47 Fla. L. Weekly D2381a ROBERT WALLACE, Petitioner, v. CITIZENS PROPERTY INSURANCE CORPORATION, Respondent. 2nd District. Case No. 2D22-441. November 18, 2022. Petition for Writ of Certiorari to the Circuit Court for Lee County; James R. Shenko, Judge. Counsel: Gabriela Ibanez-Alers of Kovar Law Group, St. Petersburg, for Petitioner. Edgardo Ferreyra, Jr., and Joseph Piomelli, […]
Articles
Torts — Cruise ships — Negligence — Slip and fall — District court properly dismissed amended complaint against cruise ship for negligent maintenance and failure to warn, alleging passenger slipped and fell on wet or transitory substance when descending glass stairs between decks and that defendant had actual and/or constructive knowledge of dangerous condition — Despite the claims’ titles and the conclusory allegation asserting that defendant was vicariously liable, complaint seeks to hold defendant directly liable for its own negligence and not vicariously liable for a specific employee’s negligence — Under theory of direct liability, plaintiff failed to plead facts that plausibly allege that defendant had actual or constructive notice of the alleged hazardous wet surface that caused her to slip; rather, amended complaint contains only conclusory allegations as to constructive notice — Plaintiff failed to plausibly allege that defendant had constructive knowledge based on a substantially similar incident or the length of time the hazardous substance existed on the staircase, or that there were crew members in immediate area of glass staircase that could have observed or warned plaintiff of the hazard
29 Fla. L. Weekly Fed. C1774a DONNIE HOLLAND, a citizen and resident of North Carolina, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. CARNIVAL CORPORATION, a Panamanian Corporation, d.b.a. Carnival Cruise Lines, Defendant-Appellee. 11th Circuit. Case No. 21-10298. October 4, 2022. Appeal from the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida (No. 1:20-cv-21789-RNS). (Before WILSON, LUCK, and LAGOA, Circuit […]
Insurance — Property — Water damage — Coverage — Denial — Material misrepresentations — Trial court properly entered summary judgment in favor of insurer based upon insured’s failure to disclose prior claim on policy application or in discovery — Regarding insured’s argument that insurer could not claim rescission as an affirmative defense because insurer had continued to collect premiums for nearly two years after learning of prior undisclosed claim, insurer sought only to deny coverage under section 627.409 and not to rescind policy
47 Fla. L. Weekly D2070b CESAR BENITEZ, Appellant, v. UNIVERSAL PROPERTY AND CASUALTY INSURANCE COMPANY, Appellee. 4th District. Case No. 4D21-3281. October 12, 2022. Appeal from the Circuit Court for the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit, Broward County; David A. Haimes, Judge; L.T. Case No. CACE19-000600. Counsel: Ronald P. Weil of Weil Law Firm, P.A., Miami, for […]
Civil procedure — New trial — Verdict contrary to manifest weight of evidence — Appeals — Standard of review — When the claims are intertwined, a finding of no error in granting a new trial as to just one of claims tried is sufficient to support trial court’s grant of a new trial as to all — Order granting new trial affirmed
47 Fla. L. Weekly D2064a MARIE POLYNICE, Appellant, v. BURGER KING CORPORATION, Appellee. 3rd District. Case No. 3D21-0896. L.T. Case No. 14-0522. October 12, 2022. An Appeal from the Circuit Court for Miami-Dade County, Mavel Ruiz, Judge. Counsel: Law Offices of Sina Negahbani, and Sina Negahbani; Ross & Girten, and Lauri Waldman Ross and Theresa […]
Torts — Negligent entrustment — Vicarious liability — Dangerous instrumentalities — Injured party is not precluded from pursuing a claim for vicarious liability against a vehicle owner under the dangerous instrumentality doctrine when a driver has weaponized the vehicle with the intent to cause bodily harm where such conduct is reasonably foreseeable — Statutes precluding criminal defendant from denying essential allegations in related civil trial do not operate defensively to prevent plaintiff in a civil suit from arguing his injuries were result of negligence or advancing any other factual theory drawing support from the evidence — Extensive discussion of dangerous instrumentality doctrine in this context — Trial court’s entry of summary judgment was premature where parties sharply dispute foreseeability and facts have not yet been crystalized in proceedings below — Additionally, there has been no factual determination as to whether driver intentionally weaponized vehicle with intent to cause harm or merely acted in a negligent manner — Law allows promulgation of alternative theories of recovery, and any potential prejudice stemming from negligent entrustment claim may be mitigated by incorporating appropriate procedural safeguards to ensure that driver’s past driving record is excluded from jury’s determination of driver’s negligence, but included in jury’s determination of vehicle owner’s culpability for negligent entrustment
47 Fla. L. Weekly D2055a ARTHUR SAGER, Appellant, v. MADALINA BLANCO and RICARDO F. BLANCO, Appellees. 3rd District. Case No. 3D20-1194. L.T. Case No. 15-641-K. October 12, 2022. An appeal from the Circuit Court for Monroe County, Timothy J. Koenig, Judge. Counsel: Robert C. Tilghman, P.A., Robert C. Tilghman, Nathan E. Eden, P.A., and Nathan […]