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Coffee Talk (Tampa)
Busy litigator
Tampa lawyer John Fitzgibbons has more prominent cases pending than most local attorneys. He's defending a Hillsborough County teacher accused of having sex with a student, a downtown restaurant owner who gunned down a robber and a Hooters co-founder accused of tax fraud, to name a few.
Now the former federal prosecutor has been appointed to Florida's first federal Judicial Nominating Commission, which will choose nominees for federal judgeships, prosecutors and marshals.
Fitzgibbons says he's obviously honored by the appointment and glad to see that Sen. Mel Martinez, a Republican, and Sen. Bill Nelson, a Democrat, formed the statewide commission.
"It's certainly important to have good federal judges and prosecutors," Fitzgibbons says.
Sweets fight
A Mexico City candy manufacturer has accused a former business partner of trademark infringement and unfair competition for making copycat jellybeans and Gummee Bears with real fruit juice.
In Tampa federal court, Barcel S.A. de C.V. and its subsidiary, Dayhoff LLC of Tampa, claim they've lost millions of dollars because of the actions of Imagine Global LLC and Aditi Lele, Juan and Magalis Marroquin and Arash Kousheshian.
The plaintiffs have hired C. Ryan Reetz and Susana Betancourt, both of Miami's Greenberg Traurig PA, to pursue their claims.
Gallagher to banks: Drop fees
How's this for political timing: Florida Chief Financial Officer Tom Gallagher has asked more than 500 financial institutions in Florida to stop charging Holocaust survivors for wire transfer fees.
Gallagher says the fees are eating into the reparation payments that aging survivors of Nazi concentration camps are receiving from the German government.
"Holocaust survivors and their families have suffered enough," Gallagher says in a news release, "and the restitution they receive is a mere token of what is truly owed to them."
Gallagher, a Republican candidate for governor next year, says there could be as many as 10,000 Holocaust survivors in the Sunshine State. Up to 40% of those nationwide are believed to be living in poverty, he says.
The bank fees range from $10 to $40 for each transaction. "The transfer fee can amount to a 10% tax on each payment a survivor receives, a significant burden considering that the vast majority are elderly and rely upon these payments," the state CFO writes in a letter to banks, thrifts and credit unions.
As an extra inducement, Gallagher says his office will post on his department's Web site the names of financial institutions that are waiving their wire transfer fees for Holocaust survivors.
Lawyers filing W-suits
Could using a "W" land you in hot legal water? One St. Petersburg developer has found it can. In early June, Walker-Whitney LLC, a developer building condominium projects in Sarasota and St. Petersburg under the names of W Flats at the Palladium, W Plaza on Fifth Avenue, W Penthouses on Ringling Boulevard and W Place on Beach Drive, received a cease and desist letter from lawyers representing Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc.
According to the letter, Starwood Hotels trademarked the letter "W" name and service mark in connection with its 17 W Hotels and a newer chain of high-end condominiums, W Residence. The attorneys argued that Walker-Whitney's marketing colors and use of the W logo was an attempt to cash-in on Starwood Hotel's image and reputation.
The letter states: "Moreover, your selection of W can be no accident. It is obvious that you deliberately chose this name to capitalize on the goodwill developed by Starwood over the years in its W Hotels. This is evident from the language on your Web site, which evokes the same chic, urban 'New York' themes that Starwood has cultivated, from your selection of block font, and the same specialized font use by Starwood for its W mark and even from the red and black color scheme on your website, which mirrors the signage on many of Starwood's W Hotels..."
Blake Thompson, principal with Walker-Whitney, eventually chose to settle the case
"This was just a real forehead slapper," Thompson says. "It's just one of those things that is obviously wrong. But it came down to a cost analysis. It would cost so much more to fight it than it would just to settle. We estimated our costs could easily run into the seven figures, and when you are competing against one of the largest hotel companies in the world they have the money to fight us all along the way."
Thompson, who recently received his own juris doctorate, figures in time and legal costs dealing with the legal threat cost the company almost $15,000 over about four months. Thompson declined to provide specifics of the settlement because of a confidentiality agreement.
Walker-Whitney is far from alone in Starwood's legal protection of its W trademark. In 2004, the New York Post reported that Starwood lawyers sent letters concerning the letter "W" on apparel associated with President George W. Bush.
Top 10 finish
Kearney Development Co. Inc. has earned the 10th spot on this year's Southeast Construction magazine list of top specialty contractors.
The Tampa site development company, managed by Chairman Bing Kearney and President Brian Seager, made the cut with $101 million in regional annual revenue. The magazine surveys only those projects and revenue produced in the states of Florida, Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina.
Out of 175 companies listed, the magazine ranked two other Tampa companies in the top 25. KHS&S Contractors, a wall-and ceiling contractor, ranked 14th with regional revenue of $85.3 million. Kimmins Contracting Corp., a demolition-and-excavation contractor, ranked 16th with regional revenue of $72.6 million.
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