STYROFOAM BAN The City of Coral Gables outlawed the use of Styrofoam containers in February, 2016. The Legislature subsequently preempted the right to implement such bans and made it retroactive to January, 2016. The City challenged the law and won the case in the Miami-Date Circuit Court. However, the Third District Court of Appeal reversed that decision and upheld the constitutionality of the law.
NAOMI OSAKA WINNINGS Tennis player Naomi Osaka, currently ranked number four in the world, won her case regarding her winnings. A Broward County circuit court judge ruled that a contract Ms. Osaka’s father signed granting a previous coach 20 percent of the star’s future winnings is invalid. Since Osaka was 15 at the time, the contract would have required a court’s approval to be enforceable.
MIAMI-DADE EXPRESSWAY AUTHORITY The Florida House is requesting a Leon County circuit judge reconsider a decision that overturned a law that abolishes the Miami-Dade Expressway Authority and replaces it with another agency. The judge had ruled the law unconstitutional in that it violated Miami-Dade County’s home-rule powers.
SCHOOL SOCIAL MEDIA THREATS An administrative judge sided with Education Commissioner Richard Corcoran regarding a contract awarded to a vendor to develop a social media monitoring system to detect school threats. The judge ruled that the Commissioner’s decision, which was based upon a $1.3 million savings to the state over the term of contract, was within the law.