JUNE 2008

BUTLER V. R&L CARRIERS - Defense Verdict

Harold Saul and Sean-Kelly Xenakis, of the Tampa office, obtained a favorable verdict in a case involving a rear-end collision trucking accident. On Friday, December 13, 2002, the Plaintiff was traveling on I-75 in Sarasota County when he was rear-ended by the client's tractor trailer. The Plaintiff sued the driver of the tractor trailer, as well as the company, and alleged as a result of the accident, he had sustained bilateeral carpal tunnel injuries, for which he had surgery, a torn rotator cuff, and a lumbar fusion at L4-L5 and L5-S1 levels.

The Plaintiff had a lumbar laminectomy at the L5-S1 level 20 years prior to the accident and claimed that he had returned to activities up until the time of the accident, but as a result of the accident, his activities were severely curtailed and he was in constant pain, which he exhibited throughout the trial, including constantly getting up and stretching.

The Plaintiff brought in four physicians to testify that all of the injuries claimed were caused or related to the accident, and the defense utilized its defense medical examiner to refute those claims. After three days of trial testimony, the jury returned a verdict that was less than the last offer made by the Defendants and found that there was no permanent injury sustained by the Plaintiff as a result of the accident. As a result of this jury finding, the Plaintiff stormed out of the courtroom shortly after the verdict was read.

MAY 2008

RANDO v. GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES INSURANCE COMPANY - Successful Motion for Summary Judgment

Angela Flowers and Matthew Posgay, with the assistance of Fraz Ahmed, were able to acheive an excellent victory for GEICO on a complicated UM/UIM coverage case. The case involved a motor vehicle accident that occured in Florida, yet the Plaintiffs sought to obtain additional UM coverage under a Delaware GEICO policy. They were Florida residents at the time of the accident and the policy was executed in Florida. However, pursuant to language in the Delaware policy, they were not entitled to obtain additional coverage for the subject motor vehicle accident. They had already received policy limits under a Florida GEICO policy for significant injuries, but wanted to obtain another $300,000.00 under their Delaware policy. After litigating the case for more than 1 1/2 years, the Federal Court granted GEICO's Motion for Final Summary Judgment.

APRIL 2008

ZULIA v. NANAK LANDSCAPING - Successful Motion for Summary Judgment 

Greg Prusack and Bill Vericker, of the firm's Orlando office successfully argued a Motion for Summary Judgment in Seminole County, FL. The case involved Plaintiff Lisle Zulia, who suffered an ankle injury on 7/6/03 while stepping into a hole located on a grassy swale at the upscale Heathrow Community. The hole was concealed with grass and contained a sprinkler head. The Plaintiff argued that the hole was supposed to contain a cover, and that our insured, Nanak Landscaping destroyed the cover during it's grass cutting work. The Plaintiff further argued that Nanak failed to discover and correct the condition pursuant to it's contract. The Plaintiff had no direct evidence that Nanak caused the condition, thus her liability theory against Nanak was based solely on circumstantial evidence. Furthmore, Nanak's contract with Heathrow ended 3 months prior to date of the accident in July. Nanak's successor, Girard Landscaping, cut the grass 8 times between the expiration of Nanak's contract and the date of this accident. Representatives for Girard also stated that it was possible the heavy rains in May and June of 2003 caused the covers to float away.

Plaintiff claimed an injured ankle which resulted in Reflex Sympathetic Distrophy. She had $372,000 in past medical bills and future medical expenses projected to be $60,000 for the next 20 years. The plaintiff's vocational rehabilitation expert and economist submitted a future life care plan between $3.5 and $4.3 million dollars. The Plaintiff was seeking damages in excess of $10,000,000.

The Motion for Summary Judgment was drafted by Bill Vericker and argued by Greg Prusack. The Plaintiff's attorney and the Co-Defendant, Heathrow's attorney made aggressive arguments in opposition. Despite the foregoing, the judge granted the Motion for Summary Judgment in favor of Nanak. The ruling also eliminated the possiblity of future claims for indemnity and contribution that were threatened by Heathrow against Nanak during the hearing.

