Note to Brandon -- Never Have Nothing to Say!

Brandon, you can see Spencer asking the very same question from everyone around the table, and you're the last one asked (around 2:25 in) -- dude, come on!

3d DCA Watch -- Jive Turkey Edition.

It's the day before Thanksgiving -- why are you still in the office?

But today is a special 3d DCA Watch, when the written utterances wafting northward from the bunker include just a seasonal hint of sage, cranberry sauce, warm fresh baked apple pie, and lingering three-day old sock sweat (I'm not saying which judge worked out last in the mechanical room/gym/storage closet before taking off for the holidays).

So absorb it all in and let the holiday commencements commence:

Gorrin v. Poker Run:

What does "meaningfully distinguishable" mean?  Is that "distinguishable minus one"?

KJB Village v. Dorne:

The sad story of the demise of North Bay Village's Siam Bagel -- a classic South Florida real estate boondoggle.

Pederson v. Boggess:

Hmm, this is a per curiam reversal in which Judge Schwartz sat on the panel.

Note the language:

Upon consideration of the appellees’ confession of error, which we find to be eminently well taken, the default money judgment under review is reversed and the cause remanded for further proceedings.

I think I know who wrote that!

Fortune Int'l v. M Resort:

So now receivers are supposed to be neutral:

When a party itself is paying substantial funds into a receivership, as here, it seems reasonable that some of those funds might be authorized for payment of that party’s attorneys. But the linchpin of a receivership is the principle that a receiver, like the appointing court itself, is a neutral party in the underlying dispute. The receiver’s role is the preservation and protection of the assets in dispute, not as a paying agent for the litigation-related legal expenses of one of the parties.

With the exception of that firm which now has to disgorge all those fees -- have a great Thanksgiving weekend!

Happy Thanksgiving!!

This is a sincere shout-out to all this Thanksgiving morning.

Thanks for reading, commenting, tips, support, cranky emails, snarky remarks and all the other blessings we are fortunate to receive on this special day.

3d DCA Special Thanksgiving Turkey Day Watch!

It's turkey day inside the bunker, a special day of rest and relaxation, when the coffee is only politely stirred and the ritual carving of the roast beast precedes the stabbing thereof with their steely knives and we all give thanks that we just couldn't kill the beast, or something like that:

Milan Investment v. City of Miami:

This suit regarding the constitutionality of the Downtown Development Authority and related property tax, once as dead as the roast beast referenced above, is now only on life support:

We affirm the final summary judgment as it pertains to the state and municipal actions establishing the DDA and its territorial boundaries. We reverse that portion of the judgment determining that the four-year statute of limitations bars Milan Investment’s constitutional challenge to the 2008 ordinance fixing a half-mill per dollar ad valorem tax exclusively within the boundaries of the DDA district. In doing so, we confirm the applicability of the non-claim statute, § 194.171, to that challenge. Our reversal permitting the challenge to the 2008 halfmill DDA levy also permits Milan Investment’s refund claim to proceed regarding that levy. We express no opinion regarding Milan Investment’s class certification allegations.

Quintero v. Kenyon:

Here the plaintiff became unemployed, couldn't pay her attorney, so her attorney withdrew and moved for a continuance.

Judge Glazer refused to grant the continuance and the 3d reversed, saying there was no real prejudice to the defendant in granting a continuance under these circumstances.

This is the 3d DCA's equivalent of pardoning a turkey and a fitting way for all of us to ease into the holidays.

Happy Thanksgiving, Plebes!

Have a joyous and peaceful holiday.

A Thanksgiving Cornucopia of Kim Rothstein Photographs!

Well kids, it's that time again to give our thanks and blessings for another year.

I thought it pretty interesting that in years past Thanksgiving had both a "fasting" and "feasting" component.

Indeed, what does it say about us that everyone abandoned the "fast" part:

In the nearly 400 years since the first Thanksgiving, the holiday has come to mirror our transformation into a nation of gross overconsumption, but the New England colonists never intended for Thanksgiving to be a day of gluttony. They dished up restraint along with gratitude as a shared main course. What mattered most was not the feast itself, but the gathering together in thanks and praise for life’s most humble gifts. Perhaps this holiday season we could benefit from restoring a proper Thanksgiving balance between forbearance and indulgence.

Ben Kuehne has something to be thankful for, and so do we all. This is tremendous news, and what great timing!

David has more, including a statement from Ben, and you can see the order of dismissal here.

I hope some or all of you are giving something back this Thanksgiving, in a meaningful way.

And don't forget the powerful words of Johnny Carson:

Thanksgiving is an emotional holiday. People travel thousands of miles to be with people they only see once a year. And then discover once a year is way too often.

Enjoy the photographs, the bird and family, and have a peaceful and loving holiday weekend.