Holland & Knight Eliminates $500M Miami Arbitration Claim With Florida Supreme Court Reversal

Litigation attorney Adolfo Jimenez spoke with Daily Business Review about the Florida Supreme Court's reversal of a Third District Court of Appeal ruling. The Florida Supreme Court recently ruled in favor of Holland & Knight's client Tribeca Asset Management in a seven-year dispute over a contractual arbitration clause. In overturning the Third District Court of Appeal's opinion in favor of Ancla International, S.A., the Court stated that when a contract is "clear and unambiguous, it must be enforced pursuant to its plain language." Mr. Jimenez commented that the ruling shows why attorneys must exercise care when crafting a venue and choice-of-law clause in an agreement.

"The forum selection clause and applicable law clause are two different things and they should be treated separately," he said. 

Mr. Jimenez also noted that the ruling is important to the global legal community, particularly Latin America, because it increasingly views Miami as a top arbitration venue.

"The ruling shows that Miami is a reliable place for arbitrations where courts will enforce provisions as they're written," he said.

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