement will have a changed label.

Consumers of the supplement, Prevagen, said that Quincy Bioscience, the supplement maker, was deceptive in its advertisements claiming that the brain health supplement improved memory and “supported brain function, [a] sharper mind, and clearer thinking.”

Those with proof of purchase can obtain a cash refund of 30% of the Quincy manufacturer suggested retail price, up to $70 for an individual claimant. Those people without proof of purchase, but with a valid claim, can obtain a cash refund of $12.

Quincy has denied all allegations made against its popular brain health supplement. A recent jury trial in the Northern District of California with similar claims ended in a hung jury. The Northern District of California took the additional step of decertifying a class of California consumers who had purchased Prevagen brain health supplements.

Jack Scarola, a partner at Searcy Denney in West Palm Beach, and Adam Moskowitz of The Moskowitz Law Firm in Coral Gables, represented the plaintiffs in the Florida class action. And they said they are proud of the proposed settlement, which will still allow consumers to purchase the memory loss products knowing all the alleged risks and benefits.

“There is certainly a risk with any case going to trial as we saw in the other Prevagen case pending in California,” Moskowitz said in an email. “This settlement provides real, substantive monetary value to millions of customers nationwide that would like to participate and receive refunds, and it provides more and better disclosures of the product.”

Super Lawyers

Suit Targets Florida Utility in Water Main Outage

An attempt by a Florida Power & Light subcontractor to make underground electrical repairs near the Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport went wrong last July 17, rupturing a 42-inch water main and leaving many Fort Lauderdale businesses temporarily high and dry.

Now, Miami attorney Adam Moskowitz and Fort Lauderdale lawyers William Scherer at Conrad & Scherer and Cristina Pierson at Kelley Uustal are seeking class action status for a lawsuit against the utility and three of its subcontractors on behalf of all the affected companies.

"This case will involve thousands of small, family-owned businesses, as well as large companies, if our Certification Motion is granted,” says Moskowitz, who practices class action and mass torts at The Moskowitz Law Firm and is an adjunct professor at the University of Miami School of Law. “Our individual clients are a group of restaurants, hotels and a law firm that suffered damages from the same water main break, as all of the other class members. … They were all forced to shut down and directly suffered different amounts of damages.”

The companies say the outage affected air conditioning, food service and fire-sprinkler protection, among other things. “Our preliminary estimate puts class damages at many hundreds of millions of dollars,” says Moskowitz, “given that many thousands of businesses each lost thousands—some tens of thousands of dollars—in revenue.”

The suit says, “Defendants have even now filed extensive cross-claims, blaming each other for these terrible mistakes.”

Moskowitz says a diagram existed showing the water main’s location, and that the subcontractor “could have easily and cheaply located the water main with simple spot-digging or ground-penetrating radar.”

The case is set for a class certification trial in September before 17th Circuit Judge William Haury Jr. The defendants failed to persuade Haury to move it to a later date. “We already moved the date 60 days due to the COVID virus,” Moskowitz says.

Law360

Prevagen Maker Inks Deal To Settle Half-Dozen False Ad Suits

Consumers who accused a Wisconsin-based biotechnology company of lying about the effects of its Prevagen memory supplement asked a Florida federal court on Wednesday to approve a settlement to resolve the claims in that case and a half-dozen others, encompassing up to 3 million buyers.

The Prevagen buyers asked U.S. District Judge Marcia G. Cooke to greenlight the proposed agreement, which would bar Quincy Bioscience LLC from representing that Prevagen improves memory or limits age-related memory problems. It would also give partial refunds to the customers of up to $70 with proof of purchase, and up to $12 without.

Additionally, the agreement provides for $4.2 million in attorney fees and costs, two $10,000 incentive awards to lead plaintiffs in the Florida case, and $2,000 each to an additional eight plaintiffs in other cases. The parties did not estimate a total value for the overall settlement.

