The Briefing

On Thursday, May 4th, 3rd grade Seabreeze Elementary students participated in the Jacksonville – Top to Bottom tour.   Lead by “Andrew Jackson” (fun fact: Jacksonville was named after him), students learned about the history of the River City while exploring a secret underground tunnel under Hogan and Forsyth street.  The students then had an opportunity to explore the “top” of Jacksonville as Taylor Day welcomed the students to tour the firm.  Among other fun history facts, students also learned that Aristotle, Plato, Sir Isaac Newton and Shakespeare all have their faces carved into the columns of the old public library building and how Jacksonville was once home to over 26 Hollywood movie companies.  

THIS DAY IN HISTORY: May 3, 2018 marks the 117th anniversary of the Great Fire of 1901.  The glow from the flames could be seen in Savannah, GA.  The fire claimed many buildings including the second Duval County courthouse.  Ironically, the first Duval County Courthouse, constructed in the 1840s, was also burned to the ground during the Civil War.  Because all real estate records were destroyed in the fire, to this day, real estate deeds in Duval County refer either to “the current public records of Duval County, Florida” or, if the records predate the fire, “the former public records of Duval County, Florida.” It is the only county in Florida for which that is the case.   Learn more about the history of Duval County’s courthouses and the Great Fire of 1901.

Taylor Day!  Our team shirts for the 2018 – 5K Corporate Run was selected as “Most Creative” by the judges of 1st Place Sports.  The Montoya & Associates Corporate Run is an annual race benefitting Cross Country and Track Programs for Duval County High Schools and attracts over 4,000 participants.  Thank you to our team for participating and a specials thanks to Wicked Graphix for turning our graphic into t-shirts!

Marsa’s “journey-to-attorney” definitively proves it is never too late to change your life.  Before obtaining her Juris Doctorate, she worked for more than 20 years as a paralegal.  Her love for writing and research, attention to detail and dedicated work ethic prompted strong encouragement from her then-boss and mentor to sit for the LSAT.  “He’s one of the good ones.  He embodied the type of attorney I wanted to be.” Marsa joined the firm immediately following her graduation in 1995 and has been valued member of the team since.  She focuses her practice on Insurance Coverage & Bad Faith, Personal Injury Protection, Professional & Medical Malpractice and Appeals.  She fondly recalls one of her most memorable cases was an appeal she co-counseled with founding member John Taylor, advocating for minors cheated out of insurance benefits by their “guardian.”  The case was decided by the Florida Supreme Court, based on her brief, on an issue previously not ruled upon in Florida law. In her more than 20+ years as an attorney, she continues advocating for her clients and inspiring those around her to find the courage to change their own life path. View her bio to learn more about Marsa or her areas of practice.

With 21 litigators, Taylor Day was recognized as the 6th largest litigation firm in Jacksonville in the 2018 Jacksonville Business Journal Book of Lists.  The Book of Lists is a listing of hundreds of the hottest area companies in their field by ranking.  The firm was also ranked 18th largest with respect to the total number of local attorneys.  Our local community is at the heart of our legal team. Many of our lawyers, support staff, and clients were born and raised in Jacksonville. We remain intricately involved in the affairs of our city and dedicated to the success of our local businesses.  Learn more about our litigation practice and how we can help your business succeed. 

Congratulations to Christopher Mueller, who celebrates his 8 year anniversary with the Taylor Day.  Chris heads the firm’s construction practice and is Board Certified by the Florida Bar Board of Legal Specialization and Education in construction law, a distinction that is unique to less than 400 attorneys in the state.  After several years being named a “Rising Star” by Florida Super Lawyers, he was recognized in 2016, 2017 and 2018 for his outstanding work in the construction litigation field and named “Super Lawyer” by the Super Lawyer publication. To view his full bio or learn more about Taylor Day’s construction practice, visit www.TaylorDayLaw.com.

Successful litigation requires in-house and outside counsel to be synergistic teammates.  Yet because of their nature and “nurturing,” often litigators’ collaborative skills need some rehabilitation to excel as team members instead of operating as a thrown together team of all-stars. Shareholder John Osgathorpe joined ALFA International friends Ashley Kisner (Strasburger & Price), Cate Huff (Gentry Locke), Tamera deWild (O’Reilly Automotive) and Eric Cotton (DDR) to present at the 2018 ALFA International Seminar on Collaboration: Challenges, Benefits and Best Practices.  

Please join us in welcoming the newest member of our legal team, Katherine A. Rafferty.  Katherine earned her Bachelors of Science in 2010 from Florida State University, where she had the honor of interning with Florida’s Executive Office of the Governor. She received her Juris Doctor in 2013 from the University of Miami School of Law. Upon graduation, Katherine served as an Assistant State Attorney for the 17th Judicial Circuit, where she gained invaluable jury trial experience. Her current practice focuses on commercial litigation, insurance coverage, bad faith and extra-contractual liability.  She has a wide-ranging civil defense background, including experience in the areas of personal injury and products liability, wrongful death, trucking and transportation, negligent security, coverage matters, construction, extra-contractual liability and bad faith. She is admitted to practice in the state court of Florida, and is licensed to practice in the United States District Courts for the Southern, Middle, and Northern Districts of Florida.  To view her complete bio or learn more about Taylor Day’s areas of practice, visit www.TaylorDayLaw.com.

A Florida native, Christina is originally from Miami, Florida. She received her Bachelor of Science in Business Administration, cum laude, from the University of Florida, followed by her Juris Doctorate, cum laude, from the University of Florida Levin College of Law. Prior to joining Taylor Day, Christina clerked for the Honorable Marcia Morales Howard, United States District Judge for the Middle District of Florida, Jacksonville Division. She then spent several years at a local insurance defense firm for several years representing insurance companies in several hundred Personal Injury Protection (PIP) lawsuits.  We are pleased to announce Christina has joined us as the newest member of the firm’s Personal Injury Protection legal team, headed by shareholder David Gagnon.  Our highly respected team of attorneys are known for their ability to deliver strategic and aggressive representation to nation-wide automobile insurance companies involved in PIP litigation. Click to view her full bio, or learn more about Taylor Day’s PIP practice.

On June 14, 2017, Governor Rick Scott signed HB 377, making it law effective July 31, 2017. HB 377 relates to the 10-year statute of repose relative to construction defect claims. The statute repose is the absolute bar precluding claims for construction defects on projects 10-years-old or older. Specifically, Fla. Stat. §95.11(3)(c) states that, regardless of the latency of a defect, no claim for construction defects can be asserted if brought beyond ten (10) years of the latest of actual possession by the owner, issuance of a certificate of occupancy, abandonment of construction, or completion of the contract. “Completion of the contract” had, for many years, gone undefined and was the subject of much litigation and arguably opened the construction industry to claims beyond the ten (10) year statute of repose. Then, in 2015, a Florida Court in Cypress Fairway Condominium v. Bergeron Construction Co., Inc., 164 So.3d 706 (Fla. 5th DCA 2015) defined “completion of the contract” as the date the owner issued final payment. But what happens in cases where the owner endlessly negotiates final payment, refuses to make the final payment, or cannot make final payment? Arguably, the statute of repose would lag on and on to the detriment of the contractor in those circumstances. The Cypress Condominium case would also arguably allow unscrupulous owners to intentionally withhold final payment simply to extend the statute of repose on any potential defect claims.