education

Boston College Law School (J.D., 1987)
Emory University (B.A., 1984), summa cum laude

related practices

related industries

bar admissions

Florida, 1987

court admissions

Florida State Courts
U.S. Court of Appeals, Eleventh Circuit
U.S. District Court, Middle District of Florida
U.S. District Court, Southern District of Florida

Merrick L. Gross

Shareholder

Miami

T: 305.530.4046

F: 305.530.0055

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Rick Gross has more than 23 years of legal experience serving a variety of business clients. He has a multifaceted commercial litigation practice including aspects of banking litigation, real estate, creditors’ rights, securities matters, and business torts. Mr. Gross has litigated cases involving such claims in federal and state courts in Florida and throughout the United States.

Mr. Gross has handled commercial loan workouts and foreclosures involving all types of real property including raw land, retail, office, multi-family and condominiums in Florida as well as other parts of the United States.

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Representative Matters
Mr. Gross has been involved in numerous litigation matters throughout his 23 year career. A representative sampling of matters handled since 2000 includes:
- Ellipsis v. The Color Works, Inc., 2006 WL 1207589 (W.D. Tenn. 2006) (Successfully obtained summary judgment in favor of client resulting in dismissal with prejudice of all of plaintiff's claims in case where $54 million in damages sought).
- Ellipsis v. The Color Works, Inc., 428 F. Supp. 2d (W.D. Tenn. 2006) (Successfully had plaintiff's expert witnesses stricken with prejudice based upon failure of plaintiff's proposed expert testimony to comply with Federal Rule of Evidence 702 and Daubert).
- Ellipsis, Inc. v. The Color Works, Inc., 227 F.R.D. 496 (W.D. Tenn. 2005) (Successfully obtained order from court that defendant was entitled to depose attorney from opposing law firm, who was not plaintiff's trial counsel, and whose deposition would not expose plaintiff's trial strategy).
- Rodriguez v. Amstar Insurance Company, 888 So. 3d 760 (Fla. 3d DCA 2004) (Successfully obtained dismissal with prejudice of claims against insurance company client in class action suit asserting that process of taking betterment deductions when processing claims was improper).
- In re United Container LLC, E.S. Bankest, LLC v. United Beverage Florida, LLC, 284 B.R. 162 (Bkrtcy. S.D. Fla. 2002) (Successfully obtained remand of case from Bankruptcy Court to State Court, a more favorable forum for client to present defenses).
- Information Technology & Engineering Corp. v. Reno, 813 So. 2d 1053 (Fla. 4th DCA 2002).
- CFI Sales and Marketing, Ltd. v. Florida Marlins, Baseball, Ltd, 2002 WL 428247 (Fla. 3d DCA 2002).
- Temple v. Gorman, 201 F. Supp. 2d 1238 (S.D. Fla. 2002) (Successfully obtained dismissal with prejudice of claims against individual client in multi-party suit asserting federal and state securities law violation claims arising from investments in a start-up dot.com entity).
- Warner v. Wireless Broadcasting Systems of America, Inc., Case No 96-2214-CIV-T-25A (M.D. Fla. 2000), aff'd, F.3d (11th Cir. 2001) (Obtained a favorable summary judgment for client in a breach of contract/Florida Securities Investors Protection Act case which was upheld by the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals resulting in an award of attorneys' fees to defendant client).
- Molenda v. Hoechst Celanese Corporation, 60 F. Supp. 2d 1294 (S.D. Fla. 1999), aff'd, F.3d (11th Cir., March 27, 2000) (Obtained a favorable summary judgment and directed verdict for client in a breach of contract/defamation/ Florida Whistleblower Act/ ADEA case which was upheld by the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals, resulting in an award of attorney's fees to defendant client).