WPLG Local 10 - ABC

Businesses Impacted By Fort Lauderdale Water Main Break Contemplating Lawsuit Against FPL

Law360

Fla. Businesses Seek Class Cert. Over Water Main Break

Fort Lauderdale businesses forced to temporarily close last year when a water main broke and allegedly caused hundreds of millions of dollars in economic damages asked a judge this week to grant class certification in their suit against Florida Power and Light and the contractors they say are responsible.

"FPL hired [three] small contractors to perform the job they were hired to do simply [to] save money, but we have now uncovered numerous, specific evidence that all of them committed reckless acts that directly caused hundreds of millions of dollars in damage to almost 80,000 businesses in Broward County," Adam Moskowitz of The Moskowitz Law Firm, one of the lawyers for the businesses, said Tuesday.

Last July, contractors working on an FPL project accidentally drilled a hole in a major water main near Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport after failing to properly prepare for the project, according to the suit.

Law.com

'Dangerous Drilling': Coral Gables Lawyer Files Motion for Class Certification Against Florida Power & Light

A Broward judge will soon hear arguments about whether Florida Power & Light Co. should be held accountable for a 2019 water main break.

The dispute stemmed from Florida Power & Light allegedly boring a hole into a major water pipe at Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport. It deprived the plaintiffs and 80,000 other businesses who were unable to operate due to deficient water service, according to the lawsuit.

Adam Moskowitz, Managing Partner at The Moskowitz Law Firm in Coral Gables, has now filed a motion for class certification in the case. If the class is certified and the suit succeeds, thousands of businesses could obtain compensation based on allegations that Florida Power & Light placed profits before the interests of its customers.

The court is set to hold a hearing in September to consider whether to certify the class. Until then, a trial to determine liability and the scope of damages will be delayed.

Moskowitz alleged in the lawsuit that the Geo workers were unlicensed and began “inherently dangerous drilling without doing anything to verify” the location of the utilities or to “identify the water main.” Since the incident, these defendants have filed cross-claims blaming each other, and the motion suggests that defendants made false statements in this litigation to cover up their “gross negligence.”

Law.com

Litigation To Continue In Miami As Spartan Race Stumbles In Class Action Over Insurance Fee

Law360

Race Co. Can't Escape Suit Over 'Worthless' Insurance

A Florida federal court struck back at Spartan Race Inc., calling it "ill-equipped" to hear a proposed class action accusing it of overcharging racers for "worthless" insurance, rejecting its bid to move or dismiss the suit and finding the company failed to show the fee was not a deceptive or unfair act.

Florida racer Aaron Fruitstone alleged in February that Spartan Race has been charging runners for a secondary and "worthless" insurance to pad its pockets. The organizer charges runners a $14 insurance fee on top of the $100 entry fee for each race, but participants have to go through their own insurance policy first to cover any medical expenses, according to court filings.

In the Thursday order, the judge said the class representative has adequately alleged that runners can be deceived to believe that the insurance fee goes to a third-party insurer when in fact the organizer could be collecting it for its own gains. Spartan Race was not able to show that it did not misinform participants, so the suit cannot be dismissed, Judge Bloom said. Spartan Race also failed to demonstrate that there is a need to change the court venue, the judge added.

Orlando Weekly

Florida University Students Sue For Spring-Semester Refund

The lawsuit filed last week in Leon County circuit court by named plaintiff Anthony Rojas seeks class-action status on behalf of students at all 12 state universities. It was filed against the state university system’s Board of Governors and seeks refunds of prorated amounts of fees such as technology fees, activities and services fees, athletic fees and transportation fees.

“FBOG (the Florida Board of Governors’) decision to transition to online classes and to request and to encourage students to leave campus were responsible decisions to make, but it is unfair and unlawful for FBOG to retain fees and to pass the losses on to the students and their families,” the lawsuit said.

