Florida

SFL Friday -- Open Up My Heart And Look Inside.

Hi folks, well as usual Rumpy is correct -- today is in fact Friday. But that's good, right?

Maybe it's all that talk earlier about "feminine tannins," but I've been in a romantic mood all day -- I hope you are too.

Boy, you guys never send me enough juicy stuff about local lawyers, law firms, or cases, but you all love to send me links for a Friday afternoon post.

Times are tough, people -- but my friend Mr. Guest Blogger notes that in these trying times there are some stepping up to help -- Victoria's Secret, for one.

And Pfizer, who will be handing out free Viagra to the unemployed:

"Everybody knows now a neighbor, a relative who has lost their job and is losing their insurance. People are definitely hurting out there," Dr. Jorge Puente, Pfizer's head of pharmaceuticals, told The Associated Press.

"Our aim is to help people bridge this point."

As Eric Idle might put it, nudge nudge, say no more!

Did you see that four Miami Chrysler dealerships are scheduled to close?

Not so fast -- they have hired SSD:

A legal showdown is about to begin between the nearly 800 Chrysler dealers that were ordered shut down on May 14 and the Big Three auto giant that ordered the closures.

In a court filing, Chrysler Corp. asked U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Arthur Gonzalez to reject dealer agreements for 789 dealers nationwide ? roughly 25% of its 3,200 dealers ? in a effort "to conserve cash and pursue transactions that maximize value." The dealerships, which are set to close June 9, have until May 26 to appeal the motion. A hearing is set for June 3.

The announcement, meanwhile, revved up Squire, Sanders & Dempsey, which is representing a coalition of rejected dealers and has scheduled a meeting with President Barack Obama's auto task force next week to ask for federal intervention, including financial assistance. The law firm claims that the closures are unlawful and that roughly 100,000 employees stand to lose their jobs. It vows to litigate if franchise rights are ignored.

"Our hope is to resolve this without the need for extensive litigation to make sure that dealers are not disproportionately injured. However, we are fully prepared, as early as next week, to begin the litigation process because we can't sit idly by and have these dealers' lives ruined without the opportunity to raise the issues with the bankruptcy court in New York," said Stephen D. Lerner, a partner in the Cincinnati and New York offices of Squire Sanders who is representing the dealerships.

Good luck guys, but make sure you clear conflicts first!

And this is a shocker -- turns out the Administration approved torture techniques long before Judge Bybee authored that ultra-crappy August 2002 memo.

You'd never know from reading it, that's for sure.

Well I have a song in my head and love in my heart, so I'm heading out for some early windsurfing before the rains come.

Over the weekend I hope to visit my favorite theme park, work on improving my emotional intelligence and, like I do every weekend, put my hands on something interesting.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Full post as published by South Florida Lawyers on May 15, 2009 (boomark / email).