Abbey Adams Logo

Defending Liability, Workers' Compensation, Employment Claims and Appeals Since 1982

Articles

by

Disabilities — Discrimination — Americans with Disabilities Act — Rehabilitation Act — School boards — Access to public schools — Reasonable accommodation — Injunctions — Appeal from denial of temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction entered in action against school superintendent, individual members of school board, and school district in action brought in the wake of COVID-19 pandemic by students with respiratory disabilities, who claim that school district’s refusal to provide reasonable accommodations for access to in-person schooling constituted a violation of Title II of ADA and Section 504 of Rehabilitation Act — Mootness — Action was not rendered moot by update in Center for Disease Control’s guidelines relating to mandatory masking — Live controversy remained where prayer for relief in students’ motion for preliminary injunction and temporary restraining order asked court to “[o]rder Defendants to develop and implement policies, practices, procedures, and protocols for a multilayered COVID-19 mitigation strategy that follows CDC guidelines for COVID-19 Prevention in K-12 Schools and maintain consistency with the CDC guidelines in the event of subsequent changes, so that Plaintiffs can attend in-person school” — Although CDC guidelines have changed, defendants’ policies remain at odds with the current guidelines — Likelihood of success on the merits — District court erred by misconstruing students’ argument as a right to education “generally,” despite record clearly establishing that students were alleging denial of access to “in-person” education, which is a specific “service, program, or activity” provided to all students by the district — On remand, district court must analyze whether virtual schooling provided by the district is a reasonable accommodation for in-person schooling and, if not, must consider whether the multi-layered approach to COVID-19 precautions sought by students constitutes reasonable accommodation — Unjustified isolation — Because Supreme Court has held that “unjustified isolation” is “properly regarded as discrimination based on disability,” district court must analyze students’ likelihood of success on the merits under this theory

29 Fla. L. Weekly Fed. C2006a L.E., By and through their parent and next friend, Sara Cavorley, B.B., A minor, by and through their parent and next friend, Elizabeth Baird, A.Z., A minor, by and through their parent and next friend, Jessica Zeigler, C.S., A minor, by and through their parent and next friend, Tarasha Read More »

by

Attorney’s fees — Prevailing party — Voluntary dismissal — Where all counts in complaint involved the same facts and the same parties, trial court’s order dismissing one of multiple counts was not a final order and did not dispose of the action for either party — Plaintiff’s subsequent notice of voluntary dismissal disposed of the action as to both parties and triggered 30-day time frame for filing motion for attorney’s fees — Trial court erred in reversing its initial award of fees to defendant after concluding that motion should have been filed within 30 days of court’s non-final dismissal order

48 Fla. L. Weekly D96c SARA WARD, Appellant, v. RIVKA LIEBER, as Personal Representative of the ESTATE OF LILLIAN K. WASSERMAN, Appellee. 4th District. Case No. 4D22-5. January 4, 2023. Appeal from the Circuit Court for the Fifteenth Judicial Circuit, Palm Beach County; Paige Gillman Kilbane, Judge; L.T. Case No. 502019CA003353. Counsel: Jennifer S. Carroll Read More »

by

Torts — Jurors — Peremptory challenge — Race-neutral explanation — Genuineness — No abuse of discretion in determining that plaintiff’s proffered reason for exercising peremptory challenge as to Hispanic female juror was not genuine

48 Fla. L. Weekly D71b AIRAM BULTE, Appellant, v. DOLLAR TREE STORES, INC., etc., Appellee. 3rd District. Case No. 3D22-18. L.T. Case No. 18-38119. January 4, 2023. An Appeal from the Circuit Court for Miami-Dade County, Mark Blumstein, Judge. Counsel: Schwed, Adams & McGinley, P.A., and Paul M. Adams (Palm Beach Gardens); Burlington & Rockenbach, Read More »

by

Attorney’s fees — Proposal for settlement — Ambiguities — Defendant’s proposal for settlement and release were clear and unambiguous notwithstanding supposed conflicting provisions in proposal and typographical error in general release consisting of use of an asterisk in place of the defendant’s name — Proposal and release stated with particularity relevant conditions and all non-monetary terms, and read as a whole, there were no ambiguities that could have reasonably affected plaintiff’s decision whether to accept proposal — Trial court erred by declining to enforce proposal for settlement

48 Fla. L. Weekly D47a PUBLIX SUPER MARKETS, INC., Appellant, v. SIERRA ALFORD, Appellee. 5th District. Case No. 5D21-2612. L.T. Case No. 2019-CA-036338-X. December 30, 2022. Appeal from the Circuit Court for Brevard County, Dale Curtis Jacobus, Judge. Counsel: Michael R. D’Lugo, of Wicker Smith O’Hara McCoy & Ford, P.A., Orlando, for Appellant. Brian J. Read More »

by

Torts — Premises liability — Trip and fall — Speed bumps — Duty to warn — Negligent maintenance — Action stemming from injuries plaintiff suffered after tripping over an unmarked speed bump at an apartment complex — No error in entering summary judgment in favor of apartment complex — Apartment complex owed no duty to warn where record shows that speed bump was open, obvious, and specifically known to plaintiff — Moreover, plaintiff admitted in deposition that she was not looking directly where she was going — Apartment complex breached no duty to exercise ordinary care to maintain premises in reasonably safe condition where nothing in record indicates that speed bump was an inherently dangerous condition that would cause injury — Even if speed bump was an inherently dangerous condition that would cause injury, speed bump was so open and obvious that apartment complex could reasonably expect plaintiff to protect herself from any purported danger

47 Fla. L. Weekly D2620a EILEEN SMITH, Appellant, v. WESTDALE ASSET MANAGEMENT, LTD. d/b/a ANGEL COVE APARTMENT HOMES, Appellee. 1st District. Case No. 1D22-231. December 12, 2022. On appeal from the Circuit Court for Escambia County. Coleman Lee Robinson, Judge. Counsel: Michael E. Fenimore of Michael E. Fenimore, P.A., Pensacola, for Appellant. Michael R. D’Lugo Read More »

The owner of this website has made a commitment to accessibility and inclusion, please report any problems that you encounter using the contact form on this website. This site uses the WP ADA Compliance Check plugin to enhance accessibility.