The Gainesville Sun

Lawsuits Seek Refunds For University Students

Ocala SunBanner

Lawsuits Seek Refunds For University Students

WJXT - News4Jax

Class-action Lawsuit Seeks Refund Of Florida College Campus Fees

A class-action lawsuit, filed Monday, aims to compel 12 of Florida’s public universities to refund students certain fees after the coronavirus pandemic forced campuses to close.

The suit, filed in Leon County, targets the Florida Board of Governors Foundation and lists University of Florida graduate student Anthony Rojas as the plaintiff.

While the class-action suit stops short of demanding the return of tuition, room and board costs such as other such lawsuits across the country have done, it seeks to refund fees associated with financial aid, technology, activities, services, athletics, health and transportation.

“The costs are just unbelievable," said Adam Moskowitz, Rojas’ attorney. "They are actually facilities, which have been closed since March, which students have paid almost $2,000 for, that they physically can’t use -- buses, gyms, more importantly, health facilities.”

The universities listed in the lawsuit are Florida A&M, Florida Atlantic University, Florida Gulf Coast University, Florida International University, Florida Polytech University, Florida State University, New College of Florida, University of Central Florida, University of Florida, University of North Florida, the University of South Florida and the University of West Florida.

The Board of Governors told News4Jax Monday it will not comment on pending litigation.

Tampa Bay Times

Florida Universities Should Refund Student Fees, Lawsuit Says

A UF student says he and his peers shouldn’t be paying for services they can’t use during the pandemic.

Anthony Rojas, a second-year graduate student in political science, has spent the last six years at the University of Florida.

He had an on-campus job with the recreational sports department, but due to the COVID-19 outbreak, he has not been able to work for two months.

“I used that money to pay for housing and food,” he said.

Now, Rojas, 24, is the lead plaintiff in a class action lawsuit demanding that Florida universities refund unused student fees for athletics, transportation and other activities and services they can no longer access. The suit, filed Monday in Leon County Circuit Court against Florida’s State University System, says it represents the interests of more than 341,000 students.

“Students are struggling really hard right now,” he said. “People are wondering where they’re going to get money to pay their bills. If you’re not providing services, you shouldn’t be charging for them.”

Adam Moskowitz is a law professor at the University of Miami and one of the attorneys representing Rojas. He said he sympathizes with universities facing financial hardship, but argues students deserve a refund.

“What we’re seeking is just for services they’re not receiving,” he said.

WTVJ NBC 6

Student Files Class Action Lawsuit Demanding Refunds for College Campus Fees

A University of Florida graduate student is going up against the Florida Board of Governors in a class action lawsuit demanding refunds for on-campus services that are no longer available to students because of the coronavirus. 

“If you promise to provide a service, and you can no longer provide it, students should receive refunds for these fees,” said student Anthony Rojas. 

The class action lawsuit filed Monday claims the Florida Board of Governors and its 12 state universities need to refund close to 300,000 students for thousands of dollars in fees that the students paid for on-campus services that they never got to use.

It’s important to note that the lawsuit isn’t asking for tuition refunds, because students are still taking classes and earning credits even though it’s all virtual. 

“Students across the state pay hundreds of thousands in student fees whether it be for use of gyms or healthcare centers, and we feel since we lost half our semester, that it’s only right that if students cannot have access to a physical service that they paid for that they receive a prorated refund for those services.”

Telemundo 51

Estudiante Demanda A Universidad De Florida Por Servicios No Prestados

Anthony Rojas, un estudiante de postgrado en ciencias políticas de la Universidad de Florida, acaba de presentar una demanda contra la junta de gobernadores que supervisa las 12 universidades públicas del estado.

“Pusimos esta demanda porque yo personalmente pagué casi 82 dólares por crédito con estas tarifas”, dijo rojas.

Se refiere a pagos que son obligatorios al inicio de cada semestre, por servicios que los estudiantes no recibieron, porque el pasado 11 de marzo la propia junta ordenó el cierre de las universidades públicas por la amenaza del coronavirus.

