47 Fla. L. Weekly D2384a DENISE LAUREEN WHARRAN, Petitioner, v. SUEN ANGHARA MORGAN, Respondent. 2nd District. Case No. 2D22-395. November 18, 2022. Petition for Writ of Certiorari to the Circuit Court for Hillsborough County; Caroline Tesche Arkin, Judge. Counsel: Jeffrey D. Jensen of Unice Salzman Jensen, P.A., Trinity, for Petitioner. Nicholas A. Shannin and Carol Read More »
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Insurance — Automobile — Underinsured motorist — Damages — Remittitur — New trial — Trial court erred in relying on section 768.043 in granting insurer’s motion for new trial based on alleged excessive damages award where insurer’s initial remittitur motion was denied as legally insufficient, and its amended remittitur motion was prohibited by rule — In the absence of a properly filed remittitur motion, insurer’s motion for new trial was subject to common law standard — While both prongs of common law test were also referenced in trial court’s discussion in new-trial order, trial court’s analysis clearly hinged on factors set forth in section 768.043 — Remand for reconsideration of motion for new trial based on correct legal standard
47 Fla. L. Weekly D2380a AMY MARINEC, Appellant, v. PROGRESSIVE SELECT INSURANCE COMPANY, Appellee. 2nd District. Case No. 2D20-3351. November 18, 2022. Appeal from the Circuit Court for Pinellas County; Linda Allan, Judge. Counsel: Thomas J. Seider of Brannock Humphries & Berman, Tampa, for Appellant. Jennifer C. Worden and Daniel A. Martinez of Martinez Denbo, Read More »
Torts — Discovery — Interrogatories — Work product — Appeals — Certiorari — Trial court did not depart from essential requirements of the law by ordering defendant to provide a verified interrogatory answer based on its knowledge of the incident, including facts learned from its employees and/or agents, after plaintiff had moved for a better response to her interrogatory asking defendant to describe how the underlying incident happened — Plaintiff was not required to prove need and undue hardship where plaintiff was not seeking production of the actual work product materials defendant had prepared, but the otherwise-discoverable factual information contained in the materials — Work product doctrine does not safeguard discovery of underlying facts gathered in work product materials — Trial court departed from essential requirements of the law by not limiting compelled production to the facts
47 Fla. L. Weekly D2373a WALT DISNEY PARKS AND RESORTS U.S., INC., Petitioner, v. LISA ALESI, Respondent. 5th District. Case No. 5D22-1375. L.T. Case No. 2020-CA-002845-O. November 18, 2022. Petition for Certiorari Review of Order from the Circuit Court for Orange County, Jeffrey L. Ashton, Judge. Counsel: Stephanie M. Simm, of Bowman and Brooke, LLP, Read More »
Insurance — Discovery — Depositions — Non-testifying experts — Appeals — Certiorari — Trial court departed from essential requirements of the law by permitting insurer to depose nontestifying consulting expert on matters beyond the scope of expert’s previously disclosed report — Although insurer did not argue, and trial court did not find, exceptional circumstances supporting the taking of consulting expert’s deposition, insured cannot establish irreparable harm with regard to consulting expert being deposed on contents of his report when report was voluntarily disclosed to insurer
47 Fla. L. Weekly D2381a ROBERT WALLACE, Petitioner, v. CITIZENS PROPERTY INSURANCE CORPORATION, Respondent. 2nd District. Case No. 2D22-441. November 18, 2022. Petition for Writ of Certiorari to the Circuit Court for Lee County; James R. Shenko, Judge. Counsel: Gabriela Ibanez-Alers of Kovar Law Group, St. Petersburg, for Petitioner. Edgardo Ferreyra, Jr., and Joseph Piomelli, Read More »
Torts — Cruise ships — Negligence — Slip and fall — District court properly dismissed amended complaint against cruise ship for negligent maintenance and failure to warn, alleging passenger slipped and fell on wet or transitory substance when descending glass stairs between decks and that defendant had actual and/or constructive knowledge of dangerous condition — Despite the claims’ titles and the conclusory allegation asserting that defendant was vicariously liable, complaint seeks to hold defendant directly liable for its own negligence and not vicariously liable for a specific employee’s negligence — Under theory of direct liability, plaintiff failed to plead facts that plausibly allege that defendant had actual or constructive notice of the alleged hazardous wet surface that caused her to slip; rather, amended complaint contains only conclusory allegations as to constructive notice — Plaintiff failed to plausibly allege that defendant had constructive knowledge based on a substantially similar incident or the length of time the hazardous substance existed on the staircase, or that there were crew members in immediate area of glass staircase that could have observed or warned plaintiff of the hazard
29 Fla. L. Weekly Fed. C1774a DONNIE HOLLAND, a citizen and resident of North Carolina, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. CARNIVAL CORPORATION, a Panamanian Corporation, d.b.a. Carnival Cruise Lines, Defendant-Appellee. 11th Circuit. Case No. 21-10298. October 4, 2022. Appeal from the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida (No. 1:20-cv-21789-RNS). (Before WILSON, LUCK, and LAGOA, Circuit Read More »