3d DCA Watch -- Duly Noticed, Judge Rothenberg.

Dear Judge Rothenberg:

If you want us to highlight one of your opinions, simply send us a note.

We're always happy to oblige Your Honor and would be delighted to facilitate the Bar's understanding of the intricacies of appellate practice and the nuances of contractor/subcontractor law.

So next time, you don't have to be so obvious:

“Case closed,” it seemed, and as the trial court noted, the moving parties appeared destined for certain victory. “But,” in the immortal words of Phil Collins, “something happened on the way to heaven.”2

Sussudio!!

And here's the citation:

2 Phil Collins, Something Happened on the Way to Heaven, on . . . But Seriously (Atlantic Records 1989).

Nicely done, Judge.

I like the opinion too, which deals with whether you can get out of contracts with unlicensed subcontractors:

In other words, all violations of licensing statutes are not created equally, and the courts faced with whether to add the penalty of non-enforceability to a violation of a licensing provision, where the statute or ordinance does not provide for such a penalty, must take a flexible approach. The violation of a licensing provision does implicate concerns over whether the other party and the public at large are sufficiently protected from shoddy workmanship. However, the mere existence of a violation, standing alone, is insufficient to automatically trigger the judicial penalty of unenforceability.

The judge stresses that flexibility and balancing is required to prevent the rote application of a rule that would result in substantial injustice.

Imagine that.