Florida Litigation Attorney | Silver, Garvett & Henkel

Tim Henkel Partner

Tim D. Henkel is a partner of Silver, Garvett & Henkel. He is rated AV by Martindale-Hubbell and has been practising law for approximately 20 years. He concentrates his practice in general commercial and complex business litigation, including appeals, and also contract negotiations and business transactions. He has experience in the following types of matters:

• corporate divorces involving disputes between shareholders and other business owners; defense of majority shareholder rights and claims of minority shareholder oppression
• contract disputes, including breach of contract claims
• agreements for the sale of businesses including stock and asset transactions
• general corporate work and advising small to medium sized businesses
• Perishable Agricultural Commodities Act (“PACA”) claims; produce marketing contracts and disputes
• judgment collection for creditors; asset protection advice and protection of debtors’ rights
• professional liability of accountants and attorneys; malpractice defense
• business torts, including fraud and misrepresentation, Florida Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act (“FDUTPA”), breach of fiduciary duty, conversion, civil theft, conspiracy, negligence, and unjust enrichment
• class action defense
• commercial landlord\tenant disputes
• insurance disputes including coverage issues under commercial property and comprehensive general liability (“CGL”) policies
• employment contracts and disputes
• dissolution and winding up of partnerships and companies and other businesses
• lender liability and banking law
• warehouseman liability
• international trade and commerce
• sales of goods under Article II of the Uniform Commercial Code
• real estate brokerage disputes

Tim has litigated cases throughout the state and federal trial courts in Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach Counties in Florida as well as in federal courts in Philadelphia, New York, Los Angeles, Rochester, and Cincinnati. He has prosecuted appeals of civil cases in Florida’s Third and Fourth District Courts of Appeal. He also has arbitrated disputes before the American Arbitration Association as well as participated in numerous mediations.

Tim served as a Federal law clerk to Judge Jose A. Gonzalez, Jr. in the Ft. Lauderdale division of the Southern District of Florida (1988-90). After the clerkship and prior to joining Silver, Garvett & Henkel in 1994, he was associated with the Miami firm of Gilbride, Heller & Brown, P.A. where he worked on a variety of civil litigation matters including lender liability, accountant liability, business torts, and contract disputes.

Tim obtained his law degree with honors from George Mason University School of Law (1988) in Arlington, Virginia, and graduated 11th in his class. He was an Editor of the Law Review and was awarded Best Oralist and Best Team distinctions in the Moot Court competition in his final year of law school. Tim worked during his last two years of law school as a law clerk for Robert E. Miller in a personal injury law firm (1986-88). He obtained his Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Virginia (1985).

Tim is the father of two sons and his interests include the financial markets, World War II history, and Ferraris.

Practice Areas

• Business Litigation
• Alternative Dispute Resolution
• Contracts and Business Transactions
• Employment Contracts and Disputes
• Creditor Rights and Asset Protection
• Produce Marketing Contracts & PACA Disputes

Admissions

• The Florida Bar, 1989
• The Virginia Bar, 1988
• U.S. Supreme Court
• U.S. Court of Appeals, Fourth and Eleventh Circuits
• United States District Courts, Southern, Middle, and Northern Districts of Florida (including the Trial Bar in the Southern District of Florida); and the Eastern and Western Districts of Virginia

Education

• Juris Doctor, with honors, George Mason University School of Law, Arlington, Virginia, 1988
• Bachelor of Arts, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia 1985

Judicial Clerkships

• Honorable Jose A. Gonzalez, Jr., U.S. District Court, Southern District of Florida, Fort Lauderdale Division, 1988-90

Memberships

• Florida Bar, Business Law Section
• American Bar Association, Business Law Section and Litigation Section (Commercial & Business Litigation Committee)
• Produce Marketing Association (“PMA”)

Honors

• AV rating, Martindale Hubbell
• Board of Editors, George Mason University School of Law (1987-88)
• Best Oralist and Best Team, Moot Court competition (1988)

Prior Representations

• Global Access Ltd. v. AT&T Corp., 978 F. Supp. 1068 (S.D. Fla. 1997) (granting summary judgment in favor of SG&H’s client against AT&T for breach of Contract Tariff for provision of telecommunications service)
• Easton-Babcock & Assocs., Inc. v. Fernandez, 706 So. 2d 916 (Fla. 3d DCA 1998) (affirming jury verdict for real estate brokerage commission in favor of SG&H’s client)
• Braswell v. A. Glenn Braswell, No. 99-17994, 2003 WL 354509 (Fla. Cir. Ct. Jan. 30, 2003) (rejecting a judgment debtor’s challenges to the levying on the contents of the debtor’s residence by SG&H as creditor’s counsel).
• Penn City Investments, Inc. v. Soltech, Inc., 2003 WL 22844210, 2003 WL 23162410, 2003 WL 23162413 (E.D. Pa. 2003) (granting partial summary judgment in favor of SG&H’s client against warehouse operator).
• Kendall v. Gilmore, 915 So. 2d 681 (Fla. 3d DCA 2005) (affirming the trial court’s dismissal of a third-party complaint against SG&H’s client).
• Genecco Produce, Inc. v. Sol Group Marketing Co., 2006 WL 328385 (W.D.N.Y. 2006) (ruling that claims by SG&H’s client against produce marketing company would go to trial; case was settled favorably to SG&H’s client during trial)
• Paradise Farms, S.A. v. Chiquita Frupac, Inc., 2006 WL 640501 (S.D. Ohio 2006) (granting in part and denying in part motions for summary judgment in case by SG&H’s clients against Chiquita arising from a produce marketing agreement)
• Ravin v. Hockman, 2007 WL 29248 (S.D. Fla. 2007) (granting motion by SG&H’s clients to dismiss lawsuit by a large group of investors).
• Espirito Santo Bank v. Rego, 2007 WL 1062521 (Fla. 3d DCA 2007) (reversing trial court’s decision to allow punitive damages claim against SG&H’s client)
• Probinsky v. Beckham, No. 07-24719, 15 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 150 (Fla. Cir. Ct. Dec. 13, 2007) (based upon the Revised Uniform Partnership Act, denying motion to dismiss claim by SG&H’s claim for reasonable compensation for legal services provided after partnership dissolution)