The New Olmstead Patch Legislation: A Case Study in the Art of Compromise for Florida LLC Law

On April 29, 2011, the last business day of the 2011 legislative session, the Florida Legislature passed an amendment to F.S. §608.433 to clarify the law and to "patch" the gap in varying interpretations of the charging order provisions in the Florida LLC Act, which were the result of the controversial Florida Supreme Court opinion in Shaun Olmstead et al. v. Federal Trade Commission, 44 So. 3d 76 (June 24, 2010). The history of this not so simple legislation begins with the somewhat hysterical reaction of Florida (and many other) lawyers in the Olmstead decision, which the Florida Supreme Court issued on June 24, 2010. The split opinion caused grave concern and lamentation among the LLC cognoscenti of The Florida Bar and the ABA. In this article, Mr. Conti addresses the background of the Olmstead decision, the aftermath of Olmstead, the new Olmstead patch legislation and the last minute amendments.