Guest Editors: Wendy Skillman, Ashley Kaye
January 11, 2021 9:00am
This month we report on a familiar story happening in Florida federal courts: a business seeks coverage from its insurance carrier for losses related to the COVID-19 pandemic, the insurer denies the claim, the business sues in court to recover damages from its insurer, and the court rejects the lawsuit.
Guest Editors: Nathan Berkeley, Ashley Kaye
November 30, 2020 3:18pm
Tyson & Mendes has been tracking COVID-19 insurance lawsuits brought by businesses seeking to recoup losses from insurers related to the pandemic. Last month, we reported on a beer distributor who had its insurance coverage lawsuit dismissed by the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida. This month, we report on a Florida dentist who suffered a similar result when Florida’s Southern District Court tossed his insurance coverage lawsuit against Hartford Casualty Insurance Company (“Hartford”).
Guest Editor: Amy Chambers
November 2, 2020 3:00pm
Cleopatra “Gayle” Anglin, her husband Tom Anglin, and his brother Fred Anglin were driving south down a country highway in Lake Hamilton, Florida on the night of September 3, 1979, when their pickup truck crossed over train tracks covered by six inches of rainwater. The resulting splash doused the electrical system of their 1965 Chevy, which immediately began to spit and sputter before finally stalling out at the bottom of a hill.
Guest Editor: Jenn N. Crittondon
November 2, 2020 3:00pm
Beer and wine distributor Harvest Moon Distributors, LLC (“Harvest Moon”) supplied beer to Walt Disney Parks and Resorts US (“Disney”). When Disney voluntarily closed the park to the public on March 15, 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Harvest Moon allegedly suffered a loss of business income and inventory after Disney refused to accept any further beer from Harvest Moon, and refused to compensate Harvest Moon for the loss.
Guest Editor: David Kahn
October 5, 2020 3:32pm
A recent decision from the Supreme Court of Florida, Barnett v. State of Florida, Dep’t of Financial Services, No. SC19-87, ___ So. 2d ___, (Fla. Sep. 24, 2020), addressed Florida’s statute on waiver of sovereign immunity in tort actions. Barnett arose from a 2010 mass shooting in which a Florida woman’s estranged husband fatally shot her and four of her children and seriously injured a fifth child.
Guest Editor: Jeremy Freedman
October 5, 2020 2:06pm
The Florida Supreme Court recently issued an opinion in Jackson v. Household Finance Corporation III, 236 So. 3d 1170 (Fla. 2d DCA 2018) resolving a split in authority regarding the amount of proof necessary to apply the business records exception to the hearsay rule.
Guest Editor: David Kahn
September 1, 2020 8:30am
With the current health pandemic lingering on longer than most people expected, courts have been struggling to find ways to get cases moving forward in light of extended court closures and the inability to assemble jurors. On August 11, 2020, a court in the Fourth Circuit for Duval County held a one day damages trial involving a plaintiff dancer and a bar owner. Jurors were summonsed in the normal fashion, but given instructions for Zoom appearances. Jury selection occurred all via the Zoom platform. While admittedly not ideal for longer, more complicated…
Guest Editor: Robert Bernstein
August 3, 2020 10:42am
As COVID-19 continues to impact every aspect of life, uncertainty abounds for Florida businesses forced to severely modify or even shutter their operations due to government mandates, health and safety risks and the excruciating reality of a global pandemic.
Guest Editor: Raymond K. Wilson Jr.
July 8, 2020 12:00pm
In 2018, a Leon County jury awarded the families of three motor vehicle accident victims $37 million in damages in a wrongful death suit. The victims were killed when defendant Chrostopher Generoso, who was under the influence of a synthetic marijuana product, also known as “spice,” crashed his car into the victims’ vehicle. The wrongful death suit named both Generoso and DZE Corp., the manufacturer of the synthetic marijuana, as defendants.
Guest Editor: Wendy Skillman
July 8, 2020 12:00pm
Other than hiring a lawyer, retaining an insurance broker is one of the most critical aspects of business development in order to protect the investment. However, due to the numerous options for insurance coverage and the various exclusions of perils, it is necessary to read each and every word of any insurance policy. Perhaps, even retain an attorney to review the policy terms so there are no misunderstandings.
Guest Editor: Ashley Kaye
June 1, 2020 9:00am
On May 20, 2020, the Fourth District Court of Appeal for the State of Florida affirmed a circuit court decision dismissing defendant Florida Power & Light Company (“FPL”) from a lawsuit alleging negligence and strict liability claims. Plaintiff Christine Cooper, who was a resident of the defendant skilled nursing facility, Rehabilitation Center of Hollywood Hills, LLC, in September…
Guest Editor: Christopher Schon
May 6, 2020 7:39pm
American Southern Home Ins. Co. v. Lentini, 286 So.3d 157 (Fla. 2019), arose from a fatal accident between the insured, who operated his motorcycle, and an uninsured motorist. The insured’s estate made a claim for uninsured motorist (UM) benefits under the reduced-premium policy issued on the insured’s collector vehicle, a 1992 Chevrolet Corvette.
