49 Fla. L. Weekly D1131a MICHEL LASSITER, Appellant, v. CITIZENS PROPERTY INSURANCE COMPANY, Appellee. 2nd District. Case No. 2D2022-2609. May 29, 2024. Appeal from the County Court for Pinellas County; Lorraine M. Kelly, Judge. Counsel: Hans Peter B. Haahr of Haahr Law Group, PL, St. Petersburg, for Appellant. Kathryn L. Ender and Ross Berlin of […]
Articles
Costs — Party recovering judgment — Insurance — Insurer, as party recovering judgment, was entitled to recover taxable costs under plain language of section 57.041
49 Fla. L. Weekly D1084a PROGRESSIVE AMERICAN INSURANCE COMPANY, Appellant, v. CHIROPRACTIC CLINICS OF SOUTH FLORIDA, PL, a/a/o Edward Hall, Appellee. 3rd District. Case No. 3D22-857. L.T. Case No. 16-178 SP. May 22, 2024. An Appeal from the County Court for Miami-Dade County, Patricia Marino Pedraza, Judge. Counsel: Banker Lopez Gassler P.A., and DeeAnn J. […]
Torts — Premises liability — Supermarkets — Slip and fall — Transitory substance — Knowledge of dangerous condition — Summary judgment
49 Fla. L. Weekly D1110b SANDRA LEFTWICH, Appellant, v. WAL-MART STORES EAST, LP and THOMAS SCHOENDORF, Appellees. 5th District. Case No. 5D2022-2821. L.T. Case No. 2020-CA-0370. May 24, 2024. On appeal from the Circuit Court for Hernando County. Donald E. Scaglione, Judge. Counsel: Brian J. Lee, of Morgan & Morgan, Jacksonville, for Appellant. Andrew S. […]
Torts — Automobile accident — Comparative negligence — Directed verdict — New trial — Plaintiff who was struck by one driver while walking across the highway and knocked into another lane of traffic where she was struck by a second driver — No error in denying second driver’s motion for directed verdict — Plaintiff presented sufficient evidence for a reasonable jury to find second driver liable for the accident where experts testified that, based on second driver’s own testimony and within a reasonable degree of scientific probability, second driver could have seen plaintiff in the street, reacted, and steered the vehicle out of the way prior to impact — To extent second driver’s speed was disputed, such uncertainty would not preclude finding of liability given expert testimony that plaintiff would have been visible under street lights regardless of how far away second driver was prior to impact — Trial court did not err in denying second driver’s motion for new trial alleging that trial court abused its discretion by sustaining several of plaintiff’s objections to defense counsel’s attempt to rehabilitate second driver after she was impeached with her prior inconsistent statements in her deposition testimony regarding her speed — Even if trial court abused its discretion in sustaining objections to defense counsel’s questioning, it had no bearing on verdict — Furthermore, second driver invited error by repeatedly failing to object when other witnesses testified about the deposition transcripts
49 Fla. L. Weekly D1045a LATRICE PLA, Appellant, v. ASHLEY RIERSON, et al., Appellees. 3rd District. Case Nos. 3D23-0088 & 3D23-1712. L.T. Case No. 11-978-P. May 15, 2024. Appeals from the Circuit Court for Monroe County, James M. Barton, II, and Luis Garcia, Judges. Counsel: Boyd Richards Parker Colonnelli, PL, and John H. Richards (Fort […]
Attorney’s fees — Proposal for settlement — Validity — Joint offer — Dispute between homeowners and professional design company — Validity of PFS — Trial court erred in refusing to award attorney’s fees to prevailing homeowners on ground that PFS constituted a joint proposal for settlement and required proper apportionment under rule 1.442(c)(3) — Apportionment was not required because of the unified, single nature of homeowners’ claim for damages
49 Fla. L. Weekly D1025b NADJA MACKENSEN and WOLFGANG MACKENSEN, Appellants, v. TRACE ELEMENTS, INC., Appellee. 4th District. Case No. 4D2023-1707. May 15, 2024. Appeal from the County Court for the Nineteenth Judicial Circuit, Indian River County; Robyn E. Stone, Judge; L.T. Case No. 312022CC000387. Counsel: Michael G. Kissner, Jr. and Savannah J. H. Unruh […]