ANDREWS v. STEAK 'N SHAKE - Defense Verdict

Michael Carney of the Fort Lauderdale office obtained a complete defense verdict on behalf of a restaurant in a premises liability case. The Plaintiff had fallen on a recently mopped section of the floor and an independent eyewitness testified at trial the the defendant's employee had placed a safety sign in the area shortly after the Plainitff had fallen. The eyewitness testified that there were no visual warnings in the area at the time Plaintiff fell and implied that the defendant was attempting to cover its tracks after the accident.

Plaintiff underwent four surgeries as a result of the incident and incurred over 225K in medical expenses. In addition, she had stopped working and claimed an inability to ever return to employment.

Notwithstanding the eyewitness testimony and the amount of claimed damages, the jury returned a complete defense verdict, finding no negligence on the part of the defendant. Motions for fees and costs against the Plaintiff are pending.

VAN TRAN INDUSTRIES, SALINAS v. WILLIAM SCOTSMAN, et al. - Defense Verdict

Doug Saltarelli and Rick Nutter of our Tampa office obtained a complete defense verdict in Monticello, FL on behalf of William Scotsman Manufacturing, their employee driver, as well as Ryder Truck Rental. The Plaintiff's trucking company, as well as their employee driver claimed property damage to include cleanup and disposal, as well as personal injuries. The case involed a tractor-trailer truck owned and operated by the Defendant, which was traveling 65 miles per hour westbound on US Highway I-10, when a mentally ill pedestrian, hiding behind an overpass column, committed suicide by jumping in front of and diving into the path of Defendant's tractor trailer truck after the driver swerved from the outside lane to the inside lane. After striking the pedestrian, Defendant's tractor-trailer truck left the rain-slick roadway, crossed the center median, and traveled into the eastbound interstate lanes causing a massive collision involving three other tractor-trailer trucks, including the Plaintiff. Plaintiffs claimed that the Defendant driver was not only on notice of a prior suicide attempt with a tractor-trailer truck traveling seconds in front of him, but also failed to use appropriate emergency driving procedures such as counter steering and stab braking. Eleven expert and lay witnesses testified throughout the trial to include an accident reconstruction expert and a trucking expert for the defense. The trial involved multiple legal issues and was preceded by two successful appeals by the Plaintiffs. The jury deliberated for 25 minutes, which included a 5 minute delay due to a request from the jury that they all be permitted to sign the verdict form. Defendant's Motions for Attorney Fees and Costs are pending.

MARCH 2008

THEODORE-PHAREL v. BAIXERAS, et al. - Defense Verdict

Monica Segura of the Miami office, obtained a favorable bench decision in a case where we represented the owner of a real estate company who was sued for the alleged negligent and intentional acts of his real estate agent. Ms. Segura successfully argued that the real estate agent was not acting in his capacity as a real estate agent but rather as a mortgage broker. Consequently, the Court dismissed all counts against our client, which included claims for breach of contract and intentional interference with a business relationship. A motion to impose attorney's fees and costs is pending pursuant to the Proposal For Settlement.

LALLAMANT v. CUNNINGHAM - Defense Verdict

Doug Saltarelli of our Tampa office obtained a complete defense verdict on behalf on an insured and her husband, who was alleged to have caused an automobile collision at a Tampa intersection, which resulted in multiple spinal injuries, thoracic outlet syndrome, as well as jaw injuries to the Plaintiff. Plaintiff, who was employed as a licensed massage therapist at the time of the accident claimed that she came to a complete stop at a stop sign prior to proceeding through the intersection. It was alleged that the Defendant, whose direction of travel was not controlled by a stop sign, was exceeding the speed limit and failed to observe the Plaintiff's vehicle which had control of the intersection. Witnesses for the Plaintiff included a medical doctor specializing in emergency medical care and an accident reconstruction expert. Witnesses for the defense included the investigating police officer, two independent eyewitnesses, a neurologist, an orthopedic surgeon and an accident reconstruction expert. The jury deliberated for 15 minutes. Defendant's Motions for Attorney Fees and Costs are pending.

