MIAMI-DADE TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 2013 OFFICIAL COURT NEWSPAPER OF SOUTH FLORIDA BAY HARBOR APARTMENT BUILDING DailyBusinessReview.com GETS $1.6 MILLION VOL. 88, NO. 117 $2.00 PAGE A9 DAILY BUSINESS REVIEW INSIDE DAMAGES Jury decides manufacturer engaged in cover-up LAW SERVICE TO HONOR LATE JUSTICE Miami couple gets $6M The Florida Supreme Court will hold a memorial service for the late Chief Justice Arthur England Jr. on Dec. 4. A3 WHITE & CASE SIGNS LEASE in tainted drywall lawsuit White & Case has signed a long-term lease renewal at Miami’s Southeast Financial Center. A4 by John Pacenti [email protected] “The jury’s finding of an EEOC TALKING ABOUT BK SIGN intentional cover-up of a A racist sign at a Burger King that went viral has gotten under A Miami-Dade jury concluded government officials’ skin, prompting the Equal Employment a Chinese company manufacturer known product defect by the Opportunity Commission to facilitate a public discussion on defective drywall and covered it up highest levels of these two national origin discrimination. A3 along with its German affiliate to Knauf companies extended produce a $6 million award in puni- tive damages. not only to Florida consumers PRACTICE FOCUS: SECURITIES LAW The jury awarded $5 mil- but also to the media, the Crowd-funding is a wonderful lion against German-based Knauf U.S. scientific community and vehicle for entering the world Gips and $1 million against Knauf of investments with whatever Plasterboard Tianjin China in the the U.S. government.” amount of cash you have verdict handed down late Friday. available for investing, Salazar The award follows a compensatory VICTOR DIAZ Jackson’s Linda Worton Jackson award earlier this month of $1.3 mil- PARTNER writes. But, like the Wild West lion in the lawsuit brought by Jeffrey itself, you need to be careful, she VM DIAZ & PARTNERS Worton Jackson warns. A8 SEE DRYWALL, PAGE A8 J.

COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE TRANSACTIONS House bought in 2010 for $960K TRANSACTIONS BLACKSTONE SEEKS IPO OF LA QUINTA Blackstone Group, which had started a sales process for La Quinta and received initial bids last month, is betting it can Heico hits up get higher returns through an IPO. A10 lenders for $1B BANKING/FINANCE ACCIDENTAL CEO PLOTS NEW COURSE line of credit Arnold Donald has been implementing changes in an effort to get Carnival’s 10 cruise lines to collaborate and become by Eleazar David Meléndez more efficient. A11 [email protected]

PUBLIC NOTICES & THE COURTS MELANIE BELL A South Florida aviation con- glomerate announced Monday it Public notices, court information and business leads, including Broward County records show an “Anthony J. Fasano” sold a three-bedroom, 2,606-square-foot home at 350 Riviera Drive in Fort Lauderdale for $2 million. was hitting up its lenders for a $1 foreclosures, bid notices and court calendars. B1 billion line of credit, expanding a previously negotiated borrowing fa- Public notices from Miami-Dade, Broward and cility by nearly 50 percent. Palm Beach also available at DailyBusinessReview.com/ The flood of cash will allow public_notices.jsp. Public notices published in newspapers Anthony Fasano may have Hollywood-based Heico Corp. to go statewide available at FloridaPublicNotices.com. on a buying spree, a company exec- sold house for $2 million utive told the Daily Business Review, Should you have delivery questions, expanding a company that has been call 1.877.256.2472 by Eleazar David Meléndez have received yet another bonus af- snapping up smaller rivals for much [email protected] ter selling a Fort Lauderdale water- of the past two decades. view home he bought three years “One billion dollars is a lot of Postmaster: Send address changes to Daily Business Review, Former Miami Dolphins player ago for more than twice what he money, and you can do a lot with PO Box 010589, Miami, FL 33101. Anthony Fasano already scored paid for it. that,” Heico co-president Victor Published daily Monday through Friday, except legal holidays, by ALM Properties, LLC., 1 SE 3rd Ave., Suite 900, Miami, FL 33131, (305) 377-3721. a nice windfall this year when he Broward County records show Mendelson said in an interview. “It © 2013 ALM, Daily Business Review (USPS 344-300) (ISSN 1538-1749) Miami snagged a $16 million, four-year an “Anthony J. Fasano” sold a three- enables us to go after more and big- Subscription Rates: One year One year (253) issues - basic (individual and small firms) $429 plus tax; discounted group rates available. Single copies (M-F) - $2. deal with the Kansas City Chiefs. Back issues when available (M-F) - $6. Periodicals postage paid at Miami, FL. Now the tight end appears to SEE FASANO, PAGE A10 SEE HEICO, PAGE A11

ON APPEAL Criminal case against W.D. Childers may not be over See Page A16 A2 dailybusinessreview.com TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 2013 DAILY BUSINESS REVIEW business of law returns to law, is done with politics

by Jenna Greene [email protected]

Renouncing any further political am- bitions, former U.S. senator and two-time Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards has returned to the practice of law, confident that potential clients and juries will look past the personal trans- gressions that pushed him from public life. Edwards is joining forces with his daughter Cate and former law partner David Kirby to launch EdwardsKirby, a plaintiffs firm with a public interest fo- cus. One of the most successful trial law- yers in history, Edwards, 60, said Monday that practicing law is “what I was born to do.” His image was tarnished by a very public sex scandal, when in 2008 he fa- thered a child by his then-mistress Rielle John Edwards started a firm with his daughter Hunter while his wife, Elizabeth, was Cate and former law partner David Kirby. battling breast cancer. Edwards, whose wife died two years later, initially denied things than what Johnny was involved paternity, going along with a claim that in. He can probably overcome it,” said an aide fathered the child—details that Joseph Rice, a name partner at South were re-aired in a federal campaign fi- Carolina plaintiffs firm Motley Rice. nance prosecution against him and a “Juries decide cases based on the law pair of tell-all books. and the facts, not on who the plaintiffs The question is, will juries hold his lawyer is.” misdeeds against him? Edwards said he Elizabeth Lampert, president of the didn’t think so. legal media and crisis firm ELPR, said “What I know is that juries do the right the number of sex scandals involv- thing over and over and over,” Edwards ing other politicians—Bill Clinton, Eliot said in an interview Monday in Raleigh. Spitzer and Anthony Weiner, among “They judge cases as they should, based others—“has on some level desensitized on what’s put in front of them. ... I still us to cheating behavior.” believe they’ll do that.” Edwards’ “personal uphill battle is Edwards spoke in his law office in a steep one. However, he has always Raleigh alongside Cate Edwards and been known as a talented litigator with a Kirby. strong ability to connect,” Lampert said. Edwards said point blank that he’s Edwards has been out of the limelight done with politics. When asked whether for more than a year—a wise move, he still harbored political ambitions, he Lampert said, to let public memory fade. responded with a single word: “Nope.” Edwards last made news in June Edwards was elected to the Senate from 2012, when the U.S. Department of North Carolina in 1998—he stopped Justice announced it would not retry practicing law then—and was the 2004 him for six alleged campaign finance Democratic vice presidential candi- violations. date, running alongside John Kerry. In Government prosecutors said he im- January 2008, he abandoned his presi- properly used nearly $1 million from dential primary race—a month before wealthy backers to support his mistress. gave birth to their daugh- However, the money had not been fun- ter, Frances Quinn Hunter. neled through the campaign or de- Before joining the Senate, Edwards clared as a political contribution and spent 20 years practicing law, winning the government’s case faltered. A North 54 verdicts and settlements of more than Carolina jury acquitted Edwards on one $1 million, according to Lawyers Weekly, count and deadlocked on the remaining including a record $25 million on behalf five. of a 5-year-old girl who was disembow- Edwards declined to comment about eled by a pool drain. the case. Edwards himself has stressed that During the past 17 months, Edwards “trials are about credibility—if a jury is said, he’s been working on his return to to believe in your case, the jury must be- the practice of law. lieve you,” as he wrote in his 2004 mem- “Since I reactivated my law license, oir Four Trials. “You have to earn their I’ve been contacted by a lot of people trust, and after you have earned it, you about representing them,” he said. He have to earn it again, every day.” said the firm has picked a group of cas- Some lawyers predict Edwards will es, including potential matters in Hawaii, be able to win that trust back. Texas, Georgia, Virginia, Maryland, the “A lot of people have overcome worse District of Columbia and New York.

CORRECTION The caption for a rendering published Nov. 22 on the Airport West industrial real estate market incorrectly identified the building. It’s part of the AVE Aviation and Commerce Center near Opa-Locka Executive Airport. DAILY BUSINESS REVIEW TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 2013 dailybusinessreview.com A3 FLORIDA LAW REVIEW Burger King sign mocking national origin gets EEOC talking

by Angela Hunt use a panel discussion to reach [email protected] out to EEOC employees, repre- sentatives of major ethnic advo- It seems a racist sign at a cacy groups and management- Burger King that went viral side attorneys to gauge the recently has gotten under gov- pervasiveness of national origin ernment officials’ skin, prompt- discrimination in the United ing the Equal Employment States. Opportunity Commission to fa- National origin discrimi- cilitate a public discussion on nation is different from other national origin discrimination. forms of discrimination be- The sign read “Now Hiring cause it involves cultural or Must Be Mexican,” redolent of linguistic characteristics in ad- the “Whites Only” banners that dition to a person’s birthplace, hung from burger joints and according to panelist Rebecca other businesses before the Civil Smith, the deputy director of Rights Act of 1964 was enacted, the National Employment Law prohibiting discrimination on Project. Other panelists high- the basis of race—or national lighted the explosion of immi- origin. Larry Camden was the grant workers and the disper- one who uploaded a photo of sion of immigrant populations the sign to Facebook (Camden from traditional immigrant did not create the sign), and the epicenters to smaller U.S. cit- post received hundreds of an- ies. It’s creating a multicultural gry comments on Burger King’s workplace that presents a chal- profile page, according to Oliver lenge for employers, according Darcy in The Blaze. “The popu- to panelist Douglas Farmer, an lar fast food franchise declined attorney representing manage- to disclose the location of the ment. sign, but told The Blaze it was In a summary of the discus- posted by a disgruntled employ- sion, Farmer said the EEOC ee” last summer, Darcy writes. needs to focus on educating The employee was fired, employers on the full range of and Burger King immediately rights and responsibilities un- washed its hands of the mess. der the law. But the EEOC, the agency in Angela Hunt reports for charge of enforcing antidis- Corporate Counsel, an ALM affiliate crimination laws, decided to of the Daily Business Review.

