3d DCA Watch -- Time to Start a New Book!

Sorry I'm a bit late this morning, as it took some time for me to get through all the 3d DCA opinions published today.

Actually, not all the opinions, just one -- Payne v. City of Miami, which is only 134 pages long!

By way of comparison, it recently took me about a week to finish John Steinbeck's The Pearl, a brilliant, under appreciated novel that is some thirty pages less than the 3d's latest magnum opus.

Is it fair to compare the two?

Well, they're both about fishermen along the river, but that's pretty much where the comparison ends

For those keeping score, Judge Gersten's dissent starts at page 59, and Judge Wells' dissent from the denial of rehearing en banc begins at page 72.

Happy trails!

CDC Builders v. Riviera Almeira:

Judge Freeman gets reversed, and the 3d helps out with some public policy:

This Court is well aware of the impact this decision could have on the construction industry as a whole. If we were to agree with the trial court, the purpose of liens would be undercut as liens could be subject to attack for inaccuracies or simple mathematical errors. This is not what the legislature intended when it enacted the construction lien law, and therefore it is not an outcome this Court can allow.

Inaccurate or math-deficient contractors, your Christmas present has arrived early!

Empire World Towers v. CDR Creances:

My pal Robert Kuntz beats my other pal Marcos Jimenez on a Motion to Vouch.

Hold on -- what the hail is a motion to vouch?