JANUARY 2008 

HOWELLS v. STANLEY - Defense Verdict

Harold Saul of the Tampa office obtained a complete defense verdict in a case involving a rear-end collision motor vehicle accident. On October 20, 1997, the plaintiff was rear-ended by Mr. Saul's client and the plaintiff claimed as a result of that accident that she had sustained a left wrist injury including Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, as well as an injury to her right breast implant. The case was somewhat complicated by the fact that the plaintiff had been involved in a motor vehicle on July 01, 1997, in which she claimed to have sustained other injuries, but made no claims relating to her left wrist or right breast as a result of that accident, nor during the treatment that followed. Through careful strategic sessions with the attorney representing his client from the first accident, defense counsel was able to work together to significantly impeach the plaintiff, and question the causation of her injuries. After a four-day jury trial, the jury rendered a complete verdict in favor of the defendants.

SIPEK v. ALLSTATE - Defense Verdict

Rebecca Brock of the West Palm Beach Office successfully obtained a defense verdict in an alleged hit and run case. Plaintiff Steve Sipek, filed a lawsuit against Allstate Insurance for an accident that allegedly occured in the parking lot of a Publix supermarket on 3/8/02. According to the Plaintiff, he pulled his pickup truck into a parking space and felt a bump to the right, rear quarter panel of his vehicle. He got out of the truck and got down on his knees behind the truck in the parking space next to him to see if there was any damage to his vehicle. It was at this point that Mr. Sipek alleges that the truck backed into him and knocked him to the ground. He said he rolled backwards to avoid being run over and landed on a median. This vehicle then fled the scene. He went into Publix to buy bandages for his leg that was cut. When police and paramedics arrived on the scene, there were no witnesses to the event. Mr. Sipek claimed injury to his lumbar spine and kidneys in the accident.

Over the course of the next several years, Mr. Sipek accumulated over $50,000 in bills for treatment to his lumbar spine, including injections and a facet rhizotomy. He had pre-existing permanent injuries and he had several incidents after the accident, including a fall from a roof and an altercation with the Palm Beach County Sheriff's office.  Plaintiff's attorney called Dr. Lichtblau, who claimed the Plaintiff had sustained an additional 3% permanent impairment to his pre-existing injuries. The defense called Dr. Zeide and Dr. Rojo who testified that no change in impairment was related to this event.

The plaintiff's attorney asked the court for $100,000 in damages. The jury, however, did not believe the theory of the 'phantom driver' and never even had to consider damages.

Of note, the Plaintiff was the star of several Tarzan movies, and is the current owner of several exotic cats including lions, panthers and cougars.

2007

BURK v. MARATHON POST - Defense Verdict

In December 2007, Joseph Carey of our Miami office obtained a defense verdict in a Monroe County case. The Plaintiff, a veteran of the United States Army, sustained a severe fracture of his dominant wrist during an altercation at the American Legion Post No. 154 (a.k.a the Marathon Post) of which he was a member. The Plaintiff claimed that he arrived at the Defendant's establishment minutes before the altercation and, though he was completely sober, was attacked by one intoxicated patron and injured when other intoxicated patrons intervened to stop the fight. The Plaintiff claimed, under negligence and Florida statutory theories supported by their expert witness, that the Defendant failed to maintain a safe environment for it's patrons and, through it's bartender, served several patrons to the point of intoxication, thus leading to the altercation. The Plaintiff had surgery to repair the fractured wrist, which involved placement of hardware. He also claimed carpal tunnel syndrome that required surgery, and would require additional surgery in the future. The jury found no liability on the part of the defendant; therefore, they did not have to consider damages.

ROMERO v. BARERRO - Successful Motion for Summary Judgment

In December 2007, Julie A. Lewis of the Ft. Myers office prevailed upon a Motion for Summary Judgment in a dog bite case in DeSoto County. Julie successfully argued that the "Beware of Dog" sign prominently displayed on the property, as noted by the responding animal control officer, shielded the defendants from liability, eventhough the Plaintiff claimed not to have seen the sign.