FLORIDA LAW BRIEFS

SERVICE TO HONOR LATE CHIEF SCOTT, BONDI SUED FOR NOT Lake Worth. Then, she and 19-year-old state earlier this year. JUSTICE ARTHUR ENGLAND JR. TURNING OVER RECORDS Christopher Moffitt went to another party Prosecutors said Mathis and his associ- Arthur England Jr., the late chief justice A new lawsuit says that Florida Gov. Rick at Moffitt’s house in Lantana. Later, Moffitt ates built up the network of casinos by of the Florida Supreme Court, will be hon- Scott and Attorney General Pam Bondi are lost control of his car and crashed into sev- claiming they were businesses where cus- ored by the justices Dec. 4. failing to turn over public records. eral palm trees, killing his passenger Allen. tomers could buy Internet time, when in The court will hold a remembrance Tallahassee attorney Steven Andrews Moffitt has pleaded not guilty to a DUI reality most customers played slot machine service in the Supreme Court chamber on Monday filed separate lawsuits against manslaughter charge. (The Associated games on computers and didn’t use the at 3 p.m. Planned speakers include for- Scott, Bondi and the Department of State. Press) Internet. Even though the Internet cafes mer Gov. Reubin Askew, former Florida The lawsuit contends that the Scott ad- were being operated under the aegis of State University president Talbot “Sandy” ministration altered calendars of one top 2 MANAGERS SENTENCED IN Allied Veterans of the World, very little of D’Alemberte and former Chief Justice aide, relied on private email accounts, and CHARITY GAMBLING SCHEME the $300 million the businesses earned Joseph Hatchett. waited more than 18 months to hand over Two lower-level managers pleaded guilty actually went to veterans, prosecutors said. England was a longtime Miami attorney text messages of another aide. in a Florida court Monday as prosecutors (The Associated Press) who died Aug. 1 at 80. He was the state’s The lawsuit against Bondi says her office moved ahead on the cases of dozens of de- first Jewish justice from 1975 to 1981 and refused to hand over notes from meetings fendants charged with using a veterans’ or- MIAMI MAN CHARGED was chief justice from 1978 to 1980. Bondi kept on her iPad. ganization called Allied Veterans as a front WITH ALLEGED PONZI SCHEME England helped make Florida the first The governor’s office and Bondi’s office for a $300 million gambling operation. Federal authorities say a Miami man has state to allow television cameras into state did not immediately respond to requests Richard Rubino and Charles Black plead- been arrested on charges he allegedly op- courtrooms. The service will be broadcast for comment. ed guilty to two counts each of posses- erated an $18 million Ponzi scheme involv- live through the court’s Gavel to Gavel Andrews has been a persistent critic of sion of a slot machine in Seminole County ing victims from New Jersey. website. Scott. He’s currently battling the state over Court. They were assessed courts costs and New Jersey’s U.S. attorney says Louis J. England founded Florida’s interest on land near the governor’s mansion where given a $50 prosecution charge. Some 13 Spina was arrested Monday and charged trust program, which funds legal aid to the his law offices are located. (The Associated charges were dropped against Rubino, and with wire fraud. poor and other law-related causes. Florida’s Press) 19 charges we dropped against Black, who It’s not immediately clear who will rep- program was the first in the nation and helped operate four casinos. resent him Monday afternoon in federal now has a counterpart in every state and HOMEOWNERS SUED OVER A sentencing hearing involving several court in Trenton. the District of Columbia. TEEN’S DUI CRASH DEATH dozen more Allied Veterans defendants is Authorities say the 56-year-old man, England became a prominent appellate The parents of a South Florida teenager set for Tuesday. formerly of Colts Neck, N.J., collected $18 attorney after leaving the court, first at the killed in a February drunk-driving crash Last month, a Florida jury convicted at- million from 28 investors over a three-year Fine Jacobson firm. He later founded the have sued the homeowners where the torney Kelly Mathis of 103 counts for his period. Prosecutors say Spina promised to national appellate practice at Greenberg driver attended separate parties. role in the Allied Veterans organization. He invest the funds through his business, LJS Traurig. The Palm Beach Post reports that the par- will be sentenced in February. Trading LLC, and guaranteed monthly rates England left Greenberg in 2012 after ents of 18-year-old Jamie Allen claim the Mathis was the first of 57 defendants of return as high as 14 percent. he was diagnosed with a terminal lung two homeowners did not take adequate to go to trial in a case that led to the res- Prosecutors say Spina lost $8 million of disease that prevented him doing oral steps to prevent people under age 21 from ignation of Lt. Gov. Jennifer Carroll who the investments in unsuccessful trading, arguments. He formed a solo appellate gaining access to alcohol. The case is pend- had worked as a consultant for the Allied and used the remaining $10 million to pay practice and worked with Kula & Samson in ing in Palm Beach County Circuit Court. Veterans charity. She wasn’t charged with monthly interest payments and for person- Aventura. (Adolfo Pesquera) The lawsuit says Allen first attended a any crime. The arrests also led the Florida al expenses. (The Associated Press) Super Bowl party on Feb. 3 at a home in Legislature to ban Internet cafes in the A4 dailybusinessreview.com TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 2013 DAILY BUSINESS REVIEW

FROM THE COURTS Eaton Corp. loses misconduct appeal 9-0 by Sue Reisinger pany’s actions kept digging it wrong by issuing the most se- [email protected] deeper and deeper into a le- vere sanction at its disposal,” gal hole was the subject of a the opinion states. The Mississippi Supreme Corporate Counsel cover story To substantiate its decision, Court ruled against the Eaton in September 2012. the court’s 41-page opinion Corporation and let stand a trial Emails and other evidence quoted at length from the trial judge’s severe sanctions against implicated several in-house court’s details of Eaton’s mis- the company for legal miscon- counsel with knowledge of the conduct. duct. The unanimous decision wrongdoing, including execu- Frisby attorney Eric wasn’t even close. tive vice president and gen- Sitarchuk, from the Philadelphia The Cleveland Plain Dealer eral counsel Mark McGuire. office of Morgan, Lewis & called it “a stunning defeat for The company subsequently Bockius, said Friday, “We are Cleveland’s biggest corpora- dismissed Victor Leo, its in- of course very pleased with the tion.” The company did not im- house chief litigation lawyer, court’s ruling.” He declined fur- mediately respond to calls seek- and senior counsel Sharon ther comment due to pending ing comment. O’Flaherty. litigation. And a Mississippi lawyer’s O’Flaherty has filed a wrong- Also pending before the blog put it this way: “Eaton ful termination suit against Mississippi Supreme Court is Corp. got shut out today at the Eaton, claiming the company Eaton’s quest to replace the Mississippi Supreme Court: made her a scapegoat in the Hinds County Circuit judge 9-0.” join Frisby and took trade se- about the payoff during discov- case. overseeing Frisby’s countersuit, Eaton, a power manage- crets with them. ery and hiring a secret outside The state Supreme Court Jeffrey Weill Sr. And a share- ment company, had filed a Frisby denied the charges, counsel to influence the then- said Thursday that all of the is- holder suit filed in Cleveland, $1 billion suit against com- filed counterclaims against sitting judge through ex-parte sues raised by Eaton on appeal, claiming Eaton mishandled its petitor Frisby Aerospace in Eaton and sued Eaton in a communications. The lower including that the trial court initial lawsuit against Frisby Hinds County Circuit Court North Carolina court for anti- court levied discovery sanc- abused its discretion in dis- and cost investors $1 billion, re- in Jackson, Miss. The suit trust violations. tions worth $1.5 million and missing the case, were without mains pending. claimed that six Eaton engi- The trial court had found that dismissed Eaton’s case against merit. “And we find no abuse Sue Reisinger reports for neers who worked at a plant Eaton’s misconduct included Frisby. of discretion in the trial court’s Corporate Counsel, an ALM affiliate in Jackson left the company to paying off a star witness, lying The saga of how the com- ultimate decision to right the of the Daily Business Review.

FROM PAGE A1 DRYWALL: Lawsuit was first to go to trial against Knauf companies and Elisa Robin. “This is a full vindication of our strug- VERDICT FORM gle to get the truth out regarding the true cause of the Chinese drywall problem Question: Was the wrongful conduct that affected thousands of homeown- of any managing agent, director, officer ers in the U.S. and Florida,” said Victor or other person responsible for making Diaz of VM Diaz & Partners in Miami policy decisions on behalf of Knauf Beach, who represented the Robins and Gips motivated solely by unreasonable tried the case along with associate Jorge financial gain and was the unreasonably Lorenzo. dangerous nature of the conduct, together with the high likelihood of In light of the trial, Diaz said there damages resulting from the conduct, now is an urgent need for a re-examina- actually known by any managing agent, tion of the conduct of the two companies, director or officer or other person especially how they withheld critical in- responsible for making policy decisions formation from the public and the U.S. on behalf of Knauf Gips? government. Joy Lundeen, a shareholder at Answer: Yes. Stearns Weaver Miller Weissler Alhadeff & Sitterson, represented Knauf and did not return a call for comment by dead- line. companies extended not only to Florida The Robins are among a handful of consumers but also to the media, the homeowners who decided to opt out of U.S. scientific community and the U.S. a global settlement in multidistrict litiga- government,” Diaz said. tion in New Orleans federal court, which Evidence submitted at trial, such as emails between company officials, settled for $800 million to $1 billion. J. ALBERT DIAZ The two-phase trial, which netted a showed Knauf was aware of the tainted Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Beatrice Butchko found before trial that Knauf officials destroyed trial as early as November 2006, Diaz total $7.3 million verdict, showed why documents and test results. Knauf and its related companies wanted said. Knauf reimbursed an American to avoid trials involving individual home- the drywall caused headaches and nose- Besides determining the amount of distributor but allowed 90 percent of owners. bleeds as well as telltale damage to cop- damages, the jury was asked two iden- the remaining boards to be used in U.S. Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Beatrice per pipes and wiring. tical questions for each defendant on homes, he said. Butchko found before trial that Knauf The couple moved out of their Coconut whether executives were “motivated The attorney has another couple he officials destroyed documents and test Grove home in February 2010, paid for solely by unreasonable financial gain” represents scheduled for trial against results. remediation out of their own pockets and whether the company knew of the the Knauf defendants in February. Diaz A total of 661,877 tainted Chinese dry- and moved back in last January. defective product but allowed it to be in- said it was inexcusable not to recall the wall boards were imported into Florida, Jeffrey Robin is an associate at stalled in homes. Chinese drywall when the defect be- many installed in new homes during the Akerman in Miami. Elisa Robin is a Answering the question in the affir- came known and to offer homeowners a construction boom and in home repairs travel consultant. mative allowed the jury to award more chance at an immediate remedy. following a spate of hurricanes in 2004 than three times the compensatory dam- “This was a very widespread, and we and 2005, according to trial evidence. CORPORATE COVER-UP ages. maintain, a coordinated cover-up at the The tainted drywall emitted sulfur Their lawsuit was the first to go to “The jury’s finding of an intentional highest level of the company,” he said. fumes and corroded household metals. trial that named Knauf companies as cover-up of a known product defect by John Pacenti can be reached at (305) 347- The Robins said the gases released by defendants in Florida, Diaz said. the highest levels of these two Knauf 6638. DAILY BUSINESS REVIEW TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 2013 dailybusinessreview.com A5

