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Ed Mullins, a founding shareholder, focuses his
commercial litigation practice on international commercial litigation and
arbitration. He brings to this
practice broad experience as a commercial litigator, having handled an array of
commercial disputes over the years, including contract, defamation/privacy,
media, intellectual property, shareholder and class action disputes.
He is a member of the
American Bar Association, serving publication Co-Chair on the International
Litigation Committee of the Litigation Section and the Co-Editor of the International
Litigation Quarterly. He also serves as Website
Subchair of the Alternative Dispute Resolution Committee of the Section. He is the Co-Editor of the International
Law Quarterly
and the former Vice Chair for International Litigation of the International
Litigation and Arbitration Committee of the International Section of the
Florida Bar.
Mullins frequently speaks and writes on international
litigation and arbitration issues for the American Bar Association and the
Florida Bar. Some of his recent
publications include Contractual Waiver of Personal jurisdiction Under F.S.
§685.102: The Long-Arm Statute's Little-Known Cousin, 80 Fla. Bar J. 5 (May 2006) (co-author); Waiver,
Preemption, and Permissive Clauses, 7 ABA,
Comm. & Bus. Litig. J. No. 2. at 1 (Winter 2006) (co-author); The
Hunt for Federal Court: Removing
International Cases, 22 ABA, Int'l Litig.
Q. 1 (Fall 2005) (co-author); Staying a Money Judgment in Federal
Court Without Posting a Supersedeas Bond, 57 Fla. Bar J. 45 (Dec. 2003)
(co-author).; You Better Shop Around: Appellate Forum Shopping, 25 ABA, Litigation 32 (Summer 1999). He recently served as Program Chair, Hot
Topics in International Litigation, Moderator,
Multi-Jurisdictional Practice, Florida
Bar International Law Section, Third Annual International Litigation Update,
May 2005.
Among his recent international cases are Port of Sale, Inc. v.
Citibank, N.A., Case No. 2000/163 (D.V.I. May 2006) (trial of commercial
landlord/tenant dispute in which plaintiff was seeking over $1million in
compensatory and punitive damages) (settled during trial); M.C.I Power Group
LC v. The Republic of Ecuador, Case No. Arb./03/6, International Centre for
the Settlement of Investment Disputes (March 2006) (counsel for joint venture
in bilateral treaty dispute in arbitration involving the non-payment under
contract for the construction of two thermal electric plants in Ecuador) ; Campero
USA Corp. v. STPC Partners, L.P.., 410 F. Supp. 2d 1268 (S.D. Fla.
2006), (successfully defeated motion to compel arbitration of action seeking to
enforce litigation exception to arbitration provision in franchise agreement
involving foreign restaurant operation); Rintin Corp. S.A. v. Domar, Ltd.,
403
F. Supp. 2d 1201 (S.D. Fla. 2005) (successfully obtaining
contempt order and arrest warrant issued for principal of plaintiff for failure
to abide by anti-suit injunction in international arbitration award), appeal
dismissed (11th Cir. Mar. 30, 2006); Rintin Corp. S.A. v.
Domar, Ltd., 374 F. Supp. 2d 1165 (S.D. Fla. 2005) (successfully obtained
confirmation of multi-million dollar arbitration award containing anti-suit
injunction); Bisson v. de Arellano, 909 So. 2d 917 (Fla. 3d DCA 2005) (successfully
defended dismissal of offshore corporate trust for lack of personal
jurisdiction based on law of the case doctrine), rehearing and rehearing en
banc denied (Sept, 9, 2005), cert. denied, (Feb. 9, 2006); Warter v. Boston Securities, S.A., 2004 WL 691787
(S.D. Fla. Mar 22, 2004) (NO. 03-81026-CIV/RYSKAMP) (denying motion to remand
of action based upon international banking and financial operations of national
bank under Edge Act; dismissing claim for negligence pursuant to economic loss rule); Perez v. Citibank, N.A.,
2004 WL 1749187 (S.D. Fla. July 22, 2004) (in a decision of first impression,
denying motion to remand action and holding that a Florida common-law bill of
discovery regarding a certificate of deposit held in a former Cuban branch was
subject to removal pursuant to the Edge Act); Lisa, S.A. v. Mayorga, 2002 WL 31627087 (S.D.
Fla. Oct. 15, 2002) (staying parallel federal action in favor of first-filed
state court action in multi-million dollar dispute), aff'd, Case No.
02-16302 (11th Cir. 2003); Lisa, S.A. v. Gutierrez, 806 So.
2d 557 (Fla. 3d DCA 2002) (affirming order quashing ambush service on foreign
defendants); Barclays Bank PLC v. Dresdner Bank Lateinamerika, A.G. (In re
Lancaster Steel Co.), 284 B.R. 152 (S.D. Fla. Bankr. 2002) (reversing
adverse summary judgment ruling extinguishing client's lien in case involving
interplay of letter of credit law and bankruptcy law), rehearing denied,
(S.D. Fla. 2002), appeal dismissed, (11th Cir. Dec. 9, 2002),
aff'd, (11th Cir. Dec. 2003); May Inv., Inc. v. Lisa, S.A.,
814 So. 2d 471 (Fla. 3d DCA 2002) (writ of mandamus reversing improper
recusal); Rintin Corp., S.A. v. Domar, Ltd., 766 So. 2d 407 (Fla. 3d DCA
2000) (obtained affirmance in appeal of first impression from order imposing a
stay of case pursuant to the operation of the Florida International Arbitration
Act).
A graduate of the University of Florida, he earned his J.D.
with high honors, Order of the Coif and served as the editor-in-chief of the Florida
Law Review. He Chair of the Florida Bar's Appellate Rules Committee and
its former Vice-Chair. He is also
the former Chair of the Dade County Bar's Appellate courts Committee. With an AV rating from Martindale
Hubbell, he is listed in Who's Who and was selected to be included in the
inaugural edition of Florida Trend Magazine's "Legal Elite." As well, was featured in an exclusive
interview as one of "America's Best Lawyers" presented
by the "Forbes Radio" Channel discussing international
arbitration.
Mullins' broad experience includes litigating media,
defamation, privacy, and intellectual property disputes. A former Chair of the Florida Bar's
Media and Communications Committee, Mullins frequently speaks on such subjects
at conferences, including the Media Law Conference of the Florida Bar, the
Practicing Law Institute, and the Inter-American Press Association. His subjects have ranged from protecting
brands and marks in specific industries to Internet law issues.
In addition, Mullins has substantial experience in class
actions. He has defended lenders
and insurers against class action cases ranging from claims under Truth in
Lending Act to Florida Insurance Code to Florida's Deceptive and Unfair
Practices Act (FDUPA). Reported
decisions in cases he has handled include Baron v. Best Buy Co., Inc.,
260 F.3d 625 (11th Cir. 2001) (reversing
motion to compel arbitration in nationwide class action); Baron v. Best Buy
Co., 79 F. Supp. 2d 1350 (S.C. Fla. 1999) (stay of class action pending
appeal of order denying arbitration); and Cohen v. Office Depot, Inc.,
204 F.3d 1069 (11th
Cir. 2000), reversing, 184 F.3d 1292 (11th Cir. 1999)
(affirmance of dismissal of class action for lack of subject matter
jurisdiction), cert. denied, 69 USLW 3156 (U.S. Oct. 30, 2000). |