Chip brought up the five year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina in his post last week titled, “The Hurricane Katrina Five Year Anniversary is Noted as New Hurricanes Lurk in the Atlantic Ocean.” The anniversary of Katrina will have special meaning to all who were affected by it, but this five year anniversary also has a practical importance to anyone in Florida that is still attempting to put the pieces back together after Katrina, thanks to Florida’s five year statute of limitations on contract lawsuits. Fla. Stat. § 95.11(2)(b) requires that “[a] legal or equitable action on a contract, obligation, or liability founded on a written instrument…” must be commenced within five years.

Continue Reading Hurricane Losses and the Statute of Limitations

I am writing this as I am flying home to watch my Rays play in the World Series. I wonder what it would be like if umpires were selected by popular vote.  In baseball, the umpires make the critical decisions of balls, strikes and outs. Their close calls effect the outcome of games, without question.

I wonder if we would trust a system whereby major league baseball umpires were chosen through an election system? I doubt it. Most of us would not trust other fans to make unbiased decisions and would be worried others would vote for umpires who favor their favorite team.

Continue Reading Does Gender Preference Help Women Get Elected As Judges