Wildes v. Continental Florida Materials, Inc.

Nov 20, 2008

OUTCOME: Million dollar verdict in favor of the Plaintiffs

On August 11, 2004 Robert Frazer ran a stop light at the intersection of State Road 70 and SW 10th Avenue. As a result he "T-boned" Shirley Wildes' Dodge Neon. She injured her neck, back and left arm ... and also suffered hearing loss. The defendant denied that Shirley has sustained any permanent or serious injury as a result of the accident. The Defendant offered the plaintiffs $60,000.00 to settle their claims before trial. The Plaintiff's demanded $250,000.00 to settle their claims before trial. In November 2008 the Okeechobee County Jury awarded the plaintiffs 1 million dollars in compensatory damages. The Plaintiff's anticipate thier judgments will exceed the 1 million dollar policy limits after taxable costs and attorney fees are awarded. A bad faith claim for the excess judgment is likely.

Hetherington v. Batten & Shaw, Inc. & Florida Public Utilities Company

May 01, 2008

OUTCOME: Case settled before trial.

The Plaintiff was seriously burned during a construction project because the gas company failed to advise the general contractor that it was turning on the gas in the area where the plaintiff was weldi ... ng an elbow joint. The plaintiff claimed the general contractor should have been aware that the gas line was going to be activated that day even if the gas company failed to expressly notify them that it was going to turn on the gas line that day. The plaintiff also claimed that the gas company breached its duty to notify the general contractor and the workers on the construction project that it would be activating the gas line that day.

Kent Wetherington & Julie Wetherington v. Applied Aquatic Management, Inc.

Dec 07, 2007

OUTCOME:

Robinson v. Duffy's Management. Inc.

Dec 07, 2007

OUTCOME: Case settled before trial.

A 25 year old man was struck by a motorist while attempting to cross U.S. Hwy. 1 in Hobe Sound, Florida. The plaintiff claimed that the defendant failed to provide adquate parking for its patrons. Re ... sultantly, customers, some inebriated, were forced to park across the 6 lane highway. The plaintiff offered expert testimony that the defendant bar/ restaurant failed to provide adequate on-site parking for its customers. An evaulation of the beverage and food receipts supported this contention. The plaintiffs retained restaurant expert was able to calculate how many parking spaces the defendant should have provided for its customers so that there would have been enough on-site parking and therefore no need to park across the busy highway.

Dunson v. Better Roads, Inc.

Nov 01, 2007

OUTCOME: Confidential Settlement

The parents of an 8 year old girl who was killed in an automobile accident brought suit against a road construction company for failure to properly mark a road construction site and failure to properly ... warn approaching motorists of the road construction site. The decedant was an unbelted passenger in a vehicle which overturned at the construction site sometime after dark. The plaintiff's contended that if proper warning signs and devices had been placed on the roadway in advance of the construction site the accident would have been prevented. The plaintiff further contended that the driver of the automobile would never have left the paved portion of the roadway or overturned her vehicle if she had been properly warned of the road construction ahead. The defendant contended that the roadway was properly marked with appropriate "construction ahead" warning signs. The road construction company further contended