James C. Kellner

Partner

James C. Kellner is a partner in the Firm primarily concentrating his practice in the areas of civil and commercial litigation, with an emphasis on insurance litigation, business litigation, contractual, corporate and real estate disputes, commercial mortgage foreclosures, and fraud-based claims. Mr. Kellner also has experience in the litigation of disputes involving clouds on title to real property including lis pendens and claims of lien, as well as commercial landlord-tenant matters, non-compete agreements, and cases involving corporate and shareholder disputes over ownership and managerial control. Mr. Kellner also handles cases involving construction litigation and licensing matters, and general contract matters and commercial transactions.

Mr. Kellner is admitted to practice law in all Florida state courts, as well as the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida. Prior to joining the Firm, Mr. Kellner was an attorney in the litigation department of Stearns Weaver Miller Weissler Alhadeff & Sitterson, P.A. in its Miami office.

PUBLISHED APPELLATE OPINIONS

• Waterhouse Construction Group Inc., et. al. v. 5891 SW 64 St, LLC, et. al, 949 So. 2d 1095 (Fla. 3rd DCA 2007) (reversing portion of the trial court’s order denying arbitration and remanding to trial court with directions to grant the defendants’ motions to stay litigation and compel arbitration).
• Nicks v. Dep’t of Bus. & Prof’l Reg., 957 So. 2d 65 (Fla. 5th DCA 2007) (reversed final order of Construction Industry Licensing Board and remanded case pursuant to the doctrine of equitable tolling).
• Hurley v. Dep’t of Bus. & Prof’l Reg., 965 So. 2d 359 (Fla. 4th DCA 2007) (reversed and remanded for an evidentiary hearing on the final order of the Construction Industry Licensing Board on limited issue of whether equitable tolling applies).

REPRESENTATIVE TRIALS AND LITIGATION

• Represented Avior Airlines C.A. in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida in defense of a class action lawsuit filed by five South Florida law firms on behalf of the plaintiffs seeking well over $20 million against our client, a private commercial Venezuelan airline with flights between Miami and Venezuela. The plaintiffs alleged a breach of contract claim over an $80 “exit fee” alleging the fee was wrongfully charged to tens of thousands of passengers that travelled from Miami International Airport to Venezuela on Avior flights over a period of at least five years. After nearly two years of litigation, the court granted our client’s motion to dismiss the entire lawsuit with prejudice.
• Represented a Miami-based healthcare insurance provider doing business worldwide in the defense of a 5-count lawsuit seeking to reinstate a cancelled insurance policy and pursuing damages of over $6 million. The trial court entered final summary judgment in favor of our insurer client. Plaintiffs appealed the final summary judgment award and lost. After five years of litigation, all of the plaintiffs’ claims were defeated and our client prevailed on all of its counterclaims.

PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES

• Young Lawyers Division of the Florida Bar
• Co-founder of the annual “Make ‘Em Smile” Toy Drive