49 Fla. L. Weekly D27e FLORIDA BC HOLDINGS, LLC d/b/a SYNERGY EQUIPMENT, Appellant, v. JAY E. REESE, Appellee. 6th District. Case No. 6D23-1379. L.T. Case No. 2017-CA-007010-O. December 21, 2023. Appeal from the Circuit Court for Orange County. Vincent S. Chiu, Judge. Counsel: Michael Fox Orr and Megan Claire Comunale, of Orr | Cook, Jacksonville, Read More »
Articles
Torts — Negligence — Premises liability — Business invitee — Operator of athletic training facility — Failure to properly install and maintain synthetic turf in training area — Vicarious liability — Action against operator of athletic training facility brought by plaintiff who was injured when operator’s employee instructed him to train in area covered with synthetic turf that was allegedly negligently installed or maintained although employee knew or should have known that training in that area was dangerous — Trial court erred in dismissing third amended complaint with prejudice for failure to state cause of action against operator — Allegations were sufficient to state basis for holding operator vicariously liable for actions of its employee — Civil procedure — Party may assert inconsistent claims in same pleading, even if claims are mutually exclusive — Plaintiff is not required to separate different theories of relief into different counts in order to avoid dismissal
49 Fla. L. Weekly D56a JYQUIS THOMAS, Appellant, v. TRENCH TRAINING SYSTEMS, LLC; D-1 SPORTS FRANCHISE, LLC; D-1 TRAINING, INC., TAMPA; and TAYLOR SCOTT, Appellees. 2nd District. Case No. 2D22-2857. December 29, 2023. Appeal from the Circuit Court for Hillsborough County; Emmett Lamar Battles, Judge. Counsel: Brian C. Tackenberg, John G. Crabtree, Charles M. Auslander, Read More »
Wrongful death — Medical malpractice — Arbitration — Arbitrable issues — Action stemming from a club physician’s failure to diagnose a potentially fatal condition when evaluating the deceased, a professional baseball player, as part of an evaluation ordered by the deceased’s and physician’s employer, a professional baseball club — Trial court erred by granting defendant’s motion to stay and compel arbitration — Arbitration clause in deceased’s player contract did not encompass plaintiff’s claims where claims at issue involve an intra-club dispute, and plain language of arbitration clause applied only to inter-club disputes and disputes between clubs and other major league baseball entities
48 Fla. L. Weekly D2313a CHRISTOPHER and TAMMY COSTELLO as Personal Representative of the ESTATE of RYAN COSTELLO, deceased, Appellants, v. DAVID OLSON, M.D., Appellee. 6th District. Case No. 6D23-985. L.T. Case No. 21-CA-006331. December 8, 2023. Appeal pursuant to Fla. R. App. P. 9.130 from the Circuit Court for Lee County. Alane Laboda, Judge. Read More »
Insurance — Homeowners — All-risk policy — Coverage — Cracking damage to home caused by blasting vibrations from nearby rock quarry — Exclusions — Earth or soil movement — Wear and tear, marking, deterioration, settling, shrinking, bulging, or expansion — Concurrent causes — Trial court did not err in denying insurer’s motion for directed verdict based on policy’s exclusion of coverage for earth sinking, rising, or shifting or soil movement resulting from blasting — Insurer’s position was based upon mischaracterization of testimony by insureds’ expert, who was steadfast in his opinion that none of the damage to home resulted from soil or earth movement, but was instead the result of shock waves from blasting that caused the house to shake — Based upon competing expert testimony, jury could have reasonably concluded that it was shock waves, not soil or earth movement, that caused damage — Jury instructions — Covered and excluded perils — Concurrent cause doctrine — Trial court did not err by instructing jury that land shock waves from blasting in combination with wear and tear, marring, deterioration, settling, shrinking, bulging, or expansion was not excluded under policy — Although policy’s earth movement exclusion contained an explicit anti-concurrent cause provision, this provision would have come into play only if jury had first determined that one of the causes of damage was earth movement — Judgment in favor of insureds affirmed
48 Fla. L. Weekly D2240a TOWER HILL PRIME INSURANCE COMPANY, Appellant, v. IVET BERMUDEZ and MARIO BERMUDEZ, Appellees. 3rd District. Case No. 3D22-0828. L.T. Case No. 19-12058. November 29, 2023. An Appeal from the Circuit Court for Miami-Dade County, William Thomas, Judge. Counsel: Traub Lieberman Straus & Shrewsberry LLP, and Scot E. Samis (St. Petersburg); Read More »
Insurance — Homeowners — Discovery — Work product — Claims files — Appeals — Certiorari — Trial court did not depart from essential requirements of the law by compelling insurer to produce documents from its claims and underwriting files — Documents in claims and underwriting files are not automatically work product — Insurer’s assertion of work-product privilege was overly broad, and insurer did not argue or prove that the requested documents were prepared in anticipation of litigation
48 Fla. L. Weekly D2218e HOMEOWNERS CHOICE PROPERTY & CASUALTY INSURANCE COMPANY, INC., Petitioner, v. THOMAS S. THOMPSON and LISA D. THOMPSON, Respondents. 1st District. Case No. 1D2023-0970. November 22, 2023. Petition for Writ of Certiorari — Original Jurisdiction. Counsel: Curt Allen, Bryan D. Hull, and Lauren B. Yevich of Bush Ross, P.A., Tampa, for Read More »