ARMANTROUT v. HUBARD & TROPHY DENTAL, INC. - Successful Motion for Summary Judgment

In November 2007, Jennifer Sullivan of the Tallahassee office successfully obtained a final summary judgment in a negligence/products defect case which resulted in her client's dismissal from the lawsuit. Ms. Sullivan's client was a local dentist who owned an x-ray machine manufactured by the Co-Defendant. While one of the dental assistants was using the x-ray machine, the arm broke and struck a patient in the face. The manufacturer knew of the defect and claimed that it notified the dentist of the recall. The dentist denied ever receiving such notice. Plaintiffs and Co-Defendant argued that whether the dentist received notice is a genuine issue of material fact. The Court found no liability on the part of the dentist as a matter of law and found that there was no genuine issue of material fact as to notice of the recall. Although there is a general rebuttable presumption in Florida that mail sent has been received by the addressee, Plaintiffs and Co-Defendant failed to produce any evidence that the recall notice had been properly adderessed, stamped, and mailed to the dentist. Therefore, no presumption arose. A proposal for settlement was filed which may entitle the dentist to fees and costs as the prevailing party.

TREJO v. YZAGUIRRE - Defense Verdict

In October 2007, Julie A. Lewis of the Ft. Myers office, obtained a defense verdict in Naples, Florida in a matter where a 15 year old had taken his mother's truck out on the public highway with his two teenage friends. The owner of the truck, the driver's mother, was the named defendant. While out on the highway, they were involved in a head-on collision with a vehicle that crossed into their lane. The Plaintiff driver had testified that he had swerved into oncoming traffic to avoid the Defendant's truck, which he thought was trying to pass another car. The Plainitff's accident reconstructionist expert. Miles Moss, testified that regardless of whether the 15 year old driver had crossed the center line, he was at fault for the accident. Motions to impose attorney's fees and costs are pending pursuant to the Proposal for Settlement.

McINNIS v. BERGER - Defense Verdict

In June of 2007, Michael Carney of the Ft. Lauderdale office, obtained a defense verdict in McInnis v. Berger. Plaintiff, a 39 year old truck driver, was injured at an intersectional automobile accident. The insured was an elderly gentleman who passed away due to natural causes before the trial. The defense admitted fault but contested causation.

Plaintiff was diagnosed with herniated discs at L3-4 and also at L5-S1 and underwent four separate courses of epidural steroid injections in the low back. Eventually, a neurosurgeon performed a provocative discogram and a percutaneous disectomy. The medical bills totaled approximately $92,000 with no reduction for past medical expenses per Goble v. Frohman. Plaintiff alleged he sustained a year and a half of lost wages as well as lost earning capacity due to his alleged inability to drive a truck full-time.

The defense radiologist and orthopedic surgeon experts confirmed abnormalities in the lumbar spinal discs, but opined that they were not caused by the accident. After closing argument, Plaintiff rejected our offer to settle for $125,000. The jury deliberated for about an hour and found the accident did not cause any loss, injury or damage. The court granted Defendant's Motion for Entitlement to Attorneys Fees pursuant to a proposal for settlement.

The Personal Estate of MICHELLE FARRIOR v. MANJUL D. DERASARI, et al. - Defense Verdict

On August 23, 2007, Roly Diaz and Harold Saul obtained a defense verdict in a hotly contested wrongful death medical malpractice case. The plaintiffs asked the jury for $24 million dollars for the loss of a 44 year old mother of two. The jury deliberated for about 4 1/2 hours before returning a complete defense verdict. 

Mr. Diaz and Mr. Saul represented an anesthesiologist/pain management physician who was caring for a patient whom was hospitalized for hyperbaric wound care. The patient also had an internal morphine pump. The patient was in the process of being discharged from the hospital when their client observed his patient was lethargic and difficult to arose. He assessed her and determined that the morphine pump had recently been filled but was not properly re-programed. He proceeded to hold her discharge until she was awake. Later that evening, the patient expired from an intoxication of Xanax and Morphine. The patient left behind her husband and two daughters.