“Uno paga una tarifa para usar el gimnasio. Que ahora no está abierto. El centro de salud, que tampoco”, dice Rojas.

La demanda exige la devolución de ese dinero. Y es una demanda colectiva, es decir, representa a los estudiantes de todas las universidades públicas de la florida que pagaron por esos servicios que ahora no reciben.

Hicimos el cálculo y son como 300 mil estudiantes. Son muchos y pagan miles en tarifas.

CBS News

CBS Evening News College Lawsuits Feature Story With Adam Moskowitz

CBS Evening News interviews nationally recognized class action expert and trial attorney Adam M. Moskowitz of The Moskowitz Law Firm. The Firm represents students in a class action lawsuit against the Florida Board of Governors, seeking refunds amid campus shutdowns of in-state public schools due to the Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak.

CNBC

Demand For Refunds Intensifies Among College Students

A growing number of college students are seeking repayment for tuition, room and board and other expenses amid campus shutdowns due to COVID-19.

Vanderbilt, Boston University and Brown are among the latest schools hit with class-action lawsuits.

Separate class-action lawsuits have also been filed against Drexel University and the University of Miami, among other schools across the country.

In Florida, attorney Adam Moskowitz filed a suit against the Florida Board of Governors on behalf of students at all in-state public schools.

In this case, students are not seeking refunds for tuition or room and board, but rather for on-campus charges related to athletic facilities and transportation, according to Moskowitz, who is also an adjunct professor in class action litigation at the University of Miami School of Law.

“The only thing we thought was extremely egregious was on-campus activities that students have already paid for and cannot participate in,” he said.

Law.com

South Florida Attorney Helps Lead $88M Transamerica Life Insurance Settlement

Law.com

Transamerica Gets Preliminary Sign-Off on Settlement of Overcharge Claims

A federal judge in Los Angeles on Monday gave preliminary approval to a deal that requires Transamerica Life Insurance Co. to establish a fund of up to $88 million for certain life insurance policyholders.

The Miami Herald

Student Sues Florida Public Universities Over Fees For Services On Closed Campuses

A University of Florida graduate student is accusing the Florida Board of Governors, which oversees the state’s 12 public universities, of “unlawful” behavior, alleging the refusal to issue prorated refunds to students after campuses shut down mid-semester to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus is unfair.

Anthony Rojas filed a class-action lawsuit Monday in a Leon County Circuit Court in Tallahassee. He is representing all Florida residents who paid fees to enroll at a public university this spring, or at least 300,000 students, according to his lawyers’ calculations.

“We’re very huge supporters of our school system and of our state so it took us great thought before we were willing to take on the Florida Board of Governors but in this case it just seems to us so unreasonable to deprive over 300,000 struggling students with thousands of dollars for something they physically cannot obtain,” said Adam Moskowitz, a University of Miami law professor and one of Rojas’ lawyers.

The lawsuit also mentions Florida colleges will receive at least $740 million from the federal government after Congress approved the $2.2 trillion Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security — CARES — Act in late March.

El Nuevo Herald

Tras Cierre Por El Coronavirus, Estudiante Demanda A Universidades Públicas De Florida

Law.com

Class Action Claims eBay Price Gouging Consumers Over Coronavirus-Related Products

EBay Inc. joins Amazon.com, Costco and other retailers sued for allegedly price gouging consumers seeking high-demand products during the COVID-19 pandemic.

On Monday, a class action alleged that eBay, despite vowing to curb price gouging on its site, continues to encourage the practice by charging a “final value fee” based on the price of the product sold. Jeanette Mercado, a California driver for Lyft and Uber who bought a two-pack of N95 masks on eBay for $23.98, with the same product selling at other national retailers for no more than $8.99,filed the suit in federal court in the Northern District of California.

“While eBay publicly states that it is trying to stem the use of eBay’s platform by sellers who have charged, and continue to charge, gouging rates to consumers across the country, eBay’s very business model not only allows but encourages such price gouging, to eBay’s financial benefit,” says the complaint.