Publications

01.01.2005	Co-Author, Chapter on Model Jury Instructions entitled "Confusion of Source," Chapter Four, Business Torts Litigation Model Jury Instructions, ABA, 4th Edition (2005).
03.01.2004	Co-Author, “Fifty State Survey of the Standards Governing the Admissibility of Expert Scientific Evidence,” Commercial & Business Litigation Committee Newsletter, ABA (August 2003); Committee on Trial Evidence Newsletter, ABA (Spring 2004).
01.01.2002	Regional Coordinating Editor, ABA Survey of State Class Action Law (2002-2007).
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Speaking Engagements
Mr. Gross is frequently asked to speak on various aspects of the law, and has recently been involved in the following speaking engagements and educational events:
- Instructor, Co-Author of Written Materials and Co-Program Coordinator, "Complex Litigation Tactics," Florida College of Advanced Judicial Studies (2009)
- Panelist, "Business Courts Around the World," ABA Section of Business Law Spring Meeting (2009)
- Program Chair, Co-Author of Written Materials and Moderator, "Expert Witnesses from A to Z – How to Choose Them and Use Them," ABA Section of Litigation Annual Conference (2009)
- Program Chair, Co-Author of Written Materials and Moderator, "Business Courts in the United States - What Works Best and Why," and “Business Courts – The Case for and Status of Throughout the U.S.,” ABA Section of Business Law Business Bar Leaders Conference (2008 & 2009)
- Program Chair, Co-Author of Written Materials and Moderator, "An Introduction to Business Courts and Complex Litigation Courts - What Works Best and Why," CLE Program, ABA Annual Meeting, (August 2007) and ABA BLT Live Teleconference (April 9, 2008)
- Panelist and Co-Author of Written Materials, "2006 Review of Recent Developments in Business and Corporate Litigation," CLE Program, ABA Section of Business Law Annual Spring Meeting (April 2006)
- Program Chair, Moderator and Co-Author of Written Materials, "Will the Court Allow My Damages Expert to Testify: How to Survive a Daubert Challenge - A Live Demonstration," CLE Program, ABA Annual Meeting (August 2005)
Professional Recognition
- AV rated by Martindale-Hubbell
- Listed in The Best Lawyers in America (2010-2012)
- Listed in Florida Trend's Legal Elite (2006-2010)
- Selected for inclusion in Florida Super Lawyers (2006-2011)
- Florida Bar Business Law Section, Section Member of the Year Award (2002-2003)
- Dade County Bar Association, Committee Chair Exceptional Service Award (1999-2005)
- American Bar Association Section of Litigation Outstanding Subcommittee Chair Award (2004-2005)
Professional and Civic Activities
- Federal and American Bar Associations
  Liaison to the Section of Litigation
      Co-Director, Section of Litigation’s Division of Public Services
  Business Law Section Business and Corporate Litigation Committee
  Business Courts Subcommittee
  Chair, ad Hoc Committee on Judges Initiative (2005-present)
      Vice-Chair (2004-2005)
      Litigation Section (2011)
  Co-Chair, Section Annual Conference (2009-present)
  Co-Chair, Trial Evidence Committee (2008-2009)
  Vice-Chair, Business Torts Committee (2009-present)
  Co-Chair, Corporate Counsel CLE Meeting (r 2007-2008)
  Co-Chair, Books Subcommittee (2005-2007)
  Co-Chair, Programming Subcommittee (2001-2006)
  Chair, 11th Circuit Subcommittee (1999-2002)
  Commercial and Business Litigation Committee
  Appellate Litigation Committee
  Committee on Class Actions and Derivative Suits
  Committee on Corporate Counsel
- The Florida Bar
  Standing Committee on Judicial Independence (2007-present)
      Vice-Chair (2009-present)
  Business Law Section
      Immediate Past Chair (2008-2009)
      Chair (2007-2008)
      Chair-Elect (2006-2007)
      Treasurer/Secretary (2005-2006)
      Member, Executive Council (1997-present)
  Member, Long Range Planning Committee (2009-present)
  Chair, Business Litigation Committee (1998-1999)
  Co-Chair, Business Courts Committee (1999-2004)
  Chair, Legislative Committee (2004-2005)
  Co-Chair, Section Annual Retreat Committee (2002-2005)
  Co-Chair, MJP Committee (2003-2005)
  Trial Lawyers Section
- Dade County Bar Association
  President, 2006-2007
  President-Elect, 2005-2006
  Vice President, 2004-2005
  Director, 2001-2004
  Civil Litigation Committee, Chairman, 2000-2002;
  Banking and Corporate Litigation Committee, Chairman, 1998-2000, 2002-2003;
  Federal Courts Committee, Chairman, 2003-2005),
  Ad Hoc Rules Committee of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida, 2003-2007
- American Bar Foundation, Fellow
- Florida Bar Foundation, Fellow
- Eleventh Circuit Historical Society
- Florida Supreme Court Task Force on Management of Cases Involving Complex Litigation - 2006-2008 (appointed by Chief Justice R. Fred Lewis)
- The Honorable Peter T. Fay American Inn of Court
Background
- Akerman Senterfitt (Miami, FL)
  Shareholder (1995-2008)
- Stroock & Stroock & Lavan (Miami, FL)
  (1990-1994)

News

08.18.2011	Merrick L. “Rick” Gross Appointed Liaison to ABA Section of Litigation
07.28.2011	Merrick L. “Rick” Gross Appointed Co-Director of ABA Section of Litigation’s Division of Public Services
02.22.2011	Merrick L. "Rick" Gross Appointed Chair of the ABA Ad Hoc Committee on Judges Initiative