The plaintiffs alleged that the physician fell below the standard of care claiming he improperly assessed the patient and failed to place the over medicated patient on increased monitoring, including hourly checks, oxygen saturation monitoring and a telemetry bed. The plaintiffs also alleged that the physician failed to order and/or perform appropriate tests to determine whether the morphine pump was malfunctioning.

During the pre trial work up, the plaintiffs settled with the hospital, but the trial judge refused to allow the defense to name the hospital as a Fabre or nonparty defendant. During jury selection, the trial judge refused to strike the jury panel after a prospective juror made a statement against "foreign doctors." The trial judge also refused to declare a mistrial after it was revealed to the jury that the physician had insurance. The Tampa trial lasted two weeks and involved voluminous ammounts of medical records and a multitude of medical experts from across the Country.

HARVEY v. CONCORD SHOPPING CENTER - Defense Verdict

Earleen Cote and Brad Edwards of the Ft. Lauderdale office obtained a defense verdict in Dade County on a wrongful death case of a 72 year old woman who was a pedestrian struck and killed by a vehicle in a shopping center owned by the defendants. The plaintiffs claimed the shopping center needed to comply with the Uniform Manual for Traffic Control Devices within their parking lot and should have located crosswalks and stop signs in the busy area of the shopping center where the decedent was hit and killed. They offered a traffic engineer and an architect in support of their theory and asked the jury to award $4.5 million for the survivng daughter who was an only child.

DOWNS v. HUET - Defense Verdict

Harold A. Saul and Sean-Kelly Xenakis of the Tampa office obtained a complete defense verdict for a GEICO insured who rear-ended the plaintiff in a motor vehicle accident. The plaintiff claimed that the cervical disectomy and fusion which she had as a result of the accident necessitated a spinal cord stimulator and morphine pump. The plaintiff, who was 44 years old at the time of trial, also claimed as a result of these problems that she was no longer able to return to work at her sales commission job where she was earning $60,000.000 to $70,000.00 per year.

 At trial, the plaintiff presented past medical expenses of $195,268.00, future medical expenses through a life care plan of $773,322.00, a past lost wage claim of $264,269.00 and a future loss earning capacity of $649,916.00.

The defense focused on the plaintiff's credibility due to inconsistent statements as well as some surveillance which contradicted her testimony. Additionally, she failed to disclose a motor vehicle accident one and a half years prior to the subject accident for which the hospital records showed she sustained a cervical injury.

The plaintiff's lowest demand at mediation was $1.6 million and asked that the jury award in excess of $4 million.

HOLSTEIN v. CASTELLI & SUN COAST AIR ENGINEERING - Successful Motion for Final Summary Judgment

Michelle Krone of the Fort Myers office received a final summary judgment in a water damage/mold case which resulted in her client's dismissal from the lawsuit. Ms. Krone's client was a unit owner in a condominium that hired an air conditioning company to replace her air conditioner. During the installation, a water pipe was damaged which resulted in water and mold damage to various units in the 5 floors below Ms. Krone's client's unit, including the Plaintiff's. The Court found no liability on the part of the unit owner as a matter of law based on an independent contractor theory. In Florida, a person is not liable for injuries or damage to third parties as a result of work performed by an independent contractor unless he or she controls and/or supervises the work in some manner or negligently hires the contractor. A proposal for settlement was filed which entitles the insurer for Ms. Krone's client to fees and costs as the prevailing party. In addition, Ms. Krone filed and will be seeking sanctions pursuant to a Motion under Florida Statute 57.105 that gave the Plaintiff 21 days notice, as required by statute, to voluntarily dismiss the complaint prior to the summary judgment hearing.