Her attorney, Adam Moskowitz, of The Moskowitz Law Firm in Coral Gables, Florida, filed the case along with AK Law in Orange, California; Sonn Law Group in Aventura, Florida; and Bonnett, Fairbourn, Friedman & Balint in Phoenix.

“We know eBay is now trying to catch up and prevent these thousands of daily horrible instances of price gouging, but they set up this pricing structure which encouraging the worst in our society to take advantage of people, so they need to do more or accept the responsibilities and penalties that our laws have established as consequence,” Moskowitz said in an email.

On March 5, eBay claimed that it had banned from its site any N95 and other surgical masks, hand sanitizers, disinfecting wipes, toilet paper, baby formula, baby wipes, tampons and diapers, the suit says. But the complaint has recent images from eBay’s website of a pack of three N95 masks for $585, a lot of five Lysol spray cans for $227.50 and a 12-mega roll of Cottonelle toilet paper for $49.90.

“EBay’s purported crack-down on unlawful sales on its platform is deliberately pretextual, undertaken with ‘a wink and a nod’ to the continued daily sales of tens of thousands essential products at price-gouging prices,” the suit says.

Law360

Fla. Sued For Campus Fees During COVID-19 Shutdown

The governing body for Florida's state university system was hit with a proposed class action Monday in state court seeking a prorated refund of fees paid for campus services students did not receive when the system's dozen institutions shifted to remote learning because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

University of Florida graduate student Anthony Rojas said the Florida board of governors did the right thing by encouraging students to leave campus and transitioning to online classes, but claimed it was unfair and unlawful to retain fees for benefits the students did not receive.

"We certainly think that all schools and companies are trying to deal with these ever-evolving emergency situations to the best of their availability, but we are sure that the Florida school system will evaluate this issue and agree with other school systems, that these specific on-campus charges should not be issued by their students that have been hit hardest by this terrible epidemic," Rojas' counsel Adam M. Moskowitz of The Moskowitz Law Firm in Miami said in a statement. "We still believe that online course charges and all tuition requirements should still be enforced and earned degrees be awarded as planned, so these students can proceed with their lives."

Tallahassee Democrat

Florida College Student Files Class Action Lawsuit Targeting Student Fee Reimbursements

The closure of the state university system due to coronavirus has prompted a class-action lawsuit alleging that student fees have not been returned.

The 16-page lawsuit filed in Leon County is aimed at the Florida Board of Governors on behalf of the students of all 12 state-run universities, with a University of Florida graduate student Anthony Rojas named as the lead plaintiff.

It targets the on-campus fees associated with college, not tuition or room and board, because without a campus to go to, the services are not available.

“Despite its constructive eviction of students at the Universities for the remainder of the semester and ending all campus activities for at least that same time period, FBOG has not offered refunds of fees paid to cover the cost of certain on-campus services which are no longer be available to students,” wrote Coral Gables attorney Adam Moskwitz in the lawsuit filed Monday.

Yahoo Finance

Consumer Watchdog: Transamerica Settles Lawsuit Concerning Increases in "Cost of Insurance" Charges

Transamerica Life Insurance Company has agreed to settle a class action lawsuit brought on behalf of policyholders across the United States alleging that Transamerica improperly increased the monthly charges that the company withdrew from the accounts of policyholders.

This is the second such lawsuit and settlement arising out of "cost of insurance" increases by Transamerica.

Under the proposed settlement, which was filed today in the U.S. District Court in Los Angeles, Transamerica has agreed to pay up to $88 million in account value credits to policies in effect and those for which death claims were pending as of December 31, 2019.

Transamerica has also agreed not to impose any additional increases in the monthly deduction rate schedules applicable to the class members' policies for a period of seven years, unless the company is ordered to do so by state regulatory authorities.

"I am very proud of this settlement, which will assist and protect policyholders who, particularly at this difficult time, really need the help," said Adam M. Moskowitz, co-lead counsel in the litigation.

