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Highlights of Panza Maurer’s previous news and updates prior to May 2013.
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Thomas Panza testified before the Florida Senate Banking and Insurance Committee on SB 668 addressing the repackaged pharmaceutical issue.
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Dana Macdonald was recently appointed by the Broward of County Board of County Commissioners to serve on the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board. Benjamin Bean was recently appointed by the Fort Lauderdale City Commission to serve on the Community Services Board.
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Mr. Panza also presented before the three-member Panel of the Department of Financial Services, Division of Worker’s Compensation, addressing cost drivers for Worker’s Compensation insurance for state employees.
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Managing Partner Susan Horovitz Maurer was the Master of Ceremonies at a highly successful event on November 17th for the Mike Satz Re-Election Campaign. She introduced Eugene Pettis and Mayor Jack Seiler.
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Susan Horovitz Maurer was a presenter at the Fifth Annual Ethics Seminar sponsored by the Palm Beach County Planning Congress on the topic of continuing exploration of South Florida’s Culture of Corruption Challenges for Land Use and Planning Professionals, where she conducted a presentation on the topic of “Ethics Reform Efforts and Opportunities at the State Level”.
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Thomas Panza testified in November before the Senate Budget Committee in Tallahassee on behalf of a client addressing information technology, health care and physician dispensing.
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Thomas F. Panza and Holly L. Griffin co-authored an article published in the November 2011 issue of “Attorney at Law” on procurement entitled “Contesting State Contract Awards: A Tricky Process”.
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Susan Horovitz Maurer was re-appointed for a second two-year term by Governor Rick Scott to the Florida Commission on Ethics. Mrs. Maurer currently serves as Chair of the Commission.
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Panza Maurer recently represented cruise and cargo interests before the State of Florida, Department of Professional and Business Regulation, Pilotage Rate Review Board in challenging a rate increase application filed by port pilots in one of Florida’s ports. Panza, Maurer was successful in not only obtaining a re-hearing on the rate increase, but was able to secure the rejection of the rate increase sought by the pilots.
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During the Legislative Session the Florida Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability (OPPAGA) was directed to review Chapter 310, Florida Statutes, relating to harbor pilots, to assess the efficacy, fiscal impacts, and national trends of harbor pilotage considering industry and technological improvements since the statute was originally implemented. OPPAGA examines agencies and programs to improve services and cut costs when directed. Panza Maurer represented cruise and cargo interests in the analysis and development of submissions to be made to OPPAGA in furtherance of the industry’s goal to introduce and encourage competition in pilotage.
In the Labor and Employment arena, representing the hospitality industry, Panza Maurer was recently successful in defeating an employee claim where a former employee sued for age and religion discrimination. Employee alleged that adverse employment actions were taken against her because of her religion and age, but employer successfully defended on grounds that actions taken were for legitimate non-discriminatory business reasons. Representing Academic Institutions, NSU recently was successful in defeating an Assistant Professor’s claim for promotion and tenure on the basis of the professor’s failure to adequately satisfy requirements needed in the areas of service, teaching and scholarship.
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On behalf of a major Law Enforcement Agency, Panza Maurer successfully negotiated resolution of a Civil Rights §1983 claim for false arrest and malicious prosecution where DNA subsequently established the innocence of an individual convicted of serial rapes and murder charges in the 1980s.
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Panza Maurer was successful in defending a Class Action suit involving approximately 5,000 certified class members, where claims were raised challenging a strip search policy that was alleged to be unconstitutional.
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Academic representation by Panza Maurer resulted in dismissal of a graduate student’s claim for Breach of Contract. The firm successfully obtained the entry of an Order for Summary Judgment and further defeated challenges at the Appellate level based upon the Court’s reliance of an erroneous standard in application of the law.
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Panza Maurer was successful in obtaining a jury verdict in favor of an academic institution on a disability discrimination claim raised by a dismissed student. The student alleged that he did not receive reasonable accommodations from the University which resulted in his failure of a number of courses and ultimately led to his dismissal.
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In representing Health Care providers, Panza Maurer has been highly successful in securing the award of Certificates of Need (CON) which Florida requires be obtained for new Hospital or Nursing Home construction as well as for when providers want to establish certain programs, including Hospice, Cardiac Catheterization, and Open-Heart as well as other tertiary services. Panza Maurer is involved during the development of the CON application and throughout any resulting administrative proceedings. CON litigation is as highly contentious as any complex litigation. Panza Maurer was successful in securing an approval and ultimate award of the first freestanding Long-Term Acute Care Hospital (LTACH) in the state. Panza Maurer later went on to secure the award of seven (7) new LTACHs for one of its clients. The firm also secured the award of several Hospice CONs as well as for the establishment of a new Children’s Hospital in Orlando.