DETTBARN v. WILLIAMS - Defense Verdict

Douglas C. Saltarelli of the Tampa office obtained a favorable jury verdict in Manatee County, Florida, involving a pedestrian who was struck and run over by a 17 year old Defendant driver of a pickup truck. The pedestrian sustained two broken legs and was transported by BayFlight to Bayfront Medical Center's Trauma Unit. The pedestrian claimed he had the right-of-way, based upon his testimony at trial and the testimony of a school bus driver who was stopped at the intersection. They indicated that the pedestrian was walking across the intersection, in the crosswalk, on a green light, when the Defendant executed a right-hand turn and failed to observe the pedestrian.

The defense utilized prior inconsistent statements of the school bus driver made to a traffic homicide investigator at the scene and the testimony of another eyewitness who observed the pedestrian jogging through the intersection outside the crosswalk.

The Plaintiff's lowest demand was $400,000.00. The Defendant maintained a $100,000.00 bodily injury policy limit which was tendered in May of 2005 along with the filing of a Proposal of Settlement. The jury found the pedestrian 70% at fault and the net amount was $50,880.60.

MILLER V. ALLSTATE - Defense Verdict

Sharon Degnan and Brad Edwards represented Allstate Insurance Company and obtained a Defense Verdict in Miami Dade County in a complicated insurance coverage case. Plaintiffs were in a motor vehicle accident in Florida and suffered serious injuries. Although the tortfeasor's insurance coverage was insufficient to cover Plaintiffs' damages, Plaintiffs had underinsured motorist coverage from an insurance policy issued by Allstate in the state of Ohio. Ohio, unlike Florida, does not allow for the stacking of underinsured motorist coverage where the limits of the tortfeasor's liability limits are the same as the limits of uninsured motorist coverage. In an attempt to prevent the application of Ohio law, Plaintiffs sought to invoke the public policy exception to the lex loci contractus doctrine, and in the process, to have Florida law rather than Ohio law apply to their underinsured motorist claim. Despite the showing that there was a significant Florida connection and that Plaintiff and his wife were snowbirds who owned a home and spent 6 months of each year in Florida, Brad and Sharon, through cross-examination of the Plaintiff exposed many inconsistencies and misrepresentations made by the Plaintiff to the insurance agent and ultimately convinced a jury that the insurance agent was not on "reasonable notice" that the risk of the policy was centered in Florida and the jury returned a Defense Verdict after a short deliberation.

DUPREE v. ALLSTATE FLORIDA INSURANCE COMPANY - Defense Verdict

Matthew Posgay represented Allstate Floridian Insurance Company due to property damage allegedly sustained by Mr. and Mrs. Dupree in their home. The Duprees claimed they had a collapse in their upstairs master bathroom on September 16, 2003 because of a rotten floor. The jury took approximately one hour to return a defense verdict in favor of Allstate Floridian Insurance Company, finding that no collapse had occurred in the upstairs master bathroom and that the plaintiffs were not entitled to recover any damages from Allstate Floridian Insurance Company.

SMITH v. INDEPENDENT INSPECTIONS - Successful Motion for Dismissal

Matthew Posgay successfully obtained a Motion for Dismissal with Prejudice of Plaintiffs' claim that the defendant allowed a residential home to pass inspection, when it should have failed. Ultimately, the residential home was demolished and rebuilt due to construction defects allegedly caused by the general contractor, another party in the case.  Independent Inspections was working as the building inspector for the City of Palm Coast. The Motion to Dismiss was granted for several reasons, including the lawsuit was barred due to sovereign immunity, as Independent Inspections was working as an agent for a governmental entity, the City of Palm Coast, and could not be held liable for any allegations of improper home inspections. The Court also found the plaintiffs were not third-party beneficiaries of the contract entered between Independent Inspections and the City of Palm Coast. Further, the damages claimed by the plaintiff were barred by the economic loss rule.

