On March 14, 2025, Bryan Gowdy and Dimitri Peteves prepared an amicus brief in the U.S. Supreme Court for a bipartisan group of congresspersons: Rep. Mario Díaz-Balart, Sen. Rick Scott, Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, Rep. María Elvira Salazar, and Rep. Carlos Antonio Giménez. The amicus brief supports the certiorari petition of Havana Docks Corporation to review a decision of the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals. Havana Docks sued several cruise lines under the Helms-Burton Act-also known as the LIBERTAD Act-for trafficking in property confiscated by Cuba. The amicus brief explains that the private cause of action under the LIBERTAD Act is a central pillar of our nation's foreign policy on Cuba. A Law360 article on the case can be found here (subscription required). On June 30, 2025, the U.S. Supreme Court has invited the U.S. Solicitor General to file a brief expressing the views of the United States.
On June 17, 2025, Rebecca Creed served as the moderator for the JBA's Lunch & Learn seminar entitled "From the Judges' Chambers: Appellate Insights and Ethics." Panelists included Judge Harvey Jay, Judge Scott Makar, Judge Paige Kilbane, and Judge John MacIver, all of the Fifth District Court of Appeal. The program provided practitioners with a deeper understanding of appellate practice, with a particular focus on professionalism and ethics.
On June 2, 2025, Creed & Gowdy filed a petition for a writ of certiorari in the Supreme Court of the United States on behalf of Shawn Montgomery, who was injured in a truck crash in Illinois. Mr. Montgomery sued the driver of the truck, the motor carrier that employed the driver, and the freight broker. The petition requests that the court resolve a circuit split on an important issue of statutory interpretation.
Alison Preston-currently a Deputy Solicitor General in the Office of the Florida Attorney General-will join Creed & Gowdy as an appellate attorney in June 2025. Ms. Preston has litigated cases in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, federal district courts, the Florida Supreme Court, and Florida's district courts of appeal. She has orally argued in the Eleventh Circuit and in four of the six district courts of appeal. Previously, she served as a law clerk to the Hon. Charles R. Wilson, Circuit Judge, on the Eleventh Circuit, and to multiple judges on the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veteran Claims. Ms. Preston also has experience as a trial attorney for the Tax Division of the U.S. Department of Justice.
Shareholders Rebecca Creed and Bryan Gowdy commented:
We are delighted to have Alison join us. She is a talented appellate attorney who will do an exemplary job for our clients. Her clerkship and federal experience fit our firm perfectly. Our attorneys include four who clerked at the Eleventh Circuit, two who clerked for federal district judges, and two who clerked at a Florida appellate court. Alison's addition means that our clients will continue to receive the highest quality of legal representation.
Bryan Gowdy was a guest on WJCT's First Coast Connect to speak about the current presidential administration's actions towards the legal system. You can listen here.