Shalimar Law Blog

A Florida family is suing a charter school in Cooper City, where they say their daughter was sexually abused by her teacher. According to the lawsuit, the girl's mother informed the school's principal last school that her daughter, who was in third grade, was being touched inappropriately by her teacher. She said that the teacher was also molesting other students.

Not only was no action taken against the 35-year-old teacher, according to the suit, but the school knew of previous similar accusations against him. Five years ago, when the man was working as a substitute teacher at an elementary school in Hollywood, Florida, police looked into accusations that he had groped four students. Hollywood police say that only one of those students pressed charges, and prosecutors didn't have enough evidence to bring a case against him.

There are numerous state and federal laws in place that are designed to keep businesses from engaging in wrongful or deceptive practices that cause economic harm to consumers and other businesses. These practices are generally referred to as "unfair competition."

Business owners often take competitors to court to stop unfair and illegal practices and seek economic relief. Following are some examples of unfair competition:

If you live in an apartment, you're dependent on your landlord to keep the air conditioning in working order. Air conditioning isn't simply a perk here in Florida. It's a necessity — particularly in the summer. Every year, people across the country die due to conditions caused by extreme heat.

This time of year, broken air conditioners are among the most common maintenance issues facing property owners. So what can tenants do when their landlords are slow to respond to their calls? What if the problem is a complex one that requires a whole new system or parts that are back-ordered? Even one day and night without air conditioning can be unbearable and potentially dangerous in this part of the country. Can you take legal action?

Long gone are the days when mothers were nearly always awarded primary custody of their kids in a divorce. Today, barring significant issues like domestic violence or substance abuse, a divorcing father has a good chance of getting some kind of shared custody of his children if he seeks it. When custody decisions go before judges, their primary concern is what's in the children's best interests. One Florida judge notes that these "may take many forms."

State laws and judges' attitudes vary, however. The custody scheduling software company Custody X Change did a study of how each state ranks in granting fathers equal parenting time with their kids. The company looked at cases where both parents were seeking custody of their children, and there were no circumstances that would have warranted a father being denied custody.