30 Fla. L. Weekly Fed. D13a STATE FARM MUTUAL AUTOMOBILE INSURANCE COMPANY, Plaintiff, v. JEFFREY LAMPILA and SIESTA PEBBLE, INC., Defendants. U.S. District Court, Middle District of Florida, Fort Myers Division. Case No. 2:23-cv-00342-SPC-KCD. September 19, 2023. Sheri Polster Chappell, Judge. Kyle C. Dudek, Magistrate Judge.OPINION AND ORDER Before the Court is Plaintiff’s Motion for […]
Articles
Wrongful death — Automobile accident — Retail tire and service providers — Duty of care — New trial — Action arising out of a fatal automobile accident which resulted from the failure of a fourteen-year-old tire that defendant, a retail tire and service store, had rotated to front of vehicle — After granting defendant’s motion for directed verdict because no evidence of relevant industry standard was presented, trial court erred in granting plaintiff’s motion for a new trial based on finding that defendant’s breach of its own internal policy was evidence of the standard of care and a breach of the standard of care — Fact that defendant’s internal policy called for it to refuse service if a customer did not wish to purchase a new tire to replace a tire that was more than ten years old was not evidence that defendant violated the industry standard of care
48 Fla. L. Weekly D2127a DISCOUNT TIRE CO., Appellant, v. TAMMY BRADFORD, as Personal Representative of the Estate of MICHAEL BLAZE BRADFORD, deceased; and as PERSONAL REPRESENTATIVE of the ESTATE of WARREN MICHAEL BRADFORD, deceased, Appellee. 5th District. Case No. 5D22-1901. L.T. Case No. 2019-10377-CIDL. November 3, 2023. On appeal from the Circuit Court for […]
Costs — Prevailing party — Trial court improperly awarded costs which were not taxable under the Statewide Uniform Guidelines for Taxation of Costs and applicable caselaw by including costs for computer-assisted legal research, postage, meals, mileage, and parking
48 Fla. L. Weekly D2112a FLOPRO, LLC, Appellant, v. EOX TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS, INC., Appellee. 4th District. Case No. 4D2023-0001. November 1, 2023. Appeal from the Circuit Court for the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit, Broward County; Sandra Perlman, Judge; L.T. Case No. CACE-17-06535. Counsel: Maury L. Udell of Beighley, Myrick, Udell & Lynne, PA, Miami, for appellant. […]
Landlord-tenant — Constructive eviction — Attorney’s fees — Proposal for settlement — Error to award attorney’s fees and costs to landlord based on tenant’s rejection of landlord’s pretrial settlement offer — Proposal for settlement served by landlord did not satisfy the legal standards for an award of fees and costs under section 768.79 and Rule 1.442 where proposal did not state that it would resolve “all damages” awardable in a final judgment, and failed to expressly address landlord’s counterclaims against tenant
48 Fla. L. Weekly D2123a REBECCA KNAPP, Appellant, v. HARLEY H. HARLING, Appellee. 1st District. Case No. 1D2022-2256. November 1, 2023. On appeal from the Circuit Court for Alachua County. Donna M. Keim, Judge. Counsel: Joseph W. Little, Gainesville, for Appellant. Caryn L. Bellus and Jazmine Janine L. Dykes of Kubicki Draper, P.A., Miami, for […]
Insurance — Homeowners — Coverage — Water damage — Act of nature — Tear out costs — Water loss caused by deterioration of property’s cast iron plumbing — Trial court did not err in determining that water damage exclusion endorsement in subject policy, which excluded coverage for the overflow of water caused by any act of nature, was applicable because corrosion of plumbing is an “act of nature” — Discussion of meaning of “act of nature” — Only contextually reasonable meaning of “act of nature” is “something that naturally occurs,” which includes a naturally occurring process like rust and corrosion — Trial court erred in determining that limited water damage coverage endorsement, which only applied to “covered property” that suffered “sudden and accidental direct physical loss,” covered tear out and replacement cost of concrete slab that insureds had to destroy to access plumbing system — Slab was an ancillary loss and ancillary losses were excluded by the WDX endorsement — Additionally, ancillary slab damage caused by tear out was not a direct physical loss, much less a sudden and accidental one
48 Fla. L. Weekly D2172d PEOPLE’S TRUST INSURANCE COMPANY, Appellant/Cross-Appellee, v. PAUL GUNSSER, Appellee/Cross-Appellant. 6th District. Case No. 6D23-492. L.T. Case No. 20-CA-002396. November 9, 2023. Appeal from the Circuit Court for Lee County. Sherra Winesett, Judge. Counsel: Mark D. Tinker and Francesca M. Stein, of Cole, Scott & Kissane, P.A., Tampa, for Appellant/Cross-Appellee. Mark […]