Practice & Industry Areas
Business Litigation
Gunster’s knowledge and understanding of its clients’ needs are the keys to providing timely legal and business counsel that can transform challenges into opportunities in the litigation setting.
The fact that Gunster attorneys repeatedly are called on to handle complex and important litigation speaks to the manner in which we do so. Our unwavering focus puts the client’s best interests first. The most successful outcome is one in which our client’s goals and objectives are met. We do not litigate for its own sake, but rather, in a timely manner to achieve what is best for a particular client under particular circumstances. From our eight offices strategically placed around the state, our highly skilled lawyers represent clients in all Florida state and federal courts.
Service areas:
- Antitrust
- Appellate
- Banking and lender liability
- Bankruptcy and creditors’ rights
- Class actions
- Construction
- Corporate Governance
- Eminent domain
- Employment
- Environmental and land use
- Fiduciary Duties
- First Amendment, privacy and defamation
- Fraud
- Health care
- Insurance Coverage
- Intellectual property
- Malpractice
- Mergers & Acquisitions
- Pharmaceutical
- Probate
- Product liability
- Real estate
- Regulatory matters, state and federal
- RICO
- Securities
- Toxic Tort
Class Actions
Lawyers in our Class Action practice have successfully defended against numerous class claims, recently including a Labor Pool Act class action that resulted in dismissal with prejudice in favor of our client; dismissal of a putative class action of 90,000 members asserting claims of deceptive trade practices; a class action against a banking corporation concerning mortgage lending practices; a putative class action concerning toxic mold inspection accreditation; and defeating class certification on claims of deceptive trade practices brought against one of the largest credit unions in the United States.
Among our ongoing representation are the country’s largest producer of sugar cane, in an MDL class action; and one of the nation’s largest banks, in a consumer class action involving credit insurance.
Construction
With Gunster’s long history in real estate, it’s not surprising that we would have a team devoted to all aspects of litigation involving construction contracting and related services, including AIA contracts, design-build contracts, architect agreements and interior design agreements. We also address commercial and residential contracting, including condominiums, office buildings, luxury single-family homes, and medical facilities. We represent owners, developers, contractors, sureties and professionals, and we cover all project stages.
Several of the team’s litigators are board-certified in construction law, and many of our lawyers have a wealth of experience in construction defect litigation.
Intellectual Property
Intellectual property is the lifeblood of many organizations. Protecting it can be the difference literally between the life and death of a company. It’s not enough to know the law. The most effective attorneys understand the technology and are practiced in achieving the most favorable outcomes in a cost-efficient way. We also counsel many clients in different businesses on ways they can safeguard their intellectual property rights while maintaining their budgets. It’s this kind of broadly framed and client-driven thinking that distinguishes Gunster’s Intellectual Property Litigation practice.
Our attorneys have extensive experience in representing plaintiffs or defendants in patent, copyright, trademark, trade secret, false advertising, and other intellectual property matters. Our clients are some of the most innovative companies and individuals in their fields. They include leaders in medical technology, electronic and video surveillance, electrical-mechanical design, software design, home and garden and household product design, banking, real estate and golf resort development, landscape architecture, and artistic design.
Gunster’s representation is far-reaching in scope. It ranges from defense of a small glass manufacturer against patent infringement by a foreign conglomerate, to defense of a leading video and security system manufacturer in a bet-the-company patent and trademark action; and from a jury verdict on copyright infringement for the developer of administrative software used throughout the nation’s public school system, to national counsel for a sports league and its member teams.
Product Liability
With more than a quarter of a century of experience in product liability defense, Gunster’s lawyers have developed successful strategies in mamss tort litigation and complex product liability cases. Our lawyers have achieved favorable results in representing a variety of manufacturers of a diverse range of products, among them drugs, medical devices, chemicals, and various types of equipment, whether in multidistrict litigation, class actions, medical device litigation, statewide coordinated proceedings, or important individual actions.