48 Fla. L. Weekly D1470a 701 PALAFOX, LLC, GREENHUT CONSTRUCTION COMPANY, INC. and GREENHUT CONSTRUCTION & DEVELOPMENT, LLC, Appellants, v. SCUBA SHACK, INC., a Florida Corporation, Appellee. 1st District. Case No. 1D22-1535. July 26, 2023. On appeal from the Circuit Court for Escambia County. Terry D. Terrell, Judge. Counsel: Samuel B. Spinner, Hinda Klein, and Read More »
Articles
Torts — Premises liability — Malls — Dangerous condition — Landscaping features — Vicarious liability — Action against operator of mall arising from injuries plaintiff suffered after stepping into a hole or depression in a raised landscape area which separated mall’s parking lot from the sidewalk that led to mall’s entrance — No error in entering summary judgment in favor of defendant because, as a matter of law, the landscaped area was not a dangerous condition — Evidence that a few people had walked across the landscaped area to get to the sidewalk was not sufficient to create a duty where there was no evidence that the grass bed had become a well-trampled footpath or that the grass bed has been in continuous and obvious use as a pedestrian shortcut such that defendant was put on constructive notice of the condition — Defendant cannot be held vicariously liable for condition created by landscapers where landscapers were not found liable
48 Fla. L. Weekly D1351a STEPHANIE PIO, Appellant, v. SIMON CAPITAL GP; MACY’S FLORIDA STORES, LLC; and LUKE’S LANDSCAPING, INC., Appellees. 2nd District. Case No. 2D21-1621. July 7, 2023. Appeal from the Circuit Court for Pinellas County; Cynthia J. Newton, Judge. Counsel: Robert J. Healy, Jr., of Salter, Healy, Rivera & Heptner, St. Petersburg, for Read More »
Torts — Automobile accident — Permanent injury — Causation — Trial court improperly directed verdict on causation given conflicting evidence which would have permitted reasonable jury to conclude that plaintiff had a pre-existing back injury caused by weight training or prior participation in competitive crew rowing
48 Fla. L. Weekly D1410b HERNANDO J. LANCHEROS and VL AUTO TRANSPORT, INC., Appellants, v. RYAN BURKE, Appellee. 6th District. Case No. 6D23-1144. L.T. Case No. 2017-CA-010082-O. July 14, 2023. Appeal from the Circuit Court for Orange County. Jeffrey L. Ashton, Judge. Counsel: Hinda Klein, of Conroy Simberg, Hollywood, for Appellants. Brian J. Lee, of Read More »
Insurance — Homeowners — Coverage — Vandalism — Trial court erred by denying insurer’s motion for directed verdict where policy limited coverage to insured’s “residence premises,” and insured did not “reside” at the property at the time of loss — Fact that insured was no longer leasing the property and was intending to move back when property was vandalized does not alter analysis
48 Fla. L. Weekly D1415b UNIVERSAL PROPERTY & CASUALTY INSURANCE COMPANY, Appellant, v. JORGE O. GONZALEZ-PEREZ, Appellee. 3rd District. Case No. 3D21-1899. L.T. Case No. 17-29252. July 19, 2023. An Appeal from the Circuit Court for Miami-Dade County, Barbara Areces, Judge. Counsel: Parafinczuk Wolf, P.A., and Jason B. Wolf, Austin Carr and Jean Fernandez (Fort Read More »
Torts — Automobile accident — Multi-vehicle accident — Proximate cause — Intervening cause — Foreseeability — Subsequent accident is type of harm that may be expected from a stationary vehicle blocking lanes on an expressway or interstate highway — Trial court erred in finding as matter of law that defendant who lost control of her Jeep, which then collided with median barrier and came to rest partially blocking two southbound lanes of expressway, was relieved of liability for injuries sustained by plaintiff when a semi-truck that came to a stop to avoid defendant’s stationary Jeep was rear-ended by another truck that failed to slow down, causing cargo on flatbed of rear-ended vehicle to dislodge and land on top of plaintiff’s vehicle — Because rear truck driver’s inattention to hazard ahead was foreseeable cause of collision with vehicle stopped on highway, law permits conclusion that conduct of Jeep driver set in motion a chain of events resulting in injury to plaintiff
48 Fla. L. Weekly D1195a LUIS ANGEL SERRANO, CENTRAL FLORIDA EQUIPMENT RENTALS, INC., and TARA LYNN CLARK, Appellants, v. ADDISON GRACE DICKINSON, STATE FARM MUTUAL AUTOMOBILE INSURANCE COMPANY, and BIOMET 31, LLC d/b/a ZIMMER BIOMET DENTAL, Appellees. 4th District. Case No. 4D22-742. June 14, 2023. Appeal from the Circuit Court for the Nineteenth Judicial Circuit, Read More »