Eric S. Kay

Eric Kay focuses his practice on complex litigation and appeals. He represents clients in matters spanning a wide variety of substantive areas, including business litigation, class actions, and government issues.

Eric handles cases before trial and appellate courts throughout the country. He has briefed numerous appeals before the federal courts of appeals, the Florida Supreme Court, and state appellate courts. Eric has presented oral argument before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit.

Eric served as a law clerk to the Honorable D. Michael Fisher of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit and to the Honorable James I. Cohn of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida.

• Absolute Activist Value Master Fund Ltd. v. Devine, No. 21-13587, 2025 WL 764608 (11th Cir. Mar. 11, 2025). Represented Cayman Island hedge funds in post-dismissal disputes in civil RICO proceedings. Argued four consolidated appeals before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. 
• Pujol Moreira v. Société Générale, S.A., 125 F.4th 371 (2d Cir. 2025). Litigated appeals in the Second Circuit on behalf of plaintiffs alleging that two large French banks violated the Helms-Burton Act, which creates a private cause of action against those who traffic in assets that were confiscated by the Cuban government. 
• Vericker v. Powell, 406 So. 3d 939 (Fla. 2025). Litigated appeal in the Florida Supreme Court presenting the question whether certiorari jurisdiction extends to appellate review of nonfinal orders denying a motion invoking Florida’s statute barring “SLAPP” suits designed to chill the exercise of free speech rights. 
• In re Champlain Towers South Collapse Litigation (Fla. 11th Cir. Ct.). Member of the team supporting plaintiffs’ co-chair lead counsel in the civil litigation surrounding the June 2021 condominium collapse in Surfside, Florida. Obtained a $1.12 billion class settlement. 
• District Board of Trustees of Miami Dade College v. Verdini, 339 So. 3d 413 (Fla. 3d DCA 2022). Successfully defended one of the nation’s largest public colleges in a putative class action seeking a refund of fees paid by students while the college’s campuses were closed during the COVID-19 pandemic.
• In re Application of Alta Trading UK Ltd. for Judicial Assistance Pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1782 (M.D. Fla.). Represented London-based oil trading company and related entities in foreign discovery proceedings pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1782 in advance of a 12-week fraud trial against former management and others before the Commercial Court division of England’s High Court of Justice. 
• Arch Insurance Co. v. Kubicki Draper LLP, 318 So. 3d 1249 (Fla. 2021). Successfully represented an insurance company before the Florida Supreme Court in a case presenting the question whether an insurer has standing to maintain a malpractice action against counsel hired to represent the insured where the insurer has a duty to defend, an issue of first impression in Florida.
• Lopez-Brignoni v. Florida Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services, 314 So. 3d 318 (Fla. 3d DCA 2020). Recognized by the Daily Business Review as one of South Florida’s Most Effective Lawyers in the appellate field for successfully representing a class of nearly 100,000 Miami-Dade County homeowners seeking full compensation for the taking and destruction of the class members’ citrus trees that occurred as a result of the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services’ Citrus Canker Eradication Program.
• Wilsonart, LLC v. Lopez, 308 So. 3d 961 (Fla. 2020). Represented the Florida Justice Reform Institute and Florida Trucking Association as amici curiae before the Florida Supreme Court, advocating for adoption of the federal summary judgment standard in Florida.

• Most Effective Lawyers, Appellate, Daily Business Review (2020)

• The Florida Bar
  • Appellate Court Rules Committee (2022–present)
  • Appellate Practice Section