Jeffrey D. "Jeff" Fridkin
5551 Ridgewood Drive, Suite 501 Naples, Florida 34108
Firm:
Grant Fridkin Pearson, P.A.
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Overview
Florida Bar Board Certified in Civil Trial and Business Litigation
Professional Experience
Jeff Fridkin is a founding member of Grant Fridkin Pearson, P.A., and has practiced law in Southwest Florida since 1985. Jeff has an AV rating from Martindale-Hubbell.
Jeff, a Florida Bar Board-Certified Civil Trial (since 1995) and Business Litigation (since 1996) Specialist, heads our firm's litigation group. He has, over the years, successfully represented clients in hundreds of substantial disputed matters involving commercial, wills/trusts and personal injury fields of law.
Areas of Concentration
- Complex disputes between partners/shareholders, including derivative actions
- Defense of developers against claims for rescission involving the Interstate Land Sales Full Disclosure Act
- Representation of some of the community's larger general contractors and subcontractors in a wide range of construction-related disputes
- Defense of agribusinesses against claims of pesticide injury and claims related to sales of defective plants
- Prosecution and defense of banks for improper disbursements from customer accounts
- Prosecution and defense of defamation claims
- Prosecution and defense of nuisance and trespass claims
- Prosecution and defense of fiduciaries
- Prosecution and defense of will contests premised upon capacity and undue influence
- Jury trial experience in a wide range of complex commercial matters, both as plaintiff's and as defendant's counsel. He has also handled numerous appeals, resulting in over 20 reported decisions in Florida, as well as reported appellate decisions in Missouri where he practiced law from 1980-1985
- Certiorari review of land use decisions by local officials
- State and federal appeals
Representative Matters Within Recent Years
- Obtained summary judgment against a major national bank for improper disbursements from its customer’s account.
- Obtained substantial commercial arbitration award for total amount of client’s claim in contract dispute over unpaid profits.
- Succeeded in evicting a commercial tenant, and obtaining a substantial money judgment in a complex situation involving a landlord who was also a member of the business entity tenant.
- Successfully recovered full employment benefits, plus attorneys' fees, in a highly publicized dispute between the Superintendent of Schools and the Collier County School District.
- Obtained final summary judgment of a hotly contested foreclosure involving over 4000 acres of land and a debt exceeding $50,000,000.
- Obtained a substantial judgment for a subcontractor against a general contractor after an extensive trial, overcoming claims of fraudulent lien, "pay when paid" provisions, and defeating nearly $1,000,000 in claimed set-offs for delay and other damages.
- Successfully obtained removal of a trustee from a multi-million dollar trust.
- Successfully defended one of the nation's largest producers of drywall against claims of product defect, by obtaining dismissal with prejudice of over twenty federal claims without the manufacturer having to pay any amounts to the claimants.
- Defended one of the nation's largest growers of tomatoes in a toxic tort case involving allegations of birth defects being caused by our client's pesticide practices. The case involved scientists from around the nation, highly complex issues of scientific evidence, and dozens of lay and expert witnesses.
- Obtained specific performance of a multi-million dollar contract to purchase land. After nearly two weeks of trial, involving hundreds of written exhibits and complex issues concerning the land use permitting process, Jeff not only obtained final judgment establishing our client's right to purchase, he also defeated the seller's counterclaim, and obtained an award of attorneys' fees and expert costs which were deducted from the purchase price. Jeff successfully defended this final judgment on appeal.
- Obtained a jury verdict in favor of a hotel company against architects for professional malpractice stemming from failures to identify requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act in permit drawings.
- Obtained a substantial judgment after a bench trial for a client in a claim against an estate emanating from the decedent's breach of a prenuptial agreement.
- Successfully defended through trial a client in a protracted quiet title action involving a boundary dispute.
Attorney Publications/Presentations
Jeff has been a featured speaker for The Florida Bar Business Law Section's "Business Litigation" CLE series. He is an editor for the Florida Bar practice manual, Real Property Litigation, as well as a contributing author thereto.
Community Involvement
- Florida Gulf Coast University Foundation (1993-present), Chair Emeritus
- Florida Gulf Coast University Financing Corp. (2003-present), current Chair
- Health Care Network of Southwest Florida Foundation Board (2015-present)
- Leadership Florida, Class XVIII
- Grievance Committee, Florida Bar, Twentieth Judicial Circuit (2009-2012) Member
- Lee County Port Authority, Airports Special Management Committee (2001-2011), Collier Representative
- Leadership Collier Foundation (2010-2011), Chair
- Greater Naples Chamber of Commerce (2006-2007), Chair
- Collier County Bar Association, Trial Lawyers Section (2000), President
- Economic Development Council of Collier County (1998-99), Chair
- Partners in Education (1995-96), Chair
- Florida Gulf Coast University Presidential Search Committee (1994, 1999), Member
- Leadership Collier, Class of 1991
Supreme Court of the United States; U.S. Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals; U.S. Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals
U.S. District Courts: Middle District of Florida; Southern District of Florida; Western District of Missouri
American Board of Trial Advocates; American Bar Association (Litigation Section); The Florida Bar (Business Law Section) (Trial Lawyers Section); Collier County Bar Association (Trial Lawyers Section); Michael R.N. McDonnell Inn of Court (Master Bencher); National College of Advocacy (Advocate)
What legal services does this lawyer offer?
Awards
Litigation - Real Estate, Fort Myers (2021)
Litigation - Trusts and Estates, Fort Myers (2020)
Litigation - Real Estate, Fort Myers (2019)
Litigation - Construction, Fort Myers (2018)
Litigation - Real Estate, Fort Myers (2017)
Litigation - Construction, Fort Myers (2016)
Bet-the-Company Litigation, Fort Myers (2014)
Litigation - Construction, Fort Myers (2014)
- Best Lawyers 2014 Fort Myers Bet-the-Company Litigation "Lawyer of the Year"
- Best Lawyers Fort Myers Litigation-Construction “Lawyer of the Year” (2014-2016)
- Best Lawyers 2017 Fort Myers “Lawyer of the Year” Litigation-Real Estate
- Legal Elite in commercial litigation by Florida Trend Magazine (2013-2016)
- The Donald E. Van Koughnet Lion of the Law Award for Professionalism by the Judiciary of Collier County, Florida. (2009)
- Florida Super Lawyer (2006-2018)
- Best Lawyers in America: Bet-the-Company Litigation, Commercial Litigation, Litigation-Construction, Litigation-Real Estate and Litigation-Trusts & Estates (2006-2018)
Contact Details and Office Locations
Other: (239) 514-1000
5551 Ridgewood Drive, Suite 501
Naples, Florida 34108
Naples, Florida 34108
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