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:

• Adopting arguments from Thomas & LoCicero lawyers, Florida's First District Court of Appeal on October 1 found that a lower court correctly ordered the NCAA, a private sports organization consisting of most major U.S. universities and colleges, to disclose documents that Florida State University lawyers had reviewed in the course of contesting NCAA sanctions against the school.

• Adopting and citing to arguments by Thomas & LoCicero lawyers, the Florida Supreme Court has rejected the false light invasion of privacy tort. In Jews for Jesus, Inc. v. Rapp, Case No. SC06-2491 (Fla. Oct. 23, 2008), the five participating justices unanimously agreed that false light is largely duplicative of defamation and poses an unnecessary threat to freedom of speech. The decision means that lawsuits alleging false speech will be subject to well-established principles of defamation law and not the amorphous tort of false light.

• 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).

• Sun Sentinel Co. v. U.S. Department of Homeland Security, 489 F. 3d 1173 (11^th Cir. 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, 960 So. 2d 854 (Fla. 3d DCA 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).