West Palm Beach, FL
(866) 632-7862
jlittle@brighammoore.com

John Little has litigated cases in state and federal courts throughout Florida, at both the trial and appellate levels. He has appeared in more than half of the state circuit courts in Florida and in all of the federal district courts in the State. He has handled appeals before the United States Supreme Court and the Supreme Court of Florida. Prior to joining Brigham Moore, LLP as a partner in 2004, Mr. Little practiced for over twenty years with Steel Hector & Davis LLP where he was the partner in charge of the firm’s West Palm Beach office.

Since 1983, Mr. Little has actively practiced in the eminent domain field. At his prior firm, he represented both condemning authorities and property owners and businesses. Since joining Brigham Moore, his practice is exclusively devoted to representing owners and businesses in defense of their property rights. He is a past chair of the American Bar Association’s eminent domain litigation committee. Mr. Little is recognized in Woodward and White’s Best Lawyers in America® 2005-2008, as one of Florida’s Legal Elite in the field of eminent domain by Florida Trend Magazine for years 2005-2008, as a Top Lawyer in the 2005 – 2008 editions of the South Florida Legal Guide, and is named as a Florida Super Lawyer in 2007 and 2008 by Law & Politics.

Areas of Practice

Eminent Domain, Property Rights Litigation, Appellate Practice, Complex Litigation

Prior Professional Experience

• Experience includes eminent domain, ad valorem tax and real property litigation, zoning and land use litigation, complex commercial and business litigation, health care and fraud litigation, trust and estate litigation, as well as appellate practice in state and federal courts.
• For over 20 years, represented Florida Power & Light Company in numerous eminent domain, zoning, land use and real property cases across the State of Florida, appearing in more than half of the circuit courts in the State of Florida.
• Represented property owners in acquisitions by the South Florida Water Management District, the Florida Department of Transportation and other condemning authorities.
• Presently represents property owners in takings for schools, roads, marinas,
• retention ponds, environmental restoration and community redevelopment, among others.
• Kilpatrick & Stockton; Associate, 1982-83
• Steel Hector & Davis LLP, Associate and Partner, 1983-2004
• Brigham Moore LLP, Partner, 2004-present

Notable Cases

• Successfully defended the Florida East Coast Railway in federal court litigation seeking to condemn their property, including dismissal of the case to state court under abstention principles for determination of unique state law eminent domain issues. Level 3 Communications v. FEC
• Successfully represented property owners in multiple eminent domain actions involving restoration of the Everglades. South Florida Water Management District v. Flor-Ag, and related cases.
• Successfully represented the Florida Home Builders Association against Broward County and the School Board in a challenge to the first school concurrency plan adopted in the State of Florida. Florida Home Builders Association v. Department of Community Affairs
• Represented Florida’s Secretary of State in the 2000 Presidential Election litigation at both the trial and appellate levels, including before the Supreme Court of the United States, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals and the Supreme Court of Florida. Bush v. Gore, and related cases.
• Successfully defended a national insurance company in qui tam litigation and then in subsequent federal court litigation under the Medicare laws brought by the Department of Justice seeking to recover hundreds of millions of dollars. Headed a team of a dozen lawyers in this litigation which spanned a 4½ year period in Tennessee and included a one month trial and several appeals to the Sixth Circuit. United States v. Provident Life and Accident Insurance Company
• Successfully represented Fannie Mae in more than twenty-five lawsuits, including a number of putative class actions, seeking tens of millions of dollars in alleged damages following the collapse of General Development Corporation. Included victories in both state and federal courts in Florida, and in federal court in New Jersey, all of which were affirmed in the Florida appellate courts and in the Third and Eleventh Circuits. Comrie v. Federal National Mortgage Association, and related cases.
• Successfully defended FPL Group, Inc. against a multi-million dollar claim for RICO violations, fraud and breach of contract in a multi-week trial and on appeal. After appeal, Plaintiffs were awarded $1 in nominal damages. Johnson Enterprises v. FPL Group

Education

• Florida State University College of Law, J.D., with High Honors, 1982
• Wake Forest University, B.A., 1979

Professional Activities

• American Bar Association; Co-Chair of the Condemnation, Zoning and Land Use Litigation Committee, 2002 - 2005
• American Bar Association, Editor of Lis Pendens, Newsletter of the Condemnation, Zoning and Land Use Litigation Committee, 2000-2002, 2005-present
• Florida Bar Eminent Domain Committee, 1988-89, 2001-02, 2005-present
• Florida Bar Real Property, Probate and Trust Law Section, Executive Council, 1997-present
• Florida Bar Real Property, Probate and Trust Law Section, Amicus Committee, Co-Chair, 1998-present
• Palm Beach County Bar Association, Environmental, Land Use and Eminent Domain CLE Committee, Chair 2004 -2005
• State Bar of Georgia, Member

Honors

• Recognized in Woodward & White’s The Best Lawyers in America®, 2003-2008.
• Recognized in Florida Trend Magazine as one of Florida’s Legal Elite, 2004 -2007
• Recognized as a Top Lawyer in the South Florida Legal Guide, 2005 – 2008
• Chosen as a Florida Super Lawyer by Law & Politics, 2007 and 2008
• Highest rating by Martindale-Hubbell for legal skills and professional ethics
• American Bar Association National Appellate Advocacy Competition; Winner of Competition and Best Brief Award, 1981

Publications & Speeches

• Parent Tract Issues, CLE International Eminent Domain Seminar; Speaker
• Expert Witnesses: Selecting, Retaining, Deposing and Examining Experts, American Bar Association; Faculty Member
• Winning Goals for the Cross-Examination of Experts, ABA Litigation Section Annual Meeting; Panel Moderator
• School Concurrency – The Broward Experience – What It Means to the Rest of Us; Florida Bar City, County and Local Government Section; Panel Member
• Presenting the Evidence at Trial, Florida Bar Real Property, Probate and Trust Law Section; Speaker
• Identifying and Excluding Evidentiarily Unreliable Economics Expert Testimony in Commercial Litigation; Panel Member
• “Fending Off the HCFA,” Best Review, December 1993; Co-author

Community Involvement

• American Cancer Society, Palm Beach County, President, 1999-2002; Board of Directors, 1990 – present
• Palm Beach Atlantic University, Board of Trustees, 2004 - present
• Economic Council of Palm Beach County, 1997 - present
• Florida Chamber of Commerce, Board of Governors, 2001-2004
• Leadership Florida; Graduate, 1996; Board of Regents, 1998-1999
• FSU College of Law Alumni Association; Board of Directors, 1986-1996
• Memorial Presbyterian Church; Elder 1996-2002, 2003-present

Interests

• ACC sports, Orchids, Golf, Skiing