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

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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); […]

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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 […]

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Wrongful death — Medical malpractice — Vicarious liability — Punitive damages — Amendment of complaint — Allegation that defendant, through its president, committed acts of intentional misconduct or gross negligence by assigning a nurse practitioner to provide after-hours care to a patient with highly complex problems that were beyond nurse practitioner’s permissible scope of practice — Trial court erred by granting plaintiff’s motion to amend complaint to assert claim for punitive damages — Plaintiff failed to demonstrate a reasonable basis for award of punitive damages based on intentional conduct where evidence was insufficient to show that defendant’s president either knew or otherwise intended for nurse practitioner to independently order medical treatment for patient outside the scope of nurse practitioner’s practice without consulting president — Furthermore, there was insufficient evidence demonstrating that defendant’s president condoned or ratified nurse practitioner’s independent treatment with actual knowledge of a high probability that doing so would result in additional harm or death to patient — Plaintiff failed to demonstrate a reasonable basis for award of punitive damages based on gross negligence where facts of case did not show that defendant, through its president or nurse practitioner, evinced a reckless or conscious disregard of or indifference to human life

48 Fla. L. Weekly D2214a HOSPITAL SPECIALISTS, P.A., Appellant, v. KATHLEEN DEEN, as personal representative of the estate of William Alvin Deen, deceased, ABDI ABBASSI, M.D. and DIGESTIVE DISEASE CONSULTANTS, LLC, a limited liability company, ET AL., Appellees. 5th District. Case No. 5D23-346. L.T. Case No. 16-2020-CA-000341. November 21, 2023. Nonfinal Appeal of Order from […]

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Torts — Negligent hiring — Punitive damages — Trial court departed from essential requirements of law in granting motion to amend complaint to add claim for punitive damages against employer of driver who crashed company car into plaintiff’s vehicle — Proffered evidence was not sufficient to establish reasonable basis for finding that defendant was grossly negligent when it allegedly hired employee without conducting adequate pre-employment screening, obtaining a driving and criminal history, and confirming that employee held valid driver’s license — Proffered evidence was either not directly related to allegation that employer was grossly negligent or sufficiently refuted by defendant

48 Fla. L. Weekly D2225c EBSARY FOUNDATION COMPANY, Appellant, v. THOMAS C. SERVINSKY and MARIE L. SERVINSKY, Appellees. 4th District. Case No. 4D2022-1990. November 22, 2023. Appeal of a non-final order from the Circuit Court for the Nineteenth Judicial Circuit, Martin County; Gary L. Sweet, Judge; L.T. Case No. 2019CA000951. Counsel: Charles M-P “Chip” George […]

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Torts — Negligent hiring — Punitive damages — Trial court departed from essential requirements of law in granting motion to amend complaint to add claim for punitive damages against employer of driver who crashed company car into plaintiff’s vehicle — Proffered evidence was not sufficient to establish reasonable basis for finding that defendant was grossly negligent when it allegedly hired employee without conducting adequate pre-employment screening, obtaining a driving and criminal history, and confirming that employee held valid driver’s license — Proffered evidence was either not directly related to allegation that employer was grossly negligent or sufficiently refuted by defendant

48 Fla. L. Weekly D2225c EBSARY FOUNDATION COMPANY, Appellant, v. THOMAS C. SERVINSKY and MARIE L. SERVINSKY, Appellees. 4th District. Case No. 4D2022-1990. November 22, 2023. Appeal of a non-final order from the Circuit Court for the Nineteenth Judicial Circuit, Martin County; Gary L. Sweet, Judge; L.T. Case No. 2019CA000951. Counsel: Charles M-P “Chip” George […]

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