THE FIRM Firm’s partners to vote on potential merger by Meredith Hobbs of both firms have concluded their re- [email protected] spective processes.” Two-thirds of McKenna’s partners McKenna Long & Aldridge’s partner- must approve the tie-up with . ship will vote today on a potential com- The firm had 97 equity partners in 2012, bination with global megafirm Dentons. according to the Am Law 100 survey. The vote will be by confidential bal- The combination would create one lot, according to a McKenna partner in of the largest firms in the world, with Washington, who said the goal seems about 3,175 lawyers and professionals. to be to obtain a decision before the Dentons has about 2,600 lawyers and Thanksgiving holiday. professionals in more than 50 countries The two firms jointly announced Oct. and McKenna has about 575 in 13 U.S. 29 that their respective boards had ap- offices plus outposts in Brussels and proved a combination and that they were Seoul. putting it before the firms’ partnerships Dentons is structured as a Swiss ­verein for a vote, after confirming a month ear- whose regional members are separate lier that they were in discussions. legal entities. The megafirm was created The announcement said voting would in March from a three-way combination be completed by Nov. 14, but the voting between international firms SNR Denton at McKenna was postponed Nov. 8 be- and with Canadian firm Fraser cause some partners wanted more infor- McKenna Long & Aldridge and global megafirm Dentons jointly announced that their respective Milner & Casgrain. mation. boards had approved a combination and that they were putting it before the firms’ partnerships SNR Denton was itself the product “People are ready to vote,” the partner for a vote. of a 2010 merger between Chicago’s said. “It was a little bit contentious for a Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal and bit, but that has died down.” question or who didn’t know something analysis of the opportunity to combine ’s . “We’ve been in information over- has probably gotten more information with Dentons US” and that “it is pre- The McKenna partners must vote on load,” the partner added, saying that than they could imagine by now.” mature to share information just yet.” A whether to join the Dentons verein and McKenna’s management has been pro- When contacted for comment, a Dentons spokeswoman also referred to merge with Dentons US, the U.S. entity. viding the partnership information on McKenna spokeswoman referred to the the firm’s previous comment, which said Meredith Hobbs reports for the Daily a daily basis about the potential combi- firm’s previous statement, which said it would be “premature to share further Report, an ALM affiliate of the Daily Business nation with Dentons. “Anybody with a its partners “continue to proceed in our information until all partnership entities Review. FIRM BRIEFS

Tere Blanca, founder and CEO of Blanca ployees, citing the need to investigate leveled during closing statements earlier in Commercial Real Estate Inc. (Adolfo potential claims the estate could still bring the day—that Ray had threatened the firm Pesquera) against the auditor and others tied to the “with wide public embarrassment if they now-defunct firm. did not accede to his demands,” which at MERGING Ernst & Young provided auditing and one point hit $40 million. “His discrimina- WITH SOUTH AFRICAN FIRM tax services to tion claim was not about discrimination. Hogan Lovells is merging with 120-law- Dewey begin- It was about threats, and it was about yer South African firm Routledge Modise in ning with the money,” Keating said. a move to establish its first outpost in that firm’s inception Keating, litigation de- hot legal market. in 2007 follow- partment chairman at The addition of the Johannesburg-based ing the merger Boston’s Foley Hoag, said firm, effective Dec. 1, will greatly expand a of Dewey he was gratified at the WHITE & CASE SIGNS LEASE IN Hogan Lovells Africa practice that already Ballantine and LeBoeuf, Lamb, Greene & outcome and referred SOUTHEAST FINANCIAL CENTER includes roughly 40 lawyers concentrated MacRae. Previously, the auditor advised other questions to his cli- White & Case has signed a long-term mostly in London, Paris and Washington, LeBoeuf Lamb, according to the filing, in- ent. In an email, a Ropes & lease for three floors in Miami’s Southeast D.C., but which hadn’t featured an actual cluding conducting due diligence on what Gray spokesman said the Financial Center. Terms of the deal were office on the continent until now. Among would become its ill-fated merger with Keating firm also was “gratified at not disclosed. the 120 lawyers in Routledge Modise’s Dewey Ballantine. the decisions in this case, Southeast, Florida’s largest office tower, single office are 40 partners who focus on Post-combination, E&Y signed off on which affirm our steadfast commitment to announced the agreement with the global corporate, commercial, litigation, mining Dewey’s financial statements, changes in fairness and equality. Our workplace and to renew a lease for 57,954 square and employment work. partner capital accounts, and cash flows our ability to serve our clients are immea- feet. It is the fourth-largest lease signed in Hogan Lovells co-CEO J. Warren Gorrell from 2007 to 2011, and also prepared the surably strengthened by the differing back- Miami’s central business district this year, Jr. tells The Am Law Daily that the merger partnership’s tax returns and K-1 forms grounds, experiences and perspectives of according to the building’s leasing agent, is client-driven, as a majority of Hogan from 2008 to 2012, the filing says. Its work our employees.” (National Law Journal) Jones Lang LaSalle. Lovells’ top 200 clients have operations on during those years earned Ernst & Young White & Case is now in the design phase the continent and those clients often have $1.7 million, and the company continued for a more efficient floor plan and a state- regional head- to advise Dewey in its bankruptcy from of-the-art legal environment as part of its quarters in May 2012 through this past January. renewal. Johannesburg. Now, with a new set of advisers in place “In recent years, new buildings have “The thinking to carry out a liquidation plan that became come online in Miami’s CBD which at- here is: clients effective in March, E&Y has become the tar- tracted some companies to have a ‘flight increasingly get of inquiry. (The American Lawyer) for new’ mentality,” said leasing agent and would like us to senior vice president at the center Donald have an on-the-ground presence in Africa, JURY REJECTS ASSOCIATE’S Cartwright. even though the work is done in many dif- DISCRIMINATION CLAIM A Jones Lang LaSalle statement said ferent countries,” Gorrell says. “South Africa A Boston federal jury took just 2½ hours there is active demand for Miami office really serves as a gateway into Africa and to reject former associate John Ray III’s em- space, and law firms are looking for the would be the base from which we want ployment retaliation case against Ropes & largest share at 376,000 square feet. The to continue to develop our practice there, Gray, which he’d accused of lashing out af- Southeast building has 23 law firm tenants. and really across sub-Saharan Africa.” (The ter he complained of racial discrimination. White & Case moved to the building in American Lawyer) The jury concluded Ray hadn’t filed 1987 when it was the premier address in his claim with the Equal Employment South Florida, said Christian Hansen, the DEWEY LIQUIDATOR GOING Opportunity Commission in good faith and law firm’s office executive partner. “We AFTER ERNST & YOUNG didn’t act in good faith when he wrote to continue to believe this is the case,” he said. Dewey & LeBoeuf’s liquidating trustee Harvard Law School dean Martha Minow The firm’s website lists 68 attorneys in its requested court permission to extensively accusing the firm of retaliationd. Miami office. subpoena Dewey’s longtime auditor Ernst That finding spoke to an accusation White & Case was represented by & Young as well as depose one of its em- Ropes & Gray’s trial lawyer Michael Keating A6 dailybusinessreview.com TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 2013 DAILY BUSINESS REVIEW FROM THE COURTS

