09.11.10

The Fourth District holds 6 to 5 that Fla. Stat. § 57.105 (7) (one-sided attorneys’ fees provisions are mutually enforceable) is narrowly construed, and a homeowner who prevails against a contractor in a breach of contract action is not entitled to contractual attorneys’ fees since the attorneys’ fees provision is for collection actions only.

09.11.10

Whether a loan is usurious is determined on date of inception of the loan. Moreover, construction loans which place funds in escrow and charge interest on the entire amount outstanding, and not just the funds disbursed, may be usurious.

09.11.10

The right to solicit existing customers is “legitimate business interest” under Fla. Stat. § 542.335 and a restrictive covenant can properly prohibit solicitation of existing customers, including prohibiting a tattoo artist from soliciting customers of his former employer.

9.11.10

Evidence that other airplanes using the same carburetor as that of defendant likewise crashed is not admissible when the other crashes are not sufficiently linked to the crash at trial, e.g., the other engines were in larger airplanes and using engines built by a different manufacturer.