Melanie Senosiain, an attorney in Shutts & Bowen LLP’s Tampa office, recently penned an article for the Hillsborough County Bar Association’s LAWYER Magazine, discussing affidavit insufficiencies.

The article, titled “Is ‘To The Best of My Knowledge’ Enough?,” highlights the pitfalls of insufficient qualifying verifications in filed affidavits and best practices to avoid future missteps. Melanie goes on to explain that attorneys should be wary of inadequate support within affidavits since personal knowledge is not enough, clarifying that an affidavit based on unsupported opinions and conclusions of fact and law will be deemed insufficient. As explained by Melanie, “The moral of this tale is when you are relying on an affidavit to support or oppose a motion for summary judgment, you must be sure the affidavit is based on personal knowledge, competency, and admissible facts.”

The Hillsborough County Bar Association (HCBA) is one of the largest voluntary bar associations in Florida with a membership of over 4,000 attorneys, judges and legal professions who share a mission to inspire and promote respect for the law and the justice system through service to the legal profession and the community.

• To download the individual article, please click here.
• To read the HCBA’s January – February 2021 Issue of LAWYER Magazine (Vol. 31, No. 3), please click here.

 

About Melanie B. Senosiain

Melanie B. Senosiain is an attorney in the Tampa office of Shutts & Bowen LLP, where she is a member of the Business Litigation practice group. Melanie’s practice focuses on the areas of construction and commercial litigation. Prior to joining Shutts, Melanie was an Assistant Attorney General for the State of Illinois and a law clerk for the Honorable Judge Edward LaRose of the Second District Court of Appeal.