Further review of robocall ban ordered ©2013 ALM Properties, LLC. All rights reserved. No reproduction of any portion of this issue is allowed without by Sheri Qualters Indiana’s Telephone wrote. written permission from the publisher. DAiLy Business Review — MiAMi-DADe [email protected] and Privacy Act and Patriotic Veterans 1 SE Third Avenue, Suite 900, Miami, Florida 33131 Autodialer Law consti- was “happy to win on Main switchboard: (305) 377-3721 the pre-emption issues, Main Fax: (305) 374-8474 A federal appeals court has ordered tutionally invalid when Newsroom Fax: (305) 347-6626 a federal trial judge to review whether applied to political mes- but the constitutional is- Display Advertising: (305) 347-6647 Law Firm Marketing: (305) 347-6655 Indiana’s ban on political robocalls is sages. sues are what motivates Classified: (855) 852-9562, ext 4 constitutional. Lawrence agreed us here,” said Center Court Information: (305) 347-6614 Public Notices/Legals: (305) 347-6614 The U.S. Court of Appeals for the that the federal law pre- for Competitive Politics Public Notices/Legals Fax: (305) 347-6636 Seventh Circuit remanded Patriotic Lawrence empted Indiana’s law, Diamond chairman Brad Smith, Rover DAiLy Business Review — BRowARD Veterans v. State of Indiana to Southern at least concerning in- who represents the vet- 633 South Andrews Avenue, Fort Lauderdale, Florida 33301 District of Indiana Judge William terstate calls. He granted an injunction eran’s organization with Main switchboard: (954) 468-2600 Main Fax: (954) 468-2630 Lawrence for a consideration of the against the enforcement of the Indiana’s Barnes & Thornburg of Indianapolis. (advertising/administration) ban’s First Amendment implications. law for political messages. In a written statement, Indiana Newsroom Fax: (954) 468-2628 Display Advertising: (954) 468-2611 The panel also reversed Lawrence’s Circuit Judge Ilana Diamond Rovner Attorney General Greg Zoeller said, Law Firm Marketing: (305) 347-6655 wrote the Seventh Circuit’s opin- “Federal law bearing on telemarketing Classified: (855) 852-9562, ext 4 September 2011 ruling that the Federal Public Notices/Legals: (954) 468-2600 Telephone Consumer Protection Act ion, joined by Judge and simply does not preclude broader state DAiLy Business Review — PALM BeAch pre-empted the Indiana law as it ap- Northern District of Illinois Judge Ruben prohibitions.” 324 Datura Street, Suite 140, West Palm Beach, FL 33401 plies to interstate robocalls. Lawrence Castillo, sitting by designation. 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Bill Carter, President & CEO Kevin H. Michielsen, Senior Vice President & Chief Operating Officer Eric F. Lundberg, Senior Vice President & Chief Financial Officer Lenny Izzo, Senior Vice President & Chief Marketing Officer Jeff Litvack, Senior Vice President & Chief Digital Officer Kevin J. Vermeulen, Senior Vice President of Sales Aric Press, Vice President & Editor in Chief Michael Desiato, Vice President, Real Estate Media Elisa Miller, General Counsel Chris Mobley, Group Publisher/Florida, Georgia, Texas DAILY BUSINESS REVIEW TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 2013 dailybusinessreview.com A7 FOCUS LATIN AMERICA Ruling party candidate leads in Honduras presidential vote The Associated Press 29 percent. Castro’s husband Manuel gratulations. Even Nicaraguan President Sunday’s election neck-and-neck in Zelaya was ousted in a 2009 coup that Daniel Ortega, an ally of Zelaya and opinion polls, and expectations of a close The two top presidential candidates has left the country politically unstable. staunch critic of the coup, congratulated finish raised fears that a disputed result continued to claim victory in a hotly con- Castro hadn’t appeared by mid-day Hernandez Monday as the newly elected would produce more instability and pro- tested presidential race, as Hondurans Monday. But Zelaya said their party president, according to his spokeswoman tests. Voting went off peacefully amid awaited final results and only small pro- would not accept the results. and wife, Rosario Murillo. a heavy turnout, however, and the un- test crowds gathered in the streets. “We will defend our triumph, and if “If they have doubts about the pro- certainty of the final results plus a cold, With about 60 percent of the vote tal- it’s necessary, we will do it in the streets,” cess, go to the court and report them,” rainy night kept the streets quiet. lied, Juan Orlando Hernandez of the gov- he said. Hernandez said of his opponents. “The The winner will likely have no more erning National Party had just over 34 The rest of the world started to line up process was transparent. We will pres- than a third of the vote and face a divid- percent of the votes, giving him the edge behind Hernandez as the winner, given ent our transition team this afternoon.” ed Congress, whose 128 members were over Xiomara Castro, who had almost his comfortable 5-point lead, sending con- Hernandez and Castro went into also up for election. A8 dailybusinessreview.com TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 2013 DAILY BUSINESS REVIEW

SECURITIES LAW Crowd-funding: investing at your own risk—or reward Commentary by pany. Not surprisingly, where Linda Worton Jackson there are scams, there are investigators to sniff them out. hat do a Pebble and Companies are now emerging Kobe beef jerky have whose sole purpose is to iden- W in common? Both tify Internet and crowd-funding were crowd-funded projects scams. Additionally, an industry that opened people’s eyes as to has arisen where crowd-fund- the real risks of crowd-funding. ing opportunities voluntarily These cases and submit to background checks the explosion of by third parties in hopes of crowd-sourcing convincing prospective inves- today have regu- tors as to the company’s or lators taking a executives’ legitimacy. What’s second look at yet to be determined is where the trend. any liability may reside if a For the company de- Worton Pebble smart termined to be Jackson watch, the issue clean turns out was a delayed to be a fraud. ship date that left thousands of What also kickstarter.com investors con- became a success. And other ■ I hate to say it, but you in its local market, state or remains un- cerned about their orders and products—from movies and should probably avoid chari- with the federal government? charted territory Scan to wondering about their invest- films to software and applica- table organizations and causes Increasing regulations are re- – part of what read more ments. The watches eventually tions—have found similar suc- unless you can verify them. The quiring crowd-funded opportu- one writer once Boards of shipped, the company righted cess. risk can be too great and the nities register. characterized Contributors its ways, and it has become a But if ever the phrase caveat ability to verify too small. Best ■ Investigate the individuals as “the Wild darling of the crowd-funding emptor applied, this would be to avoid them altogether. behind the offer. This can be West” – is where marketplace, yielding impres- the time. The government has ■ Check to see if the busi- as simple as a Google search. investors turn should they get sive returns for investors. become involved in regulating ness is registered as part of Search their names (including burned. No central organiza- The same cannot be said for the crowd-funding industry. Jumpstart Our Business Start- commonly used diminutives tion exists for filing grievances, “Kobe Red—100% Japanese But buyers must protect them- Ups (JOBS). Companies seeking or abbreviations, like Jim for and there’s no centralized Beer Fed Kobe Beef Jerky.” selves. Just as Ponzi schemes crowd-funding must register James or Chuck for Charles, reporting mechanism on the After enticing kickstarter. often fall beneath the federal with financial portals—special as well as middle names or Web. You might have a cause com to potentially hand over radar, so, too, may crowd-fund- websites developed for seek- initials, if you know them). of action against the individual $120,000 in investor money, ing projects. ing financing through crowd- Remember, as with any online who posted the offer. But if on the eve of delivery of the How can you protect your- funding. Similarly, prospective scam, people are not always you’re like most investors, your funds, the crowd-funding self and your investment dol- investors also must register. what they seem, so be diligent. investment was small. This source realized the product lars from fraud and scams? These portals, in turn, must be ■ Search by geography. leaves investors to weigh the was fake, withheld funding and There’s no registered with Include their cities or any past merits of chasing small claims. cancelled the project. magic for- the Securities companies or affiliations. With Crowd-funding is a won- For the uninitiated, crowd- mula, just and Exchange any search, use commonly- derful vehicle for entering the funding is a process where a few basic BOARD OF Commission. used words associated with world of investments with thousands—even tens of thou- principles: CONTRIBUTORS ■ Ask for de- such shams, like scam, fraud, whatever amount of cash you sands—of investors can back a ■ If it tailed information lawsuit, breach of contract, have available for investing. project via a website. The proj- seems too about the offer. claims, etc. But, like the Wild West itself, ect’s creators list the project on good to be true, it probably If it’s legitimate, they’ll have a ■ Do a social media, press you need to be careful and you a funding site like kickstarter. is. Consider Bernard Madoff’s professionally produced pre- search and corporate search. need to be prepared for the com, and then investments Ponzi promises: 45 percent sentation or solicitation. Truth Search social media, newspa- ride. are made with relatively small growth, year after year. The be told, even scams may have per articles, the local or state Linda Worton Jackson is the amounts of money, often for as line on the chart was unwaver- such sales documents, but if Better Business Bureau, and co-founder of Salazar Jackson, a little as $100. ing, but investor confidence they have no such documents the state’s department of state Miami-based firm that helps indi- For investors looking to should have been. If a crowd- at all, walk away. or business regulation (in viduals and businesses with issues back legitimate opportuni- funding opportunity promises ■ Perform due diligence Florida, that can be MyFlorida. including acquisitions, sales, gen- eral litigation, employment and ties, crowd-funding can be a tremendous gains, step back on the offer. Has the offer or com or SunBiz.org). financing. good option. Pebble ultimately and take a more thorough look. company filed as a business ■ Hire an investigative com- DAILY BUSINESS REVIEW TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 2013 dailybusinessreview.com A9

COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE by MIKE SEEMUTH

SOUTH FLORIDA transactions

Seller gets $954,000 for Fort interior space built in 1991 on 0.39 of an acre DEAL OF THE DAY Lauderdale building Price: $803,000 Address: 816 NW First Ave., Fort Seller: Seaside Investments Inc. Lauderdale Buyer: Creek Club Apartments, Inc. Bay Harbor Islands apartment building Property type: Five-unit, 3,007-square- Past sale: $1.05 million on Jan. 1, 2002 foot apartment building constructed in purchased for $1.6 million 1973 Buyer acquires Pompano Address: 9700 W. Bay Harbor Drive, Bay Harbor Islands Price: $954,000 Property type: Two-floor, four-unit, 3,863-square-foot apartment building con- Seller: MS Florida Enterprise LLC office building for $770,000 structed in 1950 on a quarter acre Buyer: BDM Ventures Florida LLLP Address: 139 N. Federal Highway, Price: $1.6 million Past sale: $210,000 on Aug. 13, 2008, as Pompano Beach Seller: Casarapa LLC part of a multi-parcel sale Property type: 3,200-square-foot office Buyer: 9700 Bay Harbor LLC building constructed in 1961 Past sale: $1.65 million on May 1, 2005 Hollywood apartment Price: $770,000 Seller: Exit Fort Lauderdale, Inc. sale price down from 2005 Buyer: Jennifer Kim Address: 1740 Funston St., Hollywood Past sale: $700,000 on Nov. 4, 2005 Property type: 14-unit, 8,649-square-foot apartment building constructed in 1977 Price: $820,000 Pompano restaurant price Seller: Bayview Loan Servicing LLC slips 48 percent from 2012 Buyer: 1740 Funston Street 77 LLC Address: 1150 N. Federal Highway, Past sale: $1.3 million on April 18, 2005 Pompano Beach Property type: 10,757-square-foot res- Sale of 12-unit apartment taurant built in 1960 Price: $531,759 building in Miami closes Seller: DTS Properties LLC Address: 3633 NW 24th Ave., Miami Buyer: RMS Properties III LLC and RMS Property type: Three-floor, 12-unit apart- Properties of Illinois LLC ment building with 8,926 square feet of Google Past sale: $1.025 million May 17, 2012

