50 Fla. L. Weekly D610a MIGUEL BETANCOURT, et al., Appellants, v. CITIZENS PROPERTY INSURANCE CORPORATION, Appellee. 3rd District. Case No. 3D23-0923. L.T. Case No. 20-11486. March 12, 2025. An Appeal from the Circuit Court for Miami-Dade County, Beatrice Butchko, Judge. Counsel: Giasi Law, P.A., Erin M. Berger and Melissa A. Giasi (Tampa), for appellants. Williams, Read More »
Articles
Torts — Automobile accident — Amendment of complaint to add claim for punitive damages — There is no requirement that trial court make affirmative findings when permitting plaintiff to plead punitive damages — Conflict certified — Trial court erred in granting motion for leave to amend complaint to add claim for punitive damages where proffered evidence fell short of providing reasonable basis for recovery of punitive damages — Voluntary intoxication — Deposition testimony that defendant was a regular user of marijuana who smoked marijuana throughout the day did not provide reasonable basis for punitive damages where there was no evidence that defendant had used marijuana in the morning prior to accident or was impaired at time of accident
50 Fla. L. Weekly D630b AMAZULU TRANSPORT, INC. and PETER STUART WELCH, JR., Appellants, v. GARY DINKINS, Appellee. 6th District. Case No. 6D23-2353. L.T. Case No. 2020-CA-8564-O. March 14, 2025. Appeal pursuant to Fla. R. App. P. 9.130 from the Circuit Court for Orange County. Margaret H. Schreiber, Judge. Counsel: Michael A. Sastre, of Sastre Read More »
Arbitration — Torts — Premises liability — Slip and fall — Tenant’s action against landlord seeking damages for injuries sustained when tenant stepped on an in-ground utility box with a defective cover while walking in common areas fell within provision of lease requiring arbitration of all claims arising between tenant and landlord — Significant relationship — Plaintiff’s contention that claim arose from landlord’s common law duty to members of the public and, accordingly, did not bear a significant relationship to lease is without merit where lease specifically included personal injury claims arising from or relating to tenant’s use of apartment or common areas within definition of arbitrable claims
50 Fla. L. Weekly D626a MID-AMERICA APARTMENT COMMUNITIES, INC., and ROBIN JIMINEZ, Appellants, v. ALEJANDRA GONZALEZ, Appellee. 2nd District. Case No. 2D2024-0780. March 14, 2025. Appeal pursuant to Fla. R. App. P. 9.130 from the Circuit Court for Hillsborough County; Robert A. Bauman, Judge. Counsel: Ezequiel Lugo of Banker Lopez Gassler P.A., Tampa, for Appellants. Read More »
Insurance — Homeowners — Property damage caused by vehicle crashing into property — Coverage — Mitigation services — Debris removal — Exclusions — Damage to other structures — Fencing — Trial court erred in entering summary judgment in favor of insurer in assignee’s action seeking payment for removal and replacement of damaged fencing — Trial court erred in applying policy’s definition of “principal building” when determining whether damages relating to fencing were excluded under policy — Plain reading of policy as a whole demonstrates that definition of principal building applied only when evaluating damages caused by catastrophic ground cover collapse, which was not at issue in instant case — Further, plain language of policy established that structures attached to family dwelling were covered under policy, and there was no genuine dispute that damaged fence was an iron fence attached to the dwelling — Trial court erred in applying exclusion for damages to other structures connected to dwelling by only a fence because the fence at issue was itself a “structure attached to the dwelling,” which fell squarely under Coverage A of the policy — Finally, policy plainly covered reasonable expenses for emergency services and debris removal if the underlying damage to the insured’s property was covered — Trial court should have entered final summary judgment in favor of assignee in invoiced amount
50 Fla. L. Weekly D517a ANYTIME RESTORATION SERVICES OF FLORIDA, INC., etc., Appellant, v. CITIZENS PROPERTY INSURANCE CORPORATION, Appellee. 3rd District. Case No. 3D23-1258. L.T. Case No. 21-13698 SP. February 26, 2025. An Appeal from the County Court for Miami-Dade County, Christopher Green, Judge. Counsel: Alonso & Perez, LLP and Rafael F. Alonso, for appellant. Read More »
Criminal law — Search and seizure — Arrest — Driving under influence — Misdemeanor-related offenses — Probable cause — Defendant was not entitled to suppression of all evidence relating to his DUI arrest where law enforcement had probable cause to arrest — Totality of circumstances gave officers probable cause to arrest defendant for DUI where information gathered during accident investigation was compounded with facts that defendant admitted driving vehicle at issue, admitted he had been drinking at a bar, was found with the vehicle’s keys in his pocket during initial encounter with police, and had signs of impairment, and police confirmed that vehicle was registered in defendant’s name — Accident report privilege was not a basis for granting motion to suppress, as that privilege was not raised in defendant’s motion or specifically argued at suppression hearing, and state objected when trial court raised privilege at hearing — Accident report privilege was not applicable to statements of bar manager and security guard who were not involved in accident — Under fellow officer rule, officer conducting DUI investigation could rely on security guard’s statement that guard had seen defendant exit the driver’s side of vehicle in making his probable cause determination — Identity of witnesses — Citizen informants — Security guard and bar manager qualified as citizen informants, not anonymous tipsters, and information provided was sufficiently reliable — The witnesses were easily identifiable, as the law enforcement officers were familiar with both witnesses and had prior dealings with them, and witnesses provided information face-to-face with officers
50 Fla. L. Weekly D526a STATE OF FLORIDA, Appellant, v. GERSON CONTRERAS SARAVIA, Appellee. 4th District. Case No. 4D2024-0371. February 26, 2025. Appeal from the County Court for the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit, Broward County; Kenneth A. Gottlieb, Judge; L.T. Case No. 23-007751-MU10A. Counsel: James Uthmeier, Attorney General, Tallahassee, and Anesha Worthy, Senior Assistant Attorney General, Read More »