TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – A Leon County circuit judge on Monday dismissed a potential class-action lawsuit against the state and Deloitte Consulting stemming from problems with Florida’s online unemployment compensation system during the COVID-19 pandemic. After dismissing the case in September, Cooper allowed the plaintiffs to file a revised version. It sought damages and raised several arguments, including that the department and Deloitte were negligent and breached a fiduciary duty. This document is critically important for the court’s consideration of the pending motions to dismiss.”AdBut in a pair of orders dismissing the case, Cooper flatly denied the plaintiffs’ arguments. “After more than nine months and multiple rounds of pleading, plaintiffs are still unable to demonstrate their entitlement to relief,” he wrote.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – In at least an initial win for the state and Deloitte Consulting, a Leon County circuit judge has dismissed a potential class-action lawsuit stemming from major problems with Florida’s unemployment-compensation system amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The Department of Economic Opportunity runs the unemployment system, while Deloitte was a contractor that helped put CONNECT in place in 2013. During the June hearing, Cooper indicated he expected the dispute to eventually be appealed to the 1st District Court of Appeal. Cooper wrote in this week’s order that the plaintiffs' attorneys had requested an opportunity to file an amended complaint if he dismissed the lawsuit. “But this lawsuit is not the right place to address those concerns.”But when Cooper asked whether the state or Deloitte was at fault for the problems, Mattox quickly responded, “It’s both.”

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. After four hours of arguments Monday, a Leon County circuit judge will decide whether to move forward with a potential class-action lawsuit stemming from massive problems in Floridas unemployment-compensation system. Attorneys for the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity and Deloitte Consulting, a contractor that helped put the online system in place in 2013, argued that Judge John Cooper should dismiss the lawsuit, which was filed after a crush of coronavirus-caused unemployment claims overwhelmed the system this spring. Cooper last month rejected a preliminary injunction that plaintiffs sought to force the Department of Economic Opportunity to fix the system. Department of Economic Opportunity attorney Daniel Nordby argued Monday, in part, that the lawsuit should be dismissed because of the constitutional separation of powers between judges and the executive branch. The plaintiffs attorneys filed the lawsuit in April after major problems with Floridas CONNECT online unemployment system, which even Gov.