Judge Colton led a discussion on the new Subchapter V of Chapter 11. Judge McEwen shared some extremely helpful articles and forms.

Photo:  L to R: Mark Stein, Kacy Donlon, Greg Yadley, Leyza Blanco, Doug Bates and Jay Brown

The committee voted on three pieces of legislation: (1) one focusing on notice to homeowners in foreclosure; (2) one on a proposal by the RPPTL Section for a legislative fix in response to the decision of Kearney Constr. Co., LLC v. Travelers Cas. & Sur. Co. of Am., 2019 WL 5957361 (11th Cir. 2019); and (3) one dealing with judgment lien amendments. The first two were presented to the Executive Council: the first passed; for the second, which was presented by triple motion, a decision was made to collaborate with the RPPTL Section on language for a friendly amendment. As for the third, a study group will be formed – if you are interested in participating, please contact Jennifer Morando. Lastly, there is still one more CLE upcoming that is being presented as a 3-part series with the Tax Section.

The committee has a new listserv to make communication easier. It is strictly opt-in; if you’d like to join, please click here. As far as legislation, the committee is working on one dealing with restrictive covenants that is being pushed to get through for this session. Finally, the committee is hosting a 3-part Case Law and Legislative Update to be held by Zoom at noon on Oct. 14, 21, and 28

Photo, clockwise from middle right: Angelique Gulla, Paige Greenlee, Scott Westheimer, and Toni Tsvetanova

The committee passed a motion to adopt a legislative position to support legislation relating to data privacy and cybersecurity, which was presented to the Executive Council. The committee also discussed TikTok issues. There will also be upcoming CLEs and additional pro bono engagement opportunities. At EC, a triple motion on the legislative position was presented, and it passed with some opposition.

Reports from the Chapter 607 Subcommittee, the Opinions Standards Committee and the Federal Securities Task Force were presented. Proposed amendments to Article 9 for LLC and partnership interests were also discussed, for which the committee is not opposed to those changes. Future projects will have new committee members.

Photo, clockwise from upper left: Amir Isaiah, Judge Henning, Stefanie Svisco, Judge Jordan, Chief Judge Tuter. Center: Judge Hanzman

The IP Symposium will be rescheduled to April 22-23, 2021. The committee will participate in the CLEs to be presented by the Business Litigation Committee. With regarding to board certification, there are currently between 115-118 board certified IP attorneys. However, the board certification review materials have not been updated since 2007. The committee enjoyed a CLE presentation by Ava Doppelt on the US Supreme Court decision in the Booking.com trademark case.

The BLS passed 2 bills in 2020 – the corporations glitch bill and UCRERA. 3,518 bills were filed this year in Florida, but less than 17% passed. There were 177 bills signed by the governor. Governor DeSantis also vetoed 3 bills.

Judge McEwen led the council in wishing Judge Isicoff a happy birthday. Unfortunately she had to leave the meeting before she could hear the well wishes. EC will meet October 1, 2020 at 4:00 pm via Zoom to discuss various legislation. The full Section will next meet during the Florida Bar's Midyear meeting in Orlando January 13-16, 2021. We do not know yet if it will be in person or virtual, so stay tuned!

Amir Isaiah moderated a panel discussion with Judges Hanzman, Henning, Jordan, Thomas and Tuter, where the Judges discussed COVID-19 impacts on current cases, cases that will start appearing due to the pandemic (such as business interruption claims), and even participated in their own Two-Truths-and-a-Lie. The Business Law Section thanks the Judges for their participation, and appreciates Amir’s work in putting this excellent panel together.

Michelle Suarez led a group of about 16 attendees (including Fellows and BLS members) through a fun-filled networking event that included a scavenger hunt, Covid Bingo, the craziest thing that has happened during the pandemic (a lot of babies!), and ended with small groups in breakout rooms for the Fellows to get to know section members better.

Did you guess correctly??