The case was prosecuted by Andy Friedman and Frank Balint of Arizona-based Bonnett, Fairbourn, Friedman & Balint, P.C.; Adam Moskowitz and Howard Bushman of The Moskowitz Law Firm, based in Florida; and Harvey Rosenfield, counsel to Consumer Watchdog, a California-based non-profit organization.

Daily Business Review

Federal Bankruptcy Court Grants Class Certification in 1 Global Capital $340 Million Fraud

A federal bankruptcy court judge in Miami issued an order Tuesday allowing a class-action case to proceed by granting class certification on behalf of over 3,400 investors seeking the recovery of their investments from a merchant cash advance company that is accused of running a fraudulent scheme that cost investors nearly $340 million.

Sarah Foster has been certified as the class representative for the investors and The Moskowitz Law Firm has been certified as class counsel in the adversary proceeding pending before Judge Robert A. Mark in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Florida. The adversary proceeding was led in the chapter 11 bankruptcy case of 1 Global Capital against defendants Carl Ruderman, Kopelowitz Ostrow P.A., and Dale Ledbetter.

In a preliminary hearing on the plaintiff’s motion for class certification on Feb. 26, the court decided that the plaintiff had satisfied all of the relevant factors for class certification under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23.

The SEC said 1 Global ran as a “Ponzi-like” scheme. When investor money periodically dried up, the business made false statements to new investors to get new investment funds, which were used to repay earlier investors.

Adam M. Moskowitz, a partner at The Moskowitz Law Firm, said the investors were located around the country and were mostly older people that put their life savings into the investments.

“We have some claims that are better than the estate’s because there is something called in pari delicto. So some of the claims are better brought by the investors, some claims are better brought by the estate,” Moskowitz said, referring to Paul J. Battista, who has been appointed as Special Counsel for the Liquidating Trust, which was approved when the liquidating plan for 1 Global was approved by the bankruptcy court. “But by coordinating together, we were able to save a lot of wasted time and resources that could go to the investors.”

Law360

Technical Difficulties: Courts Face COVID-19 Learning Curve

Jonathan Goodman, a U.S. magistrate judge in the Southern District of Florida, was presiding over discovery issues between plaintiff and defense attorneys in a proposed class action alleging Quincy Bioscience LLC deceptively marketed its supplement Prevagen as a memory booster, but the line kept breaking up and background noise seeped through from an attorney on speaker phone. At one point in the middle of the hearing, the judge disappeared from the call.

As federal and state courthouses across the country shut their doors and limit their access to the public amid the growing COVID-19 pandemic, judges and court staff have been scrambling to keep the justice system moving, in part by switching some court proceedings to phone and video conferencing. For some courts, the transition to operating remotely in this unprecedented era has been fairly seamless; for others, it's been a bit of a slog as judges contend with technical glitches and learn to use new software on the fly.

Many lawyers think this new remote reality may promote greater efficiencies in court procedures, accelerate discovery disputes and encourage warmer relations among lawyers and judges.

Law360

Apple Urges End To Fla. Class Action Over iPhone Updates

Apple urged a Florida federal judge Monday to cut off a proposed class action from iPhone 4 owners claiming the company intentionally made its FaceTime videoconferencing app nonfunctional for iOS 6 and older operating systems, saying the claims were clearly filed too late and fail in substance.

During a telephonic hearing before Fort Lauderdale-based U.S. District Judge Raag Singhal, the tech giant argued that Florida state law and case law make clear that fraudulent concealment is not among the grounds for tolling a claim, so plaintiff Austin Belanger’s complaint came outside of Florida’s four-year statute of limitations.

But Belanger’s counsel offered a starkly contrasting position on the statute of limitation, which Judge Singhal had noted was the issue that most stood out to him.