These reports are based on public records filed with the clerks of courts. Building area is cited in gross square footage, the total area of a property as computed for assessment purposes by the county appraiser. A10 dailybusinessreview.com TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 2013 DAILY BUSINESS REVIEW

commercial real estate Some extravagance as home equity spigot opens by Kathleen M. Howley Often, lenders allowed the loans to ex- Bloomberg News ceed property values by 25 percent on the supposition that home prices were A year ago, New Jersey contractor only going up, Gumbinger said. Michael Mroz’s customers were focused “If you walk into a bank today and on saving money when renovating kitch- apply for a home equity loan, they are ens and baths, he said. Now, with a re- going to want to know what you’re us- surgence of home equity lending, they’re ing it for,” Gumbinger said. “In addition ready to pay for the best. to requiring you to have the best credit “People don’t want granite coun- and retain at least 20 percent equity in tertops—they want marble costing at your house, they want to know your in- least 25 percent more,” said Mroz, own- tentions are good. No more using your er of Michael Robert Construction in home as a cash register to have some Westfield, an affluent town less than an fun.” hour’s commute to Manhattan. “Money U.S. banks hold $529 billion of home is so cheap today, people can splurge on equity loans on their books. That’s down $1,000 faucets.” from a record $674 billion in early 2009 Spending on home renovations is ris- as banks wrote off Helocs made worth- ing to records as banks such as Wells less by foreclosures, according to the Fargo & Co. and JPMorgan Chase & Co. Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. increase lending for home equity lines of “These loans usually are in second- credit, or Helocs, after property prices lien position, so they don’t recoup any money until primary mortgage investors this year gained at a pace not seen since Thanks to home equity loans, more kitchen renovations feature luxury items. “Money is so cheap get all their money back,” Gumbinger the last housing boom. Heloc origina- today, people can splurge on $1,000 faucets,” one contractor says. tions could rise 16 percent this year and said. “The money just disappeared as reach another five-year high in 2014, After home prices began rising in ing sold in the secondary market to be home prices went down.” according to Mustafa Akcay, an econo- 2012, the number of Americans with securitized by Fannie Mae or Freddie The national average prime rate has mist for Moody’s Analytics, powering the negative home equity—those who owe Mac, common for primary home loans, been 3.25 percent since the end of 2008, earnings of Home Depot Inc. and boost- more on their properties than they are said Keith Gumbinger, vice president as measured by Bloomberg. The average ing the economic expansion. worth—began tumbling. At the begin- of HSH.com, a mortgage data firm in rate for a $30,000 Heloc was 5.18 per- Helocs are making a comeback as ning of last year, that was the case with Riverdale, N.J. cent last week, the lowest since 2009, ac- the housing market recovers enough to almost 16 million home loans. By the Lenders use them as a hedge against cording to Bankrate Inc., an interest-rate make the junior mortgages a safer bet third quarter of this year, that number rising rates because they rise in tandem aggregator based in North Palm Beach. for banks more than seven years after had dropped to 10.8 million, property with bank borrowing costs, Gumbinger Heloc originations will increase to the beginning of the housing crash that data firm Zillow Inc. said in a report last said. Heloc financing costs usually are $91 billion in 2013 and increase to $97 saddled them with billions of dollars of week. tied to prime rates, the interest charged billion next year, according to an esti- losses. The median price for an existing “There is an increase in the amount by banks to their most creditworthy cus- mate by Akcay, the Moody’s economist. home probably will gain 11 percent this people are willing to spend on their tomers, with the addition of a margin Both are the highest levels since 2008. year, according to the Mortgage Bankers homes as the values go up,” said Joe predetermined by the lender that often In 2007, banks originated a record $310 Association in Washington, after plung- Emison, chief technology officer at is around 2 percentage points. billion in Helocs, Akcay said. ing about 33 percent during the crash. BuildFax, a real estate data company. “A The biggest Heloc holders are Bank “The difference between today and “The biggest use of Helocs is renova- lot of them feel in a better position today of America Corp., with $81.4 billion in 2007, besides volume, is the quality of tions, and the biggest spur for renovations as the job market and the economy has the third quarter, Wells Fargo with $79.8 loans,” said Patrick Newport, an econo- is Helocs,” said Kermit Baker, director of improved.” billion, and JPMorgan with $70.1 billion, mist at IHS Global Insight in Lexington, ’s Remodeling Futures according to Federal Reserve data. Massachusetts. “Banks were making re- program in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Bank Holdings Helocs were used during the housing ally bad loans back then, with very loose “When the two fuel each other, it has an Helocs typically are held by banks in boom to cash in on surging property val- standards. Today, they’re being more enormous impact on the economy.” their mortgage portfolios rather than be- ues to spend on cars or take vacations. cautious.”

real estate briefs FROM PAGE A1

Contracts To Buy Homes thinking. about $20 billion. “Supply growth is limited Fasano: Former Fall For Fifth Month Blackstone, which had started a sales and we expect three more years” of above- The number of Americans who signed process for La Quinta and received initial average gains in rates and occupancy. Dolphins TE got contracts to buy homes fell in October for bids last month, is betting it can get higher Peter Rose, a spokesman for Blackstone, the fifth straight month. Higher mortgage returns through an IPO, said the people, declined to comment on the IPO plans. house for $960K rates, price increases and the 16-day partial who asked not to be identified because La Quinta, based in Irving, Texas, may file government shutdown held back sales. the plans are for the stock offering before the end of the bedroom, 2,606-square-foot home at The National Association of Realtors private. A 20 year, said the people with knowledge of its 350 Riviera Drive in Fort Lauderdale’s says its seasonally adjusted pending home percent gain plans. Blackstone hired JPMorgan Chase & Riviera Isles neighborhood for $2 mil- in Extended Co. and Morgan Stanley earlier this year to sales index dipped 0.6 percent to 102.1. lion on Friday. Stay America explore a sale or IPO of the company, and That’s the lowest level since December. Fasano purchased the house in 2010 Inc., co-owned received first-round offers in early October. September’s reading was revised slightly for $960,000. A marina was added higher to 102.7. by Blackstone, The Bloomberg IPO Index, which mea- since its Nov. 12 sures the performance of U.S. stocks in across the street from the property in There is generally a one- to two-month 2011, city records show. The latest ap- lag between a signed contract and a com- share sale helped sway the decision, they their first publicly traded year, has gained said. 45 percent in 2013. praisal was for $1.02 million. pleted sale. The drop suggests final sales The Mediterranean-style house built will remain weak in the coming months. Blackstone, the world’s largest alterna- Hotel stocks have been outperform- in 1937 was updated in 2011 and fea- The Realtors group said the shutdown tive-asset manager, is taking some of its ing the rest of the market. Marriott tures an exposed-beam cathedral ceiling prevented the IRS from verifying incomes, biggest real estate holdings public as U.S. International Inc., the largest publicly in the living room. A one-bedroom ca- a critical part of the mortgage-approval stocks rise to records and hotel occupan- traded chain, gained 35 percent in the process. The group said that 17 percent of cies climb. La Quinta, valued at about 12 months through last week; Starwood bana sits on an oversized pool. Realtors reported delays. (The Associated $4.5 billion, would be the New York-based Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc. jumped 41 It was not clear if the Fasano listed in Press) company’s third lodging IPO. In addition to percent; and Wyndham Worldwide Corp. the property transfer record is the Chiefs Extended Stay, Hilton Worldwide Holdings surged 43 percent. The Standard & Poor’s tight end, who played with the Dolphins Blackstone To Seek IPO Inc. is poised for a $2.25 billion offering 500 Index has rallied 30 percent to a record. from 2008 to 2012. The 29-year-old New Of La Quinta Instead Of Sale next month that would set a record for the La Quinta operates more than 800 mid- Jersey native was drafted by the Dallas Blackstone Group plans to file for an industry. price, limited-service hotels with about Cowboys in 2006. initial public offering of its La Quinta Inns “It’s an advantageous point in the hotel 80,000 rooms in the U.S., Canada and The buyer of the property is listed as & Suites hotel chain rather than sell the cycle,” said Drew Babin, senior lodging ana- Mexico, according to its website. Select- Stephen C. Moss. company on the private market, accord- lyst at CBRE Clarion Securities, a Radnor, service hotels offer limited food and bever- Eleazar David Meléndez can be reached at ing to people with knowledge of the firm’s Pennsylvania-based firm that manages age and other services. (Bloomberg News) (305) 347-6651. DAILY BUSINESS REVIEW TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 2013 dailybusinessreview.com A11

banking finance Carnival’s accidental chief executive plots new course by Christopher Palmeri and Carol Massar Bloomberg News

