Brannock Humphries & Berman Successfully Defends Earlier FDUTPA Win

For the second time in two years, the Second District Court of Appeal sided with Brannock Humphries & Berman in a case involving the scope of Florida’s Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act (FDUTPA).

 The case involved rates that companies may charge for copies of medical records – an amount that is capped by Florida law but varies depending on who requests the records. In the first appeal, the defendant-medical imaging company argued that the lawsuit was not subject to FDUTPA, a Florida law outlawing deceptive and unfair trade practices. After the Second District held that the plaintiffs had stated a FDUTPA violation, the case returned to the trial court, where the company raised a variety of affirmative defenses and equitable arguments. The trial court rejected the company’s position and ruled for the plaintiffs, awarding them almost half a million dollars and entering a permanent injunction forbidding further overcharges.

Taking a second appeal, the medical imaging company raised procedural, textual, and constitutional arguments in an effort to once again overturn the trial court’s decision. Brannock Humphries & Berman provided assistance on the brief to the talented team from de la Parte & Gilbert, Clark & Martino, and Jeeves Law Group and handled the oral argument, successfully convincing the Second District that the company’s second appeal was as meritless as its first. Less than two weeks after the oral argument, the Second District upheld the trial court’s decision without comment. This victory concludes nine years of litigation over the issue and extends FDUTPA protection to consumers obtaining medical records.