HART v. AMERICAN INTERNATIONAL INSURANCE COMPANY OF NEW JERSEY - Successful Motion for Summary Judgment

Matthew Posgay  successfully obtained a Motion for Summary Judgment on a coverage action for damages due to a fight that occurred on January 26, 2002 in St. Augustine, Florida. The main issue involved a policy interpretation of whether a New Jersey underinsured/uninsured motorist vehicle policy would provide coverage for the fight. Although Florida law would not have allowed coverage, as the fight was an intentional tort and a criminal act, New Jersey law did allow coverage, if there was a substantial nexus between the fight and the use, maintenance or operation of the uninsured/underinsured motor vehicle. The Plaintiff argued there was a substantial nexus, as the fight was triggered by a road rage incident between the Plaintiff and the perpetrator. However, the defense successfully argued there was no substantial nexus, as no New Jersey case had ever found coverage when both the Plaintiff and the perpetrator were outside of motor vehicles. Although the Plaintiff sustained injuries, including multiple facial fractures that needed to be surgically repaired, the Court recently ruled that the Defendant’s Motion for Summary Judgment would be granted.

ANAND v. JEB HOTEL ASSOCIATES - Defense Verdict

Earleen Cote and Brad Edwards  represented Jeb Hotel Associates D/B/A The Ramada Inn; the trial took  place in Miami-Dade county in front of Judge Victoria Platzer. The four Plaintiffs were over from London to attend a relative's wedding that was to take place on a cruise ship leaving from the port of Miami. On the day of the wedding, the Plaintiffs loaded into the Ramada courtesy van and headed down Highway 836 towards the port. As the driver of the van was engaged in an argument with one of the Plaintiffs regarding the A/C, the van was struck by another vehicle and immediately flipped over and slid down the highway. Each of the Plaintiffs sustained serious injuries and were rushed to Jackson Memorial Hospital. The driver of the vehicle that struck them stopped at the scene and helped to get passengers out of the van, and although he admitted that the accident was his fault, he was not available to testify during trial. Plaintiffs' accident reconstructionist, Miles Moss, testified that despite being impacted by another vehicle, the van driver was clearly inattentive (as he was arguing with passengers and not watching the road at the time of impact), and he overcorrected, and his overcorrecting was the cause of the rollover. Plaintiffs asked for more than $2 Million in closing, and after a two week long trial, the jury returned a defense verdict on liability.

GONZALEZ v. HARRIS - Defense Verdict 

Michael Carney obtained a defense verdict in case involving a 12 year old student struck by motor vehicle at a bus stop. Plaintiff and a friend both claimed that a substitute bus driver had dropped the students off at an incorrect location, requiring the students to cross a street with a center median. Plaintiff claimed that he walked to the median and, while there, observed Defendant passing the school bus and moving in his direction. Plaintiff claimed that, although he remained on the median, Defendant's side mirror impacted his hip and knocked him to the ground. The minor sustained a fractured hip and a knee injury and was claiming a continued inability to engage in sports and other activities. Plaintiff's treating doctors opined that had sustained permanent injuries and would exhibit an antalgic gait for the rest of his life.

Defendant claimed that the Plaintiff seemed to trip or fall off the median and impacted the side of her vehicle and that she was unable to avoid the impact. Moreover, Defendant asserted that the bus had already departed the drop-off point when the accident occurred and that she was driving slowly and carefully and fully aware of the Plaintiff on the median before he fell.

The defense was able to establish, through the testimony of a number of partial eyewitnesses, that it was more likely than not that the school bus had departed the area at least one minute before the accident and that Defendant had not violated any statutes regulating traffic around school buses. The jury returned a complete defense verdict, finding no liability on the part of the Defendant.

GILBERT v. DANSKY - Defense Verdict

Daniel Draper recently won a defense verdict, beating a nominal proposal of settlement, for a urologist/surgeon in Kendall, who had been sued in a medical malpractice case brought by the estate of a deceased lady for the benefit of her surviving son. The surgeon performed a nephrectomy which was presumed to cure this very pleasant lady of cancer. However the cancer recurred, debilitating her and preventing her from caring for her invalid husband, who had to be placed in extended care and died shortly before she died.