Arnold Donald had been on the board of Carnival Corp. for 12 years when, in June, he got a call from the cruise com- pany’s lead director, Stuart Subotnick. It was an offer to succeed Micky Arison as Carnival’s chief executive of- ficer, and Donald was incredulous. “OK, what’s the call really about?” Donald replied. Donald’s skepticism was understand- able. Arison, the son of Carnival’s found- er, had run the company for 34 years. The world’s largest cruise operator was in crisis. Its Costa Concordia ran aground near the Italian coast in 2012, killing 32 people. That was followed by more inci- dents this year, including a fire aboard the Carnival Triumph in February that tarnished the company’s image with ca- Arnold Donald, left, was skeptical when he got a call with an offer to succeed Micky Arison as Carnival’s CEO. Donald took after after the ble-news video of passengers stranded crisis with the Costa Concordia, above right. at sea. Donald, 58, pondered the deci- sion for two days. carpenter, Donald grew up in the segre- “This marketing campaign is very they can build a house in Haiti or go “I had to think about whether I gated South, attending an all-black, boys different than anything we’ve ever done backpacking. was the right person at this time for high school that pressed its students to before,” Cahill said. “We said, ‘Let’s let “I think there might be opportunities, Carnival,” Donald said in an interview excel. “Three times a day they would say, our guests tell our story for us.’ ” given today’s purpose-oriented genera- with Bloomberg Television. “I wanted ‘Gentlemen, prepare yourself, you’re go- tion,” Donald said. “Each of our brands to make certain that I was aligned with ing to run the world,’ ” he remembered. Recruiting Agents caters to a particular type of psycho- the board and then with the leadership After earning a mechanical engineer- Among Donald’s first steps was a graphic.” team to make the positive changes that ing degree from Washington University five-year look-back with management Donald’s also looking for ways the we need to make going forward.” in St. Louis, Donald joined chemical at each of the company’s brands, which cruise lines can work together, such as Since taking over on July 3, Donald maker Monsanto Co. in 1977. He super- include Princess Cruises, made famous in obtaining space at ports. Now, each has been implementing changes that vised the company’s Roundup weed kill- by the 1970s-80s television series line negotiates separately. Together they include a $700 million investment in er business, before leading a group that “The Love Boat,” and Cunard Line, the could get better locations and pricing, he shipboard fire prevention and back-up purchased Monsanto’s Equal sweetener 173-year-old British brand that’s home said, and have more flexibility to offer power systems, a new marketing cam- operation in 2000. to the Queen Mary 2. Donald also met variations in routes. paign and an effort to get Carnival’s 10 “When Arnold took on a job, he fig- with travel agents to repair relations that Carnival took another step in this di- cruise lines to collaborate and become ured out what had to be done and he frayed in recent years. rection Oct. 4 when Donald announced more efficient. got it done,” Richard Mahoney, a former Carnival had previously sought to that Stein Kruse, the president and CEO “We started out with a few ships,” Monsanto CEO, said in an interview. “He boost profit by automating the booking of the Holland America and Seabourn Donald said. “We grew to a fleet. And was demanding, not rude. People liked process, directing customers and agents lines, will add Princess to his respon- now we have an armada. We have huge working for him.” to its online systems. That effort reduced sibilities. Princess’ former CEO, Alan opportunities to take advantage of our Carnival was already deep into a commissions and complicated reser- Buckelew, was promoted to chief oper- scale, in terms of creating demand and public-relations makeover when Donald vations by adding numerous classes of ating officer of the company, where he’ll creating new revenue.” ascended to CEO. After the Triumph inci- fares. oversee information technology across dent, which left 3,100 passengers with- In the past few months, Carnival has the lines. High Expectations out enough food or working toilets for simplified its fare structure, made en- A focus on collaboration will lead to Carnival shares have gained 3.6 per- four days, the company introduced a “va- hancements to its travel-agent website greater sharing of customer data, oppor- cent on Donald’s watch, a sign that some cation guarantee,” promising to refund and created a new bonus program for tunities to sell higher-priced packages at investors are getting behind his turn- money and fly guests home if they’re salespeople. premium brands and more standardiza- around plan. Yet the stock remains more not happy with their cruise, according to “Carnival had been sort of aloof, but tion of quality and safety, according to than one-third below its 2004 peak, a re- Gerry Cahill, CEO of the Carnival brand. now they’re coming back,” said John Timothy Conder, an analyst with Wells minder of how much reputation repair In September, the company introduced Maguire, founder of Cruisedirect.com, Fargo Securities. he has left. Since July 2, Carnival has a $25 million advertising campaign, an online travel agency. “That being said, we believe it will lagged the 10 percent gain of Norwegian its largest in five years. Carnival solic- Donald is also trying to win over more likely be 2015 before legacy ship retrofit Cruise Line Holdings Ltd., and a 30 ited stories from customers, and more travelers who haven’t cruised before by issues are behind and brand reputation percent advance for Royal Caribbean than 30,000 responded. The resulting appealing to guests who like outdoor rebuilding along with improved oper- Cruises Ltd. “Moments that Matter” spot is a montage sports or charity work. Examples might ating approaches begin to bear fruit,” A New Orleans native and son of a of their home movies taken on ships. be to drop guests off in places where Conder said.

FROM PAGE A1 Heico: $1 billion credit line to fund future acquisitions ger targets.” Weston-based Florida Community Bank LIBOR. He said Heico currently pays less by making target firms more expensive. Banks added $330 million to the and Georgia’s Synovus Bank, also are than 2 percent interest on its credit facil- Mendelson said that was somewhat credit facility. chipping in cash for the mam- ity borrowings. of a concern influencing the decision In a statement, Heico noted $800 mil- moth loan. Heico arranged the A frothy syndicated loan mar- to ask for a bigger line of credit, but the lion of its $1 billion line was now fully transaction internally with the aid ket, which allows banks to pack- main reason was allowing Heico to buy committed for funding. Under a new of its general counsel, Joe Pallot. age and sell lines of credits like the out bigger competitors. arrangement, the revolving facility will In a statement, Heico noted one just negotiated with Heico, is “Pricing has increased a little over the be available a year longer until 2018. $800 currently driving a substantial in- past few years in the low interest rate New York-based Bank of America, San Mendelson said the renegotia- terest in lending to credit-worthy environment, but it’s not the main rea- Francisco-based Wells Fargo and Atlanta- tion of the credit facility did not af- corporations. Low interest rates son” for increasing borrowing, he said, based SunTrust Bank are the top lenders fect the terms of credit, which are Mendelson across the board also are mak- “It’s to accommodate acquisitions, which involved in the credit offering. variable depending on how much ing such borrowing an attractive have grown in size as well.” Nine other banks, including Coral borrowing Heico engages in elsewhere way to fund acquisitions for companies, Eleazar David Meléndez can be reached at Gables-based Mercantil Commercebank, but currently set at 75 basis points over although that dynamic cuts both ways (305) 347-6651. A12 dailybusinessreview.com TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 2013 DAILY BUSINESS REVIEW

business people

Maura Kohl was named director of finance and operations by Blanca Commercial Real Estate. Kohl has an MBA from Fordham University and a bachelor degree from Tufts University. Caren Copening was named director of American Technion Society’s Palm Beach chapter. Copening was chief development of- ficer for the Alpert Jewish Family & Children’s Service and the Levine Jewish Residential Kohl Copening Skinger Fernandez Davis Johannsen Clemente Jolles & Family Service. Copening has a bachelor Tombari degree from Douglass College and a master’s pus network and online education. Davis has a into 321 North. Tombari, who has been a high- for further developing BankUnited’s yacht lend- degree from Rutgers University. bachelor degree from the University of Southern level executive at several national companies, ing program as an extension of its private bank- George Skinger joins Lynx Construction Illinois-Carbondale, a bachelor degree from the was named director of construction. ing services. Management as supervisor of the company’s University of Oklahoma, a master’s degree from Raphael Clemente, executive director of the Michael S. Goldberg, Miami Beach market exec- estimating department. Skinger will oversee the Troy State University and doctorate from Nova West Palm Beach Downtown Development utive for Gibraltar Private Bank & Trust, has been estimating department, which evaluates and Southeastern University. Authority, was honored with the 2013 Bob named chair-elect of the Miami Beach Chamber completes new project bids and project manage- Christian J. Johannsen of NAI Miami has been Graham Architectural Awareness Award by the of Commerce for 2014. For the first time in the ment opportunities. awarded a CCIM life membership. Certified Florida Association of the American Institute of 92-year-old history of the Miami Beach Chamber Nancy Fernandez joins Apollo Bank to lead its Commercial Investment Member designation is Architects. The award is given to a non-architect of Commerce, a father and son will have been new banking center location in Doral. Fernandez awarded to commercial real estate professionals who has advanced the cause of good design and chairman of the board of governors. His father, was managing director and market manager for who complete a graduate-level education cur- planning, and contributed to the dignity and Barton Goldberg, chaired the board of governors TotalBank in Hialeah. Fernandez has a bachelor riculum and presentation of a portfolio of qualify- value of the architectural profession. from 1976-1978 and continues to be active in degree from the University of Florida. ing industry experience. Melanie Jolles has been appointed vice presi- chamber activities. Michael Goldberg becomes Richard Davis was appointed vice president of John Tombari has joined US Capital Holdings dent and private banker to oversee BankUnited’s chairman in 2014. Goldberg has a bachelor de- Nova Southeastern University’s regional cam- Group as it transforms the former Fashion Mall yacht lending program. Jolles will be responsible gree from Florida International University. BUSINESS briefs

