Ft.Lauderdale/West Palm Beach Civil Litigation Bureau

The Ft. Lauderdale and West Palm Beach Civil Litigation Bureau provides defense legal services for state agencies, state officials, and judges in the following areas of litigation: corrections, employment, tort, and state programs. In addition, the units defend the constitutionality of state statutes. Corrections litigation includes claims under 42 U.S.C. 1983; state and federal constitutions; writs of mandamus, habeas corpus, and prohibition. Tort cases range from trip and fall cases, automobile accidents, rail corridor accidents, to wrongful death cases – and includes the full range of prisoner tort claims.

Employment litigation encompasses Title VII claims (race, color, national origin, sex, religion, and retaliation), Americans with Disabilities Act, Age Discrimination in Employment Act, Family and Medical Leave Act, Fair Labor Standards Act, Title VI issues, and Whistle blower cases. State Programs litigation includes defense of judges; defending against constitutional challenges to statutes; appellate consultation contracts with other units and state agencies; class action litigation; forfeitures; probate and escheat; civil rights and constitutional rights claims against state agencies and state officials; quiet title actions; breach of contract; Baker Act appeals; and declaratory judgment actions.

The units also handle administrative law matters, such as representing APD in administrative fair hearings under the Medicaid Home and Community-Based Waiver Services Program and DCF in the Independent Road to Living. The Ft. Lauderdale unit also handles the majority of the civil appeals for the units.

For more information on this bureau, please call 954-712-4600.