Daily Business Review

Federal Magistrate Judge Recommends Certifying Nationwide Prevagen Class Action in Florida

Adam Moskowitz, among the lawyers representing the plaintiffs, alleges Prevagen is “worthless.”

A federal magistrate judge recommended certifying a national class action in a federal court in Miami, which is scheduled for trial Oct. 26 and alleges a pharmaceutical company sold a “worthless” product that was designed to help with memory loss. On Thursday, U.S. Magistrate Judge Jonathan Goodman of the Southern District of Florida recommend certifying a class consumers who purchased Prevagen over the last four years. The Moskowitz Law Firm and Searcy Denney will represent the plaintiffs at trial.

Plaintiffs are suing the company for violation of the Florida Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act in two counts and unjust enrichment in one count.

“Judge Cooke entered an Order last week setting it for trial October 26 of this year,” Moskowitz said in an email. “Tens of thousands of Florida consumers purchase this drug and the opinion spends a great deal of time explaining all of Florida’s deceptive and unfair practices law cases.”

Law360

Investor Class Certified Against 1 Global Capital Ex-CEO

A Florida bankruptcy judge granted class certification Tuesday to investors suing former 1 Global Capital Chairman and CEO Carl Ruderman over his alleged orchestration of a Ponzi scheme that raise more than $330 million from thousands of individuals.

Miami-based U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Robert A. Mark issued his ruling during a hearing held telephonically due to the coronavirus pandemic. He overruled Ruderman’s objection to lead plaintiff Sarah Foster’s motion making reference to a district judge’s finding in an enforcement case brought by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that the “memorandum of indebtedness" investments sold by the cash advance business constituted securities offered without required registration, which is the thrust of the investors’ claims.

“There is nothing problematic for this court to note that the district court concluded in an SEC action that the [memorandums of indebtedness] are securities,” the judge said.

Law.com

Miami Attorneys File Class Action in $170M EquiAlt Ponzi That Targeted Elderly

Steven and Tracey Rubinstein are two of seven plaintiffs in a class action filed against EquiAlt LLC, CEO Brian Davison, managing director Barry Rybicki and chief investment officer Tony Kelly in Tampa federal court.

They also sued four companies and their principals, accusing them of selling EquiAlt securities by promising their real estate investments were a safe opportunity while operating as a fraud.

Attorneys Adam Moskowitz of The Moskowitz Law Firm in Coral Gables, Jeffrey Sonn of Sonn Law Group in Aventura and Phoenix attorney Andrew Friedman, shareholder at Bonnett, Fairbourn, Friedman & Balint, filed the complaint Feb. 26. They are asking for the return of the investors’ principal and interest as well as actual and punitive damages.

In eight years, EquiAlt collected $170 million from 1,100 investors, many of them elderly who put in their retirement savings, the SEC charged. The company promised 90% would go for residential real estate investments but less than half was spent on purchases.

Typically in these types of cases, Moskowitz said liability may extend to accountants, banks and law firms that did business with the company.

“We definitely will be amending our complaint over time as we continue our investigation over time as to exactly what happened, who knew what was happening and who helped participate in these activities,” he said.

Tampa Bay Times

Investors Sue Tampa Firm Accused of $170 Million Ponzi Scheme

A Tampa real estate investment firm recently accused by federal officials of running a $170 million Ponzi scheme is now the focus of a second lawsuit filed by investors.

A half-dozen individual investors this week sued EquiAlt, company owner and chief executive officer Brian Davison, managing director Barry Rybicki and Tony James Michael Kelly, EquiAlt’s chief investment officer, in U.S. District Court in Tampa.

“This is unfortunately a very familiar fact pattern, especially here in Florida,” said the suit, which alleges “a classic Ponzi scheme” that used money from new investors to pay returns to previous investors. It seeks class-action status for more than 1,100 investors, many of them elderly residents of Florida, California and Arizona, who it says moved money out of individual retirement accounts to invest in EquiAlt.

