Peter Baumberger and Raquel Loret de Mola, of our Miami office, earned positive results in a four-day premises liability trial in Daytona Beach. The plaintiff sustained injuries after she came upon a large pile of debris located on a public sidewalk in front of the defendant’s house and attempted to walk around it and fell. The plaintiff sued alleging the defendant was negligent, relying largely on a local ordinance that creates a duty for all landowners to keep sidewalks adjacent to their properties clear of debris. The defense argued that the ordinance may only be used as evidence of possible negligence and was not proof positive that the defendant acted negligently. Moreover, evidence was presented that the defendant did not have any knowledge of the debris on the sidewalk at the time of the incident. The jury found the plaintiff to be 75% comparatively negligent. The jury also rejected more than half of the plaintiff’s past medical bills and denied all future medicals and pain and suffering, leaving the plaintiff with a minimal net award.