Aetna To Buy International Fiat Says No Chrysler energy projects and to resume beef and (The Associated Press) Insurance Provider initial public offering pork exports. No values for the deals were Aetna Inc. plans to broaden its inter- Chrysler won’t be offering its stock for disclosed. BlackBerry Shakeup national reach with the acquisition of sale on the public markets this year. Romanian exports to Continues As COO, CFO Depart InterGlobal, a British company that offers Italian automaker Fiat SpA, Chrysler’s ma- China have tripled since The shakeup at Blackberry is continuing private medical insurance for groups and jority owner, said in a statement Monday 2008 and bilateral com- after the ouster of CEO Thorsten Heins ear- individuals in the Middle East, Asia, Africa that Chrysler’s board has determined an merce this year amounted lier this month. and Europe. initial to $3.27 billion, according Chief Operating Officer Kristian Tear and The Hartford, Conn., health insurer did public of- to Chinese authorities. Chief Marketing Officer Frank Boulben, not reveal terms of the deal on Monday. It fering is It was the first visit by both hired by Heins, will leave the strug- expects to complete the acquisition in the “not prac- a Chinese prime minister gling smartphone maker. first half of next year and said it should be ticable” in to Romania in 19 years. Li Janous And the neutral to Aetna’s 2014 results. 2013. said the visit “consolidates company said Aetna covers Instead, reciprocal political trust.” (The Associated Monday that more than 22 Chrysler Press) Brian Bidulka is million people Group LLC being replaced as the third- will continue work on the offering so it can Wal-Mart CEO Steps Down; by James Yersh largest health happen in the first quarter of next year, the McMillon Is Successor as chief finan- insurer in the statement said. Wal-Mart Stores CEO and President Mike cial officer. Yersh United States. Fiat owns 58.5 percent of Chrysler’s Duke plans to step down Feb. 1. The com- previously served as senior vice president It also runs an shares, with the remaining 41.5 percent pany says Doug McMillon, head of interna- and controller. Bidulka will remain with the expatriate business that provides medical, held by a United Auto Workers union trust tional operations, will succeed him. company as an adviser for the remainder dental and vision coverage, among other fund that pays health care bills for blue- Duke, 63, who had been with Wal-Mart of the company’s fiscal year. forms of insurance to people living over- collar retirees. since 1995, had been at the helm since Sybase CEO John Chen was brought in seas. But Sergio Marchionne, CEO of both February 2009. Duke will stay on as chair- as the interim chief executive after nego- Chairman and CEO Mark Bertolini said in automakers, has been squabbling with the man. McMillon, 47, marks the fifth CEO tiations to sell the Ontario company col- a statement that the deal helps increase its trust over the price, and so far they haven’t since Wal-Mart’s founder Sam Walton, and lapsed. Chen also serves as chairman of the presence in the international market for in- been able to reach agreement. Marchionne all of them have been home-grown with board. (The Associated Press) dividual and small- and mid-sized business wants to buy the trust’s shares in order to years of experience before taking the helm. customers. He added that the demand for combine the companies. (The Associated McMillon was also elected to the com- Apple Acquires Israeli international private medical coverage is Press) pany’s board of directors, effective imme- Tech Company PrimeSense being driven by the globalization of com- diately. Apple has acquired Israel-based motion panies, the growing population of wealthy China To Invest In Romanian McMillon, who succeeded Duke as technology company PrimeSense for an individuals in emerging economies and Nuclear, Wind Power head of the international business four undisclosed sum. reform pushes by governments around the China’s prime minister says his country years ago, is a 23-year company veteran. PrimeSense spokeswoman Kayla Egbert world to increase health care access. will invest in Romanian nuclear and wind He started as a summer associate in a confirmed the deal, but says the company Last year, the largest U.S. insurer, energy production as well as a high-speed Wal-Mart distribution center in 1984 and isn’t revealing additional details. UnitedHealth Group Inc., also announced railway. then in 1990, he rejoined Wal-Mart at a Founded in 2005, PrimeSense makes international growth plans with its $4.9 bil- Li Keqiang arrived in Romania a day Tulsa, Okla., store. He then moved up the chips used in three-dimensional sens- lion acquisition of Brazilian health benefits ahead of a summit with leaders from executive ladder, working in a variety of ing products. Its technology is used in and care provider Amil Participacoes SA. Central and East European countries. merchandising jobs at the Wal-Mart U.S. Microsoft’s Xbox Kinect, which lets gamers Another competitor, Cigna Corp., also is On the occasion of the visit, Romanian division. Before he took over international use their bodies to control the movements expanding its international business. (The and Chinese officials signed various deals operations, McMillon served as president of onscreen characters. (The Associated Associated Press) to cooperate in nuclear and thermoelectric and CEO of Sam’s Club from 2006 to 2009. Press) BUSINESS events

Dec. 3 22) $35, early bird nonmembers $50, members miamichamber.com South Florida chapter: Annual banquet and Urban Land Institute Southeast Florida/ at door $65, nonmembers at door $90. Contact fundraiser hosted by Miami Archbishop Thomas Caribbean: Women’s leadership initiative, 5:30 Marty Busekrus at [email protected] or Jules Dec. 5 G. Wenski, 7 p.m., Jungle Island Treetop Ballroom, p.m., Grille 401 Las Olas, 401 E. Las Olas Blvd., Fort Morgan at [email protected]. Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce: The 1111 Parrot Jungle Trail, Miami. Cost: $125. Lauderdale. Cost: $25 members, $20 public sector Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce: domino effect of global trade with presentation by Information at www.cclsmiami.org. members, $10 student members, $35 nonmem- December trustee luncheon, presentation by Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters president & bers, $25 student nonmembers. Register at (800) Carnival’s new president and CEO Arnold W. CEO Jayson Myers, noon, Greater Miami Chamber Dec. 6 321-5011 (code #8135-1440) or at seflorida.uli.org Donald and former chamber chairman Ramiro A. of Commerce, 1601 Biscayne Blvd., Ballroom Level, Women’s Council of Realtors, Greater Palm Ortiz of HistoryMiami, “Miami—Why are we spe- Miami. Cost: $35 members, $45 nonmembers in Beach County chapter: Casino night and installa- Dec. 4 cial,” noon, Jungle Island, 1111 Parrot Jungle Trail, advance, $50 per person on site. RSVP at www. tion of officers, 6 p.m., Indian Spring Country Club, NAIOP: Broward County Off The Bus tour, 2 p.m., Miami. Cost: $55 members ($75 after Nov. 29), MiamiChamber.com. Call Liane Ventura at (305) 11501 El Clair Ranch Road, Boynton Beach. Cost: IDI New Davie Business Center, 3300 Davie Road, $100 nonmembers. RSVP at www.MiamiChamber. 577-5445 or email [email protected] $60. Contact Amy Stark Snook at (561) 737-4808 or Davie. Cost: early bird members (before Nov. com. Call (305) 577-5433 or email spevents@ American Immigration Lawyers Association, [email protected] DAILY BUSINESS REVIEW TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 2013 dailybusinessreview.com A13 A14 dailybusinessreview.com TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 2013 DAILY BUSINESS REVIEW

banking finance Supreme Court to decide if it will take inherited IRA case by Bill Rochelle Seventh Circuit in Chicago, disagreed two appeals courts have written on the itor claims in bankruptcy, the case before Bloomberg News with an opinion last year from the New topic. The trustee said the New Orleans Easterbrook’s court involved a woman Orleans-based Fifth Circuit. Easterbrook decision provided an “irrational wind- who inherited her deceased mother’s U.S. Supreme Court justices will hold concluded that inherited IRAs aren’t ex- fall” for bankrupts. $300,000 account. a conference today to decide whether to empt in bankruptcy and do belong to The trustee urged the Supreme Court After the daughter filed for bankrupt- grant an appeal to determine whether creditors. to deny an appeal, giving the Fifth Circuit cy, the bankruptcy judge ruled that the an inherited individual retirement ac- The person who lost in Chicago peti- time to reverse itself. IRA wasn’t exempt. The district court re- count is protected from the claims of tioned the high court seeking to appeal. The Supreme Court could say as early versed, and Easterbrook reversed once creditors in bankruptcy. The petitioner called the case an “ideal as today whether it will take the case. If again. Two U.S. appeals courts have reached vehicle” for resolving the split among it doesn’t, or if the justices seek the view The Fifth Circuit reached the opposite different conclusions on whether an in- the circuits because Easterbrook explic- of the U.S. general, who argues result in March 2012, focusing on what herited IRA is an exempt asset that an itly rejected the reasoning of the New before the high court on behalf of the it called the “plain meaning” of the stat- individual can retain despite filing for Orleans court. government, word could come down on utes. bankruptcy. The bankruptcy trustee, the winner Dec. 2. The case is Clark v. Rameker, 13-299, In April, , chief in Easterbrook’s opinion, said Supreme While an IRA funded by the debtor’s U.S. Supreme Court, (Washington). judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Court review is premature because only own contributions is immune from cred- Alabama county’s bankruptcy hurts bondholders, ratepayers alike by Martin Z. Braun Agency decree to clean up dis- Bloomberg News charges into the Cahaba River.

The impact of Jefferson Costs Rose County’s bankruptcy will rever- The cost of Jefferson County’s berate for decades in Alabama sewer system ballooned to $3 and in the $3.7 trillion U.S. mu- billion as the county built treat- nicipal bond market. ment plants and laid pipe with- Creditors, including out a strategic plan and local JPMorgan Chase, agreed to officials accepted bribes from forgive $1.4 billion of the coun- construction contractors and ty’s $3 billion sewer bonds. financial advisers seeking busi- Ratepayers, like Charles Hicks, a ness with the county. retired landscaper who lives on In 2009, JPMorgan agreed a fixed income in Birmingham, to a $722 million settlement will see his sewer rate rise about with the U.S. Securities and 8 percent annually for the next Exchange Commission over four years and 3.5 percent an- payments that the agency said nually thereafter, under a plan its bankers made to people approved by a federal judge on tied to county politicians to win Nov 21. business. It also provided more “There’s a lot of pain going than $900 million in conces- around—bondholders are tak- sions to allow the county to end ing large losses, but ratepayers its bankruptcy. are as well,” said Matt Fabian, a The sewer rate increases managing director at Concord, will disproportionately affect Massachusetts-based Municipal Scott Eells/Bloomberg News the poor. Seventy percent of the Market Advisors. sewer system’s users reside in JPMorgan Chase was among the creditors that agreed to forgive $1.4 billion of the $3 billion sewer bonds held by For the next 40 years, resi- the commission districts with Jefferson County, Ala. dents and businesses that al- poorest residents, according to ready have some of the highest just to shed debt, because it ments went to the county’s two The challenges facing the County Commissioner George sewer rates in the country will shows that those taxpayers main law firms. county’s finances and its sewer Bowman, who voted against the pay back more in principal and could also be put on the hook to Klee, Tuchin, Bogdanoff & system won’t end with bank- bankruptcy. interest than they owed be- contribute in the future,” Fabian Stern LLP in Los Angeles, which ruptcy. Because the new bond “This whole process had fore the bankruptcy, according said. is led by Ken Klee, issue pushes debt service pay- been fraudulent to the ratepay- to an analysis by Jim White, a Some hedge funds benefited who helped rewrite the U.S. ments into the future, rising er,” said Hicks, 67, the retiree. Birmingham-based financial by purchasing defaulted bonds Bankruptcy Code in the 1970s, 67 percent in 2024, the county Under Alabama law, sewer adviser who did an analysis for about 65 cents to 70 cents collected $10.1 million in fees is facing a projected $1.2 bil- rates must be reasonable and for residents challenging the on the dollar from banks that and was reimbursed about lion gap in money available to nondiscriminatory. Ratepayers bankruptcy plan. Until Detroit’s dumped the debt and received $204,000 for expenses. The sec- maintain the sewer system. A who objected to the county’s July filing, Jefferson County was about 80 cents on the dollar ond firm, Bradley Arant Boult consulting firm that conducted plan are vowing to continue le- the nation’s largest municipal as part of the bankruptcy plan, Cummings LLP, a feasibility study for the county gal challenges. bankruptcy. according to a person familiar which has offices said it couldn’t identify where Some residents in wealthy U.S. Bankruptcy Judge with the purchases who asked in Birmingham, the county would get money to Birmingham suburbs, who Thomas Bennett dismissed for anonymity to discuss the collected $8.2 pay for capital spending. have septic tanks and aren’t objections to the county’s debt- matter. million in fees The rate increases pledged connected to the sewer system, reduction plan based on White’s Funds that bought Jefferson and was reim- to pay debt service will impose don’t have to pay additional analysis. County bonds include Brigade bursed about a “high burden” on ratepayers, charges even though they get The willingness of Alabama’s Capital Management LLC, $294,000 for ex- and would cause rates to “ap- the indirect benefit of the coun- most populous county to enter Claren Road Asset Management Klee penses. proach the limits of reasonable- ty having clean water. bankruptcy, along with the loss- LLC, Fundamental Advisors Under an un- ness,” according to the Chicago- Calvin Woods, president of es imposed on creditors, may LP, all based in New York, usual provision in the exit plan based consulting company, the Birmingham Chapter of the make bondholders of other and Monarch Capital Master approved by Bennett, Jefferson Galardi Rothstein Group. Southern Christian Leadership distressed municipalities more Partners LP, according to court County’s commissioners’ power Sewer rates will rise 7.9 per- Conference, said it was wrong willing to negotiate outside of records. to set and enforce rates will be cent each year for four years, that county officials didn’t court. Taxpayer groups will look limited until almost $1.8 billion starting in 2014, and by almost spread the pain of rate increas- at Jefferson County and see that Attorney Fees in bonds sold this week to pay 3.5 percent annually through es evenly. bankruptcy won’t wipe away Since filing the $4.2 billion creditors are paid off in 2053. 2053. That’s on top of a 329 per- “Unless you’re going to put it their obligations, Fabian said. case in November 2011, the The trustee for bondholders can cent increase from 1997 to 2008 across the board on everybody, “It does take the thunder county has spent more than ask the court to force sewer rate after the county embarked on a you’re still going to have a lot of out of taxpayer groups who are $24 million on attorneys and increases that may be needed to capital program to comply with trouble,” Woods said. “All of us looking to get into bankruptcy other advisers. Most of the pay- pay the debt. a U.S. Environmental Protection live in the county.” A15 dailybusinessreview.com TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 2013

