Agreeing with Creed & Gowdy's arguments, the Fifth District Court of Appeal in this decision invalidated a medical provider's form arbitration agreement as against the public policy of Florida's Medical Malpractice Act. Creed & Gowdy persuaded the Fifth District to not follow a previous decision of the Second District Court of Appeal, which had upheld the validity of the same form arbitration agreement used by the same medical provider.
Creed & Gowdy successfully represented a class of homeowners in South Florida who alleged an aerospace company contaminated their groundwater, causing their property values to plummet due to health concerns. The Eleventh Circuit reinstated the homeowners' case, holding the trial court erred by demanding excessive factual proof at the dismissal stage of the litigation. Briefing and oral argument were done by shareholder, Bryan Gowdy. The opinion can be found here. Media coverage can be found here.
Creed & Gowdy successfully defended an appeal filed by the City of Jacksonville against a firefighter who missed work after his doctor advised him his hypertension and coronary artery disease required him to undergo catheterization. The City contended the days of work the firefighter missed during recovery from catheterization were not a result of his heart disease and should not be covered by workers compensation. In a written opinion, the First District Court of Appeal sided with the firefighter. Bryan Gowdy and Jennifer Shoaf Richardson handled the appeal. Read the opinion here.
Bryan Gowdy, Rebecca Creed, and D. Gray Thomas are all included in the newest publication of The Best Lawyers in America. Bryan and Rebecca are both listed in the area of appellate law. Gray is listed in the areas of Appellate Practice; Criminal Defense: White-Collar; and Criminal Defense: Non-White-Collar law.
Best Lawyers is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey. Over 52,000 leading attorneys cast more than 5.5 million votes on the legal abilities of other lawyers in their practice areas. Lawyers are not required or allowed to pay a fee to be listed; therefore inclusion in Best Lawyers is considered a singular honor.
Rebecca Creed & Bryan Gowdy were recently recognized in the 2014 edition of Florida Trend's Florida Legal Elite. The list of honorees, published in the July issue of Florida Trend magazine, includes attorneys in private practice, as well as government and non-profit attorneys. Attorneys named as Legal Elite are chosen by a peer review process in which actively practicing Florida attorneys are asked to name the attorneys that they hold in highest regard. The entire Legal Elite report can be viewed here.