Guest Editor: Christopher Schon
May 6, 2020 7:36pm
As healthcare providers scramble to secure personal protection equipment, hospital beds, and ventilators, elder care and assisted living facilities are looking forward toward the potential fallout of lawsuits arising from the COVID-19 pandemic. Criticized as being lethal incubators of the disease, elder and assisted living facilities are left in a particularly vulnerable position because they serve a portion of the population who is at a higher risk for severe…
Guest Editor: Raymond K. Wilson Jr.
April 6, 2020 2:58pm
Last month, our newsletter discussed the state of tort reform legislation in Florida with a focus on a proposed bill that would have barred so-called “Phantom Damages.” Much to the disappointment of the insurance defense bar, the vote on S.B. 1668 stalled this month and has been indefinitely postponed.
Guest Editor: Cinnamon J. Carr
March 4, 2020 10:00am
Telemedicine (a.k.a., telehealth) is taking the practice of medicine to a new level. What is telemedicine? By definition, it is “the use of advanced communication technologies, within the context of clinical health, that deliver care across considerable physical distance.”[1] Whether you are talking about videoconferencing, the storing and forwarding transmission of medical data and images, or remote patient monitoring, telemedicine…
Guest Editor: Cinnamon J. Carr
March 4, 2020 10:00am
Currently, in the state of Florida, defendants in personal injury cases often pay more in medical treatment damages than what the plaintiff or his or her insurer actually paid. These overpayments are often referred to as “phantom damages.” In an effort to curb these phantom damages, the Florida Senate Judiciary Committee recently advanced S.B. 1668, which would create a new standard for determining future medical costs based on “usual…
February 3, 2020 10:00am
Fourteen years after the decision in Mizrahi v. North Miami Medical Center, Ltd. upheld Florida’s bar on recovery of non-pecuniary damages by a decedent’s adult children in wrongful death actions because of medical malpractice, the District Court of Appeal in Estate of McCall v. U.S. declared Florida’s caps on non-economic damages in medical malpractice actions unconstitutional. The Court in McCall held that…
Guest Editor: Terra Davenport
January 8, 2020 11:00am
Insurance coverage disputes were probably the last thing on bar owners’ or patrons’ minds at RumFest 2017. Patrons were bouncing a beach ball around the crowd, until the beach ball bounced toward one particular plaintiff, who pushed it away with his outstretched arms and suffered severe ligament and tendon injuries, so his complaint alleges. When the patron sued the bar owner, the bar owner turned the matter over…
December 2, 2019 12:16pm
On October 15, 2019, the Florida 5th District Court of Appeals (“DCA”) certified a question for the state’s Supreme Court that it viewed as one of great public importance: Should the court grant summary judgment when the moving party’s video evidence completely refutes conflicting evidence presented by the non-moving party? The court recognized that technological advancements are increasing the likelihood that insurance companies…
Guest Editor: Ashley Kaye
September 30, 2019 10:00am
Kreuger v. Quest Diagnostics Inc., et al., Case No. 2D18-3823 (Fla. 2d DCA 2019)
Grace and Naeem Uddin Inc. v. Singer Architects, et al., Case No. 4D18-2972 (Fla. 4th DCA, 2019)
Susan Plott v. NCL America, LLC, Case No. 19-10109 (11th Cir. 2019)
September 3, 2019 10:00am
Two Recent Florida Fifth DCA Opinions Highlight Questions of Improper Statements at Closing Argument, and one Florida’s First DCA Opinion Interprets the Statute of Repose
Aldonia Mootry, as Personal Representative of the Estate of Russell Mootry, Jr. v. Bethune-Cookman University, Inc. et al.,44 Fla. L. Weekly D1999a (Fla. 5th DCA 2019)
R and W Rental Properties, LLC v. Warry Warnick, 44 Fla. L. Weekly D2044a (Fla. 5th DCA 2019)
James Harrell v. The Ryland Group, 44 Fla. L. Weekly D2054b (Fla. 1st DCA 2019)
August 7, 2019 10:00am
Pier 1 Cruise Experts v. Revelex Corporation, No. 17-13956 (11th Circuit. 2019)
Miguel Lopez v. WilsonArt, LLC et al, 44 Fla. L Weekly D1808a, Fla. 5th DCA, July 12, 2019
Guest Editor: Robert Bernstein
July 1, 2019 10:00am
It seems like only yesterday (October 2018 to be exact), that litigation attorneys in Florida were buzzing about the Florida Supreme Court’s 4-3 decision in DeLisle v. Crane Co.,[1] which seemed to resolve the question of how courts in the state would analyze the admissibility of expert testimony and evidence. In the DeLisle opinion the…
Guest Editor: Robert Bernstein
July 1, 2019 10:00am
Why does Tyson & Mendes emphasize the importance of aggressively arguing damages as part of its defense strategy? The answer is illustrated in Arias v. Porter, 44 Fla. L. Weekly D1373 (Fla. 2nd DCA May 29, 2019). In Arias v. Porter, 44 Fla. L. Weekly D1373 (Fla. 2nd DCA May 29, 2019), a Florida appeals court concluded a jury verdict awarding an automobile accident victim…
Guest Editor: Jeremy Freedman
June 3, 2019 10:00am
Chapman et al. v. ACE American Insurance Company[1]
In this recent decision from the 11th Circuit, the Court ruled that ACE American Insurance Co. had no duty to defend or indemnify a man who pretended to be a licensed mental health counselor in a wrongful death suit. The insurance policy covers only legitimate professional services.