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Employment Employment Employment Employment Employment Employment Attorneys Attorneys Secretaries Secretaries Secretaries Secretaries BROWARD BROWARD DADE DADE

Legal Secretary LEGAL SECRETARY Minimum 2 years' experience in personal injury litigation IP Boutique Law Firm looking for a full-time legal secy. Candidate required. Bilingual preferred. Strong Communication and must have federal court and state court experience. Bilingual SHEPARD BROAD LAW CENTER DEAN SEARCH computer skills a must. Downtown Ft. Lauderdale firm, Salary helpful (English/Spanish). Pleasant work environment. Salary commensurates with experience. Reply to: commensurate with experience. Send resume to: Nova Southeastern University invites applications and nominations [email protected] - reference # 30897 [email protected] - reference # 30888 for the position of Dean, Shepard Broad Law Center.

The Shepard Broad Law Center at Nova Southeastern University (“NSU”) is built on a foundation of integrity, advocacy, community service, leadership, and development of practice-ready attorneys. In 2012, our programs were ranked among the top ten law schools in the nation for bar preparation due in large part to our extraordi- nary faculty, focused programs, and dedicated students.

NSU Law offers a rigorous traditional academic program in three- year day and four-year evening versions. We pride ourselves on preparing graduates to make a smooth transition from the class- room to the courtroom or boardroom. NSU Law students also have a unique opportunity to study both common law and civil law through our dual-degree programs in Spain, Italy and the Czech Republic. Additionally, we offer students the ability to earn joint degrees in other disciplines; the disciplines include, for example, business, medicine, and dentistry. Clinical education is an important part of the NSU Law experience. In fact, as part of our on-going com- mitment to clinical education, every student who meets the clinic criteria has the opportunity to participate in one of our clinics.

As the chief academic and administrative officer of the Law Center, the Dean is responsible for leadership of the school’s academic and administrative affairs. The Dean will provide innovative vision and leadership in order to maintain and advance the stature of the Law Center. The Dean is also a tenured faculty member of the Law Center.

Applicants for Dean of the Law Center must bring previous administrative experience in educational services, preferably in legal education. Candidates must possess a Juris Doctorate from an accredited law school in the U.S. Applicants should also possess the strong administrative, managerial, development and communication skills necessary for leading a law school.

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EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY For information on placing an ad in our section, please call: 404-419-2819 or 855-8LAWJOB, ext 4 Email: [email protected] on appeal by NOREEN MARCUS A16 dailybusinessreview.com For full appellate case opinions, please visit dailybusinessreview.com. TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 2013 Ongoing case pitting state-v.-federal issues could see return to U.S. Supreme Court A bribery case involving a well- known former Florida politician may be Wyon Dale Childers, headed back to the U.S. Supreme Court Appellant v. Willie for another round in the never-ending L. Floyd, Warden, struggle over whether state judges or their federal brethren should interpret Glades Correctional the U.S. Constitution for the criminal jus- Institution, Appellee tice system. Case No.: 08-15590 W.D. Childers, 80, completed his pris- on term in 2009 but still wants vindica- Date: Nov. 14, 2013 tion, said Amy Adelson, a partner in the New York law firm that represents him, Case type: Sixth Amendment Dershowitz, Eiger & Adelson. Court: U.S. Court of Appeals for the “Though Childers Eleventh Circuit is free, it remains im- portant to him and his Author of opinion: Per curiam family. They feel this is Lawyer for appellant: Nathan unjust,” Adelson said. Z. Dershowitz, Dershowitz, Eiger & Childers and his lawyers Adelson, New York Scan to read are seriously consider- more ing another attempt to Lawyers for appellee: Joshua Ryan On Appeal win U.S. Supreme Court Heller and Christine Ann Guard, Florida review. attorney general’s office, Tallahassee The first time the justices accepted Panel: Chief Judge Ed Carnes and Childers’ appeal, his lawyers had reason Former Senate President W.D. Childers, above, is represented by Amy Adelson, who said the U.S. Judges Gerald Bard Tjoflat, Frank M. to hope for a turnaround. The high court Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit got his case wrong. Hull, , Charles R. Wilson, remanded the case to the U.S. Court of William H. Pryor Jr., Beverly B. Martin, Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, which whose lawyers said Junior was merely it wasn’t discussed in the state court’s Joel F. Dubina and Susan H. Black had affirmed a district court’s refusal to angling to save his plea deal—the state ruling? Originating court: U.S. Supreme Court grant Childers habeas corpus relief. The did try unsuccessfully to revoke it. “The Supreme Court has been very justices vacated the ruling and told the protective of the states in its review of federal appellate court to “reconsider” Right Of Confrontation federal grants of habeas,” Adelson noted. it in light of fresh precedent—usually In pretrial motions, Childers’ lawyers So much so that it has devised convo- “Although the court expressly ana- a polite way of saying, “Please reverse asked the judge to let them bring out two luted rules of deference that deny federal lyzed Childers’ claim under only the yourself.” things on Junior’s cross-examination— courts the authority to review constitu- Florida rules of evidence, the underpin- The Eleventh Circuit didn’t take the Elliot’s acquittal and the state’s attempt tional issues de novo, meaning indepen- nings of these rules fit hand in glove with hint. On Nov. 14, the full court reinstat- to jettison the plea agreement. The judge dently. the rights guaranteed under the con- ed its earlier decision. Judges Beverly denied the motion on the basis of state When such deference is required, fed- frontation clause.” Martin and Charles Wilson dissented in evidentiary rules, saying the evidence eral courts apply an abuse of discretion In his dissent, Wilson said a Rule 403 separate opinions, and Martin chided would prejudice the prosecution more standard and generally rubber stamp analysis doesn’t qualify as a confronta- the majority for an interpretation “di- than it would help the defense. the state court’s decision. When it is not, tion clause analysis. The former is much rectly at odds” with the Supreme Court’s Following Childers’ conviction, his they are free to analyze for themselves narrower “than determining whether latest relevant ruling. lawyers argued to the First District Court whether the state court made an uncon- an accused has been denied the right to “The Supreme Court has been very of Appeal that the trial judge violated his stitutional ruling. confront a witness testifying against him interested in this,” Adelson said. “It’s a Sixth Amendment right of confrontation through the demonstration of that wit- very important question in addressing by blocking the proposed cross-exami- Dissent ness’s bias, prejudice or ulterior motive.” the relationship between the state courts nation. In the Childers opinion released Nov. “I dissent because I believe that we and the federal courts on constitutional Before the state appellate panel could 14, the Eleventh Circuit majority set out are obligated to decide Childers’ Sixth issues in the criminal justice area.” release its decision, the full First District to determine whether the First District Amendment confrontation claim on the When term limits forced onetime stepped in and upheld Childers’ convic- “inadvertently overlooked” his consti- merits,” he wrote. He said he would not Senate president Childers out of the tion. There is almost universal agree- tutional claim. If it did, de novo review go so far as to conclude Childers’ rights Legislature in 2000, he moved to the ment that the panel intended to rule in would kick in. were violated. Escambia County Commission. Three Childers’ favor. The court found that when the First Adelson said the Supreme Court has years later he was tried on charges of Like the trial judge, the First District District discussed Florida Evidence Rule tried in recent cases to draw a line that taking a bribe from Joe Elliot in exchange rested its decision on state evidentiary 403, it really was adjudicating his con- still allows de novo review if a state court for voting to approve buying Elliot’s land grounds. “Nobody paid attention to the frontation clause argument. Rule 403 decides not to examine a federal consti- for a soccer complex. serious constitutional issue except the calls on the trial judge to determine tutional issue. A co-defendant, Commissioner Willie defense,” Adelson said. whether the value of proffered evidence “The Eleventh Circuit got it wrong,” Junior, pleaded guilty and testified for The key question that emerged from is outweighed by the danger of unfair she said. “They pretty much are saying the state at Elliot’s trial. After Elliot was all this was: Should the federal courts prejudice. even that won’t get you de novo review. acquitted, Junior gave prosecutors in- defer to a state court’s interpretation of “The claim was squarely before the And I don’t think that will pass muster criminating evidence against Childers, a federal constitutional right, even when court,” the unsigned opinion states. with the Supreme Court.”