Board certified in business litigation by the Florida Bar, Meghan practices in all phases of civil and business litigation. She regularly represents businesses and business owners, employers, insurers, banks, lenders, and landlords in both state and federal court at the trial level and on appeal. Meghan also counsels personal representatives, surviving spouses, trustees, and beneficiaries in trust and estate disputes.
Meghan has extensive experience representing:
- Businesses in contract disputes
- Insurers in all types of civil litigation
- Employers in disputes with employees, including claims involving misappropriation and theft of trade secrets and confidential information and violation of non-compete agreements
- Lenders in title claims, foreclosures, deficiencies, workouts, and real estate owned matters
- Landlords in eviction actions and other lease disputes
With a passion for sharing her knowledge, Meghan is a contributing author in multiple supplements to LexisNexis' Foreclosures in Florida, which contain information she gained during the Great Recession while working with banks on loan defaults and foreclosure. She was selected by LexisNexis to author their Commercial Mortgage Foreclosure (Florida), Residential Mortgage Foreclosure (Florida), Commercial Eviction (Florida), and Residential Eviction (Florida) Practice Notes. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Meghan again was selected by LexisNexis to author a Florida Practice Alert: Does the Coronavirus Excuse Contract Performance?
Outside the courtroom, Meghan is passionate about the Boys & Girls Clubs of Sarasota and DeSoto Counties and is the immediate past Board Chair.
Education
J.D., University of Connecticut, 2004
B.A., cum laude, Boston College, 2001
Professional Associations
- Leadership Sarasota, Class of 2020
- Boys & Girls Clubs of Sarasota County, Immediate Past Chair, Board of Directors and Women Ambassadors; Chair, Board of Directors, 2021
- Clerk of Court Liaison, Sarasota County Bar Association
- Sarasota County Bar Association Appellate Practice Section, Member
- Dishes for Wishes Co-Chair, Make-A-Wish Foundation of Central & Northern Florida
Honors
- AV® Peer Review Rated by Martindale-Hubbell
- SRQ Media Group, 2023 Outstanding Non-Profit Board Member
- SRQ Magazine: 2022 Elite Top Attorneys, Commercial Litigation
- SRQ Magazine: 2020 Elite Top Attorneys, Business Law
- Florida Rising Star by Super Lawyers magazine, 2012 – 2019
- Boys & Girls Clubs of Sarasota County, Board Member of the Year, 2020
- Boys & Girls Clubs of Sarasota County, Board Member of the Year, 2017
Representative Matters
- On behalf of a multibillion dollar real estate investment trust (REIT), Meghan successfully obtained a federal court judgment against a national commercial tenant, requiring the tenant to pay the entire accelerated lease amount, even though the tenant never took possession of the premises as a consequence of a denied use permit. (BRE Mariner Marco Town Center, LLC v. Zoom Tan, Inc., Case No. 16-13042, United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit)
- On behalf of a large regional bank, Meghan successfully obtained a judgment in favor of the lender imposing an equitable lien on the property, notwithstanding defects in mortgage, and obtained a foreclosure judgment in favor of the lender in excess of $2.5 million. Meghan subsequently obtained a deficiency judgment for the lender following the presentation of evidence regarding the value of foreclosed property
- On behalf of the loan purchaser, Meghan obtained a foreclosure judgment in favor of the lender in excess of $2.5 million. Meghan successfully obtained appointment of receiver to manage a 300 plus acre property, including two golf courses and related amenities to preserve status quo during litigation proceedings
- Successfully obtained appointment of receiver to manage multiple chain hotel properties to preserve business operations and secure property during foreclosure litigation
- Represented real-property sellers and purchasers at all phases of litigation and pre-litigation related to disputes regarding agreements to purchase property, including interpleader actions regarding a dispute over deposit amounts held in escrow and disputes regarding disclosures provided and representations made