DISTRICT COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF FLORIDA
FOURTH DISTRICT
January Term 2011
STATE OF FLORIDA,
OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL,
Appellant,
v.
SHAPIRO & FISHMAN, LLP,
Appellee.
No. 4D10-4526
[April 27, 2011]

The issue presented in this appeal is whether the trial court erred in quashing a civil investigative subpoena duces tecum issued by the Office of the Attorney General and served on appellee Shapiro & Fishman, LLP, a law firm. We find the trial court did not err since the Attorney General’s investigative subpoena, issued exclusively under the statutory authority of Florida’s Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act (FDUTPA), sections 501.201-.213, Florida Statutes, was issued to investigate actions of the appellee law firm not covered under the rubric of “trade or commerce” as clearly required by this statute. Since we find the Attorney General failed to establish that the object of the civil subpoena was connected to “trade or commerce,” we need not address the other issues raised by the appellant, and we affirm.

Full opinion below…

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State of Florida, Office of the Attorney General, v. Shapiro & Fishman, Llp