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Carlos Kelly

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Carlos focuses his practice on real estate disputes (sales and purchase disputes, foreclosures, title insurance litigation, commercial and residential evictions, and other real estate related claims) and business claims (fraud and contract lawsuits, shareholder disputes, and other claims between business partners). A major part of his real estate litigation practice involves eminent domain/condemnation matters, which have included inverse condemnation and Bert J. Harris, Jr., Private Property Rights Protection Act claims.

In addition to being admitted to all Florida state courts, Carlos is admitted to practice in the U.S. District Court for the Middle and Southern Districts of Florida.

Carlos speaks and writes for a variety of audiences, including the firm's Legal Scoop on Southwest Florida Real Estate blog. The Florida Bar’s Eminent Domain Committee, The Florida Bar's City, County & Local Government Section, and the Florida Association of County Engineers & Road Superintendents have featured Carlos as a lecturer on eminent domain topics, and the West Coast Florida Chapter of the Appraisal Institute has featured Carlos as a panel speaker on witness preparation in eminent domain cases. The American Bar Association published an article Carlos wrote about the use of eminent domain to condemn underwater mortgages (December 10, 2012 web post). The Florida Bar Journal has published several of Carlos's articles, including two that he wrote about eminent domain topics.  The Supreme Court of Florida cited his article, “Eminent Domain: Identifying Issues in Damages for the General Practitioner,” in System Components Corp. v. Florida Dept. of Transportation, 14 So.3d 967 (Fla. 2009). Carlos is AV rated by Martindale-Hubbell. 

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You’re a business manager, or maybe even a business owner. You work hard: your work day rarely runs from only 9 to 5; your work week usually runs longer than Monday through Friday. The last thing you need is a subpoena: who wants to get dragged into court for someone else’s dispute?

But the business gods have different plans . . . .

Your office manager calls you to say a sheriff’s deputy just served your company with a subpoena and wants to do what needs to be done. As a savvy business manager or owner, you already know that a subpoena is a court paper requiring the recipient to appear or produce information, or both, so you’re already in a position to effectively address this situation.

First Things First

First, you thank your office manager for notifying you immediately (and congratulate yourself for hiring a stellar professional and providing good training). Second, you refer to your Subpoena Policy, which is your written game plan for this situation.Continue Reading Our Office Manager Received A Subpoena—What Should My Company Do Now?

Yesterday, Governor Ron DeSantis issued Executive Order No. 20-91 (which the Governor amended later the same day for clarification). Section 1.B of Executive Order 20-91 provides “all persons in Florida shall limit their movements and personal interactions outside of their home to only those necessary to obtain or provide essential services or conduct essential activities.”

What are essential services?

Unfortunately, it’s not easy to describe in general terms what an “essential service” is. Of course, if you own a business, you consider your business’s service or product essential, otherwise you wouldn’t be in business to begin with! Personal feelings aside, however, it’s important to understand how the State of Florida defines “essential services.”Continue Reading COVID-19: What are Essential Services?

CAK big wheelYeah, that’s me on a Big Wheel at age 6 or 7. Check out that air! Good thing there was grass for soft landing….

Recently, my law partner and I tried a temporary injunction in a complicated business dispute. When I cross-examined the opposing expert, he answered “Yes” to most of my leading questions, as…

Have you ever received a letter from a shareholder in your business demanding an inspection of the books and records of the company? If you never have, count yourself lucky.

Florida Law

That’s because Florida law provides a right for any shareholder to inspect the books and records of a company. Florida Statutes section 607.1602 gives a shareholder the right to inspect various categories of company books and records. The key to evaluating a request is to determine what is being requested. Florida law defines corporate records; not everything for which a shareholder demands an inspection must be provided.Continue Reading “I demand an inspection of the books and records of the company!”