Mark represents clients in a wide range of complex commercial, product liability and other civil litigation matters before state and federal courts and arbitration panels throughout the United States. Mark has litigated matters involving contract disputes, fiduciary relationships, trademark and copyright infringement, trade secrets, fraud, business torts, insurance claims, real estate issues, banking disputes, employee non-competition agreements, landlord/tenant disputes, probate issues and claims alleging serious personal injury and wrongful death. Mark is also the Administrative Shareholder with responsibilities over the roughly 40 attorney Litigation Department in Miami.
Areas of Concentration
· Complex commercial litigation
· Class actions
· Real estate litigation
· Landlord/tenant litigation
· Banking litigation
· Business torts
· Serious personal injury and wrongful death
Significant Representations
· Currently on the Defense Steering Committee in In Re Chinese Manufactured Drywall Product Liability Litigation, MDL No. 2047, and representing homebuilders in multiple state and federal court lawsuits involving allegedly defective Chinese manufactured drywall.
· Defense of Hilton Hotels Corporation in a five-week arbitration involving claims of mismanagement and breach of contract in which plaintiff sought in excess of $100 million; arbitration award in favor of defense.
· Representation of Microsoft Corporation in defense of a Florida class action brought under Florida's Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act. Main action resulted in class settlement; attorneys' fees issues resolved after four-day evidentiary hearing.
· Representation of recording artist in preventing the publication of an unauthorized biography; obtained preliminary injunction against author and case thereafter settled.
· Representation of Interval International in an eight-day evidentiary hearing against a former executive accused of violating a non-compete agreement; obtained preliminary injunction and case thereafter settled.
· Defense of prominent Ecuadorian bankers accused of bank fraud and civil RICO violations; obtained forum non conveniens dismissal of claims.
· Defense of Hilton Hotels Corporation and Hilton International Co. in negligent security and wrongful death case arising out of 2004 terrorist attack at an Egyptian hotel; obtained forum non conveniens dismissal of claims.
· Defense of insurance company in case brought by excess carrier alleging bad faith failure to settle within the primary policy's limits; obtained final summary judgment on the eve of trial and a substantial attorneys' fee award in favor of client.
Reported Decisions:
- Niv v. Hilton Hotels Corp., 2008 WL 4849334 (S.D.N.Y. 2008)
- Auto Owners Ins. Co. v. American Yachts, Ltd., 2008 WL 4054402 (11th Cir. 2008)
- Auto-Owners Ins. Co. v. American Yachts, Ltd., 2008 WL 833909 (11th Cir. 2008)
- Hilton International Co. v. Carrillo, 971 So.2d 9001 (Fla. 3d DCA 2008)
- Niv v. Hilton Hotels Corp., 2007 WL 510113 (S.D.N.Y. 2007)
- Auto-Owners Ins. Co. v. American Yachts, Ltd., 492 F.Supp.2d 1379 (S.D.Fla. 2007)
- Barnhill v. Florida Microsoft Anti-Trust Litigation, 905 So.2d 195 (Fla. 3d DCA 2005)
- MeterLogic, Inc. v. Copier Solutions, Inc., 126 F.Supp.2d 1346 (S.D.Fla. 2000)
Professional & Community Involvement
· Member, The Florida Bar
· Member, The American Bar Association
· Member, The United Way of Miami-Dade County Impact Council (2003 to present)
· Member, Miami-Dade College Paralegal Program Advisory Board (2006 to present)
Articles, Publications, & Lectures
Articles
· Author, "The Regulatory Regimes for Controlling Excessive Executive Compensation: Are Both, Either, or Neither Necessary?", 49 U. Miami. L. Rev. 795 (Spring - Summer 1995)