Thomas & LoCicero, PL represents clients in court every day. Listed below is a small sampling of some of the recent trial and appellate work that we have performed for our clients:

• On August 22, 2008, the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida, Fort Myers Division, granted a preliminary injunction sought by Thomas & LoCicero lawyers on behalf of organizations who want to circulate petitions near Florida polling places on election day. By statute, Florida prohibits anyone, other than exit pollsters, from seeking any information from voters within 100 feet of a polling place. In Citizens for Police Accountability Political Committee v. Browning, Case No. 2:08-cv-635-FtM-29SPC, the federal court sided with Thomas & LoCicero's clients, found that the Florida statute was not sufficiently narrowly tailored to comport with the First Amendment, and entered a preliminary injunction against its enforcement.

• In a federal action arising out of the admittedly erroneous use of the words "crack cocaine" in a broadcast mentioning the suspension of the medical license of a well-liked local family doctor's, Thomas & LoCicero closely worked with local counsel in Columbia, South Carolina to try the defamation case to the jury. After the plaintiff rested his case, both parties anticipated that the judge would enter a Directed Verdict. Consequently, the plaintiff agreed to settle the case for nuisance value.

• On behalf of Xerox Corporation, Thomas & LoCicero attorneys convinced a Florida appellate court that a dispute between Xerox and a former Sales Agent must be resolved through binding arbitration rather than litigation. In Xerox Corporation v. Smartech Document Management, Inc., 979 So. 2d 957 (Fla. 3rd DCA 2007), the court concluded that each of Smartech's claims against Xerox was a "Covered Dispute" subject to arbitration within the meaning of the parties' Business Relationship Agreement, and that, under the doctrine of equitable estoppel, Smartech's owner and president also was individually bound by the arbitration provision.

• In a matter that has been reported on widely in the press, a woman who "facilitates" adoptions from Vietnam sued families for defamation when they spoke out about their troubling adoption experiences. The trial court granted summary judgment in favor of the families represented by Thomas & LoCicero, holding that the families "made no actionable oral or written statement" about the plaintiff, that any statements they made were privileged, and that the plaintiff failed to presented any evidence of fault. Mai-Ly LaTrace v. Judith Mosley and Carrie West, Case No. 04-4547-CI-13 (Sixth Jud. Circuit, Pinellas County, Fla., Nov. 9, 2007). 

• A Sarasota County circuit court agreed with Thomas & LoCicero lawyers that child support proceedings between Houston Rockets shooting guard Tracy McGrady and a Bradenton woman should remain open to the public. The parties had moved to close the court proceedings and permanently seal the entire case file. Thomas & LoCicero opposed the parties' motion on behalf of the New York Times Company and the Sarasota Herald-Tribune. In the Matter of Pearl Vega v. Tracy McGrady, Case No. 2006 DR 007252 NC (Twelfth Jud. Circuit, Sarasota County, Fla., Sept. 14, 2007)
  
  
• In Licciardello v. Lovelady, Case No. 6:07-cv-137-Orl-28 KRS (M.D. Fla. Aug. 2, 2007), our attorneys persuaded a federal district court to dismiss a lawsuit filed by a musician against his former business manager. The court found that the business manager did not have sufficient ties to Florida to meet the due process requirements of the Constitution. In particular, the manager's website and his representation of artists who made sales in Florida did not establish minimum contacts with the State.
  
  
• Sun Sentinel Co. v. U.S. Department of Homeland Security, 489 F. 3d 1173 (11^th Cir. 2007) - June 22, 2007. In the aftermath of the devastating 2004 hurricane season, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) refused to release to newspapers key information concerning its distribution of disaster relief funds. Lawyers from Thomas & LoCicero convinced the federal district court and the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals to compel release of this critical information.
  
  
• In Casita LP v. Maplewood Equity Partners LP, 2007 WL 1988820 (Fla. 3d DCA July 11, 2007), Florida's Third District Court of Appeal agreed with Thomas & LoCicero lawyers and reversed the denial of a motion to dismiss a defamation case for lack of jurisdiction. The appellate court addressed an issue left open by the Florida Supreme Court and agreed that injury only within Florida was not sufficient to support long-arm jurisdiction for an allegedly defamatory statement that was published outside of Florida by non-Florida residents.
  


• On behalf of the New York Times Company and The Gainesville Sun, Thomas & LoCicero lawyers obtained a judgment on the pleadings in a hotly contested false light invasion of privacy case. The Plaintiff - a local Gainesville land developer - had sought more than 150 million dollars in damages, but our lawyers were able to convince the trial court that the Plaintiff's claim failed as a matter of law. Butler v. New York Times Co., Case No. 01-05-CA 1927 (Eighth Jud. Circuit, Alachua County, Fla., May 31, 2007).
  
  
• Thomas & LoCicero clients uncovered "super sealed" cases where both court files and court docket had been hidden from the public record. The firm represented a consortium of Florida newspapers and televisions stations before the Florida Supreme Court concerning a new rule designed to prevent similar court closure abuses in the future. In re Amendments to Florida Rule of Judicial Administration 2.420 - Sealing of Court Records And Dockets, 954 So. 2d 16 (Fla. 2007). April 05, 2007