At the moment, the investors’ claims against EquiAlt and its principals have been stayed — essentially blocked — by the judge who put EquiAlt’s affairs into the hands of a receiver in the Securities and Exchange Commission case. But a second attorney for the investors said Friday that his clients can still go after the financial advisors and others, such as accountants, lawyers and bankers, who aided EquiAlt.

“The tip of the iceberg,” said Adam Moskowitz, a Coral Gables attorney whose firm is working on the case with Sonn and Bonnett Fairbourn Friedman & Balint of Phoenix, Ariz. “Even though we have a lot of what happened already, there is still a lot to uncover. ... We are continuing our investigation before we add parties.”

Tampa Bay Business Journal

Investors In Alleged $170 Million Tampa-based Ponzi Scheme File Class Action Lawsuit Seeking $5 Million

Some of the largest investors in an alleged $170 million real estate Ponzi scheme have filed a class action lawsuit against Tampa’s EquiAlt LLC and its leadership, claiming that their funds were in the red by $82 million.

In a federal lawsuit filed Wednesday, the investors demand $5 million and a jury trial and allege that EquiAlt, CEO Brian Davison and managing director Barry Rybicki "scammed more than 1,100 mostly senior citizens from across the country of much of their life savings."

The lawsuit  alleges that Davison, Rybicki and EquiAlt Chief Investment Officer Tony James Michael Kelly "knew that they were running a Ponzi scheme," citing a spreadsheet Kelly prepared that shows $360,000 in total monthly revenue at a time when the fund had raised $104 million in investor money.

When Kelly prepared that spreadsheet, annual revenue was about $4.32 million against $104 million of investor funds - representing a gross return of 4.1 percent, while investors were promised 8 percent net of operating revenues and commissions, the lawsuit claims.

"At that point in time, Kelly and Davidson knew that there was not enough income to pay investors, meaning the only way they could pay investors was by raising new money from new investors," the lawsuit alleges.

The investors allege that EquiAlt claimed its debentures were exempt from registration with the SEC, but they were non-exempt - meaning the sale of those unregistered securities violated state and federal laws.

"We look forward to coordinating our efforts with the receiver that was appointed by the SEC, as our team has been doing for the past two years with the receiver in the 1st Global fraud case," Adam Moskowitz, lead counsel on the class action lawsuit, said in a statement, "where we have already recovered millions of dollars in damages for thousands of investors around the country."

Law360

Racer Sues Event Co. Over 'Worthless' Insurance

Spartan Race Inc. overcharged participants in its obstacle course contests for "worthless" insurance and lined its pockets with the excess fees, according to a lawsuit filed in Florida federal court Wednesday.

In a proposed class action complaint, Spartan Race participant Aaron Fruitstone alleges that in addition to the more than $100 that each participant must pay as an entry fee for each race, the organizer charges $14 for insurance.

According to the complaint, the $14 is presented as a "pass through" charge to a third-party insurer, but in reality the insurance costs far less and the bulk of the $14 is used as a direct revenue stream by Spartan Race.

Investment News

Security Benefit’s Legal Woes Over Indexed Annuities Persist

Ten plaintiffs have teamed up in a class action alleging that the insurer misled contract holders about the performance of its proprietary indexes.

The plaintiffs allege that Security Benefit began fraudulently marketing the products after its acquisition by Guggenheim Partners in 2010, which “[rescued] the failing insurance company from the brink of insolvency.”

The company’s then-new Secure Income Annuity quickly became the top-selling indexed annuity, though that product was later surpassed by its successor, Security Benefit’s Total Value Annuity, according to court records.

The plaintiffs are seeking damages, attorneys’ fees and other potential awards for the proposed class.

Security Benefit said in a statement that it has “substantial defenses to the claims alleged” and plans to defend itself in court. The plaintiffs and the proposed class are represented by Coral Gables, Fla.-based Moskowitz Law Firm, Phoenix-based Bonnett Fairbourn Friedman & Balint and San Francisco-based Evans Law Firm.