No
matter
what
becomes
of
these
claims,
it’s
been
a
rough
year
for
Akerman
LLP.
It’s
only
July
and
the
firm
has
a
strong
lead
in
the
“Most
Cases
Against
Its
Own
Clients”
race.
A
couple
months
ago,
the
firm
went
to
court
seeking
unpaid
fees
from
some
medical
companies
only
to
have
the
defendants
whip
around
and
allege
malpractice.
This
week,
a
real
estate
investment
firm
filed
its
own
malpractice
claim
against
the
firm
over
$45
million
worth
of
alleged
errors.
“Akerman
failed
to
advise
[plaintiff]
Turner
of
the
most
basic
and
appropriate
remedies
available
to
landlords
under
Florida
law
in
the
event
of
a
breach
by
a
tenant,”
the
complaint
reads.
“Because
of
Akerman’s
malpractice,
Turner
was
left
holding
the
proverbial
bag
to
the
tune
of
tens
of
millions
of
dollars
with
no
adequate
remedies.”
Of
course,
the
only
thing
more
Florida
than
having
no
enforceable
remedy
in
your
lease
is
realizing
it
because
your
own
firm
finally
realized
it
three
years
later.
The
plaintiff,
represented
by
Vedder
Price
shareholder
Javier
Lopez,
asserts
that
Akerman
negotiated
lease
agreements
that
improperly
reflected
Florida
law
regarding
rent
acceleration.
38.
Defendants
entirely
failed
to
draft
Section
22
in
a
manner
consistent
with
Florida
law
because
they
included
the
rent
acceleration
remedy
only
in
Section
22.2.1
which
provided
for
rent
acceleration
upon
termination
of
the
lease,
which
is
not
an
enforceable
remedy
in
Florida.39.
Defendants
also
failed
to
include
the
rent
acceleration
remedy
where
it
properly
belonged
–
in
Section
22.2.2,
which
specifically
addresses
instances
in
which
the
landlord
recovers
possession
of
the
premises
without
terminating
the
lease
and
endeavors
to
relet
the
premises
for
the
account
of
tenant.
According
to
the
complaint,
the
agreements
needed
to
specify
that
in
the
event
of
the
breach
the
lease
would
remain
but
the
right
of
possession
would
be
terminated
and
the
landlord
would
then
re-rent
it
for
the
“account
of
the
tenant.”
Without
those
magic
words,
Florida
courts
consider
the
agreement
as
potentially
providing
illegal
double
recovery.
This
is
why
no
one
likes
Florida.
Well,
this
and
the
fact
that
their
state
government’s
top
priority
right
now
is
banning
airports
from
having
weather
machines
—
which
sounds
like
a
joke
but
OH
MY
GOD
IT
IS
NOT
A
JOKE.
Anyway,
the
tenant,
CareMax
Medical
Center,
breached
seven
leases
with
Turner
by
deciding
they
wanted
to
reduce
their
business
exposure
in
a
state
that
officially
asks
questions
like
“what
if
they’re
controlling
the
weather?!?!”
And
that’s
when
Turner
learned
—
from
Akerman,
as
it
turned
out
—
that
the
agreements
wouldn’t
give
them
the
remedy
they
wanted.
50.On
March
6,
2024,
Turner
spoke
with
Clayton,
who
quickly
advised
that
the
Leases
were
not
properly
drafted
to
allow
for
rent
acceleration
under
Florida
law.51.
Presumably,
Clayton
did
not
realize
at
the
time
that
Defendants
had
reviewed,
commented
on,
and
then
approved
the
remedies
provisions
in
the
Leases
when
she
made
the
concession
to
Turner,
presumably
thinking
it
had
to
have
been
different
counsel
that
had
approved
the
fatal
provision.52.
After
subsequent
questions
from
Turner,
Clayton
responded,
“I
don’t
know
what
to
tell
you.
I
didn’t
draft
it.”53.
It
was
then
that
Turner
informed
Clayton
that
Defendants
had
developed
the
provisions
at
issue
and
under
Clayton’s
review.
Well…
that’s
a
shame.
“Akerman
made
a
$45
million
mistake,”
said
Lopez.
“Despite
acknowledging
their
error,
Akerman
has
refused
to
make
things
right
financially
with
Turner
Healthcare
Facilities
Fund.
Akerman
left
us
no
other
remedy
than
to
file
today’s
complaint.”
Obviously
this
complaint
just
dropped
and
Akerman
may
have
defenses
available.
But
no
firm
wants
to
keep
finding
its
name
next
to
“malpractice
allegations”
in
the
headlines.
(Check
out
complaint
on
the
next
page…)
Joe
Patrice is
a
senior
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Above
the
Law
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Like
A
Lawyer.
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