The suit was brought by her son for her estate as a survival action, and the Plaintiff's attorney settled for a substantial sum with the co-Defendant hospital, before proceeding to trial against our client the surgeon, the attending physician and his physician's assistant.

Although the jury was confronted with a difficult sympathy scenario, and the usual confused liability issues, it rendered a "not guilty of medical negligence" verdict. Plaintiff's damages demand to the jury was in the millions.

PARAJON v. FOOD SERVICE REFRIGERATION - Defense Verdict 

Peter Murphy  of the Miami office obtained a defense verdict.  Mr. Murphy represented a CNA insured who attempted a three point U-turn into oncoming traffic and caused another vehicle to swerve and strike the plaintiff who was seated on a bus bench. The plaintiff sustained a severe crush injury to her right leg, significant tissue loss, a comminuted fracture of her femur and tibia, and required multiple surgeries. In closing argument, plaintiff's counsel asked the jury to award $1.8 million and to assign 90% responsibility on the CNA insured and 10% on the co-defendant who had $50,000 in coverage. Mr. Murphy argued that the plaintiff should be entitled to all of her past and future medical expenses (approximately $250,000) and suggested that the jury award $200,000 for pain and suffering. As for liability, Mr. Murphy contended that the co-defendant had sufficient time to react, slow down and/or stop her vehicle without having to swerve off the roadway and hit the bus bench. After the plaintiff rejected CNA's final offer of $450,000, the jury returned a verdict of no liability on the part of the CNA insured and 100% on the co-defendant. The jury awarded $450,000 in damages.

MEJIA v. MANHEIM AUCTIONS, DAVID'S USED CARS, and DANIEL WEBB - Defense Verdict 

Charles Watkins, a shareholder in the Miami office, secured a compete defense verdict for David's Used Cars Inc., in a catastrophic brain injury case.  The plaintiff, Edwin Mejia,  was driving on interstate highway I-95 with his wife and three year old daughter, when his vehicle was rear-ended by a Navy owned truck driven by Daniel Webb, an employee of David's Used Cars Inc.  David's Used Cars settled with the plaintiff pre-trial, but was sued for indemnity and contribution by Manheim Auctions.  At trial, Mr. Watkins successfully argued a motion for directed verdict on the contribution claim, and it was dismissed by the Court.  However, the issue of indemnity went to the jury.  The jury returned a verdict of $23,000,000.00 for the plaintiff against the co-defendant, but found in favor of David's Used Cars and determined that Daniel Webb was an independent contractor and therefore David's Used Cars owed no indemnification to the cross-plaintiff Manheim Auctions.  Mr. Watkins won a complete defense verdict for his client.

Earleen Cote, a shareholder in the Fort Lauderdale office, won a net defense verdict for her client, Ms. Johnson, in a Fort Lauderdale death case. Ms. Johnson was driving a car in which the plaintiff was a passenger, and the plaintiff was killed in the accident. The evidence established that a Florida Power and Light truck had the right of way, and our driver had the stop sign, and was unfamiliar with the area. Ms. Cote successfully argued to the jury that the sign was blocked by bushes and trees owned by the local homeowners. After several days of trial, and multiple experts, the jury returned a verdict for $1,500,000.00 against the non-party homeowners, and only 2% against our client, Ms. Johnson.

PIZZURO v. RUNYONS - Defense Verdict

Michael Carney, a shareholder in the Fort Lauderdale office, won a complete defense verdict for his restaurant client in a lawsuit that arose out of a serious altercation inside the restaurant. As a result of the fight, the Plaintiff sustained a complex bi-malleolar ankle fracture that required a surgical fusion. Unfortunately, the ankle surgery resulted in a non-union, and required another surgery. The Plaintiff's surgeon testified that two more surgeries were also required. After a three day trial, the jury determined the Defendant restaurant did not create a dangerous condition by allowing alleged overcrowding and allegedly failing to make a reasonable effort to maintain order among patrons who had been drinking. The jury determined that the fight was not foreseeable, and therefore not a legal cause of the injury. A complete defense verdict was rendered.