Tag Archives: florida

Zip Lining Toward Legal Action

A costly mistake

Employees have been fired from Urban Air Trampoline & Adventure Park in Lakeland, FL; but this is not a case of wrongful termination.  Due to the negligence of certain operators, a 10-year-old child fell 20-25 feet while using the park’s zip line in September.  Following an investigation, it was discovered that the ride itself was sound, safe, and up to industry standard.  Video footage shows the young boy was not properly secured in his harness before being allowed to retreat down the zip line.  The family of the child is not taking his injuries lightly and has filed a lawsuit against the entertainment facility. Continue reading →

Fishy Decision for Miami’s Marlins

Gone fishin’

The beauty of sportsmanship is trying to out-perform and out-think the competition. A baseball team based in Florida is now trying to claim that, legally, their ownership group is based in the British Virgin Islands. This would mean that any governance by the United States or Florida would not have jurisdiction, and any decisions would have to be filed in Island nation. This would also take a recent lawsuit brought against the Miami Marlins and their former owner, Jeffrey Loria, and essentially throw it overboard. Miami-Dade County and the city of Miami itself are seeking compensation after Loria allegedly over-promised, under-delivered, than sold the Major League Baseball franchise for $1.2 billion. Read More

Lawsuit: Oil Spill Funds Used for Gulf Hotels

Stronger than the storm

Adding fuel to the fire is never something BP wants to do after the Gulf Coast disaster in 2010. Environmentalists have filed a lawsuit and are attempting to block the building of new hotels in Florida & Alabama with funds granted to restore the coast itself. BP had pledged $1 billion to improve the coastline after the infamous oil rig explosion, and have continued to fund the project. Now, scientists state that the money should only be used for ecological purposes, not for real estate development (regardless of the fact that new hotels could produce new revenue along the coast). This has sparked a hot debate about the strength of economics vs biological and scientific research. Read more

Same Sex Marriage Lawsuit Against Florida

Same sex marriage. Legal or illegal?

On Tuesday, January 21, 2014, six same-sex couples, in the Miami area, filed a lawsuit against the state of Florida to expand the marriage rights in the state, according to The Huffington Post. The argument the couples have against the state is that the state law does not support the “legal protections and equal dignity that marriage provides. Four of the six couples have minor children including Catherine Pareto who owns a financial planning firm. Her partner, Karla Arguello, are raising Catherine’s 15-month-old son together and the couple has been together for 14 years.

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Lawsuits Claim Cover-Up at Private Youth Prison

Youth prison scandal

There is a growing nationwide trend of prisoners being placed in facilities run by for-profit companies, such as Youth Services International. Florida is at the forefront of this trend, and has elected to privatize all of its youth prisons across the state. “A pair of recent lawsuits against a private youth prison operator in Florida amplify claims that the company, Youth Services International, has frequently covered up reports that staff sexually abused young people held inside its facilities”. In one instance, an administrator at one YSI facility, repeatedly made advances toward adolescent males, and supposedly brought inmates home with him to his personal residence. A second allegation states that a guard at a separate YSI facility began an intimate relationship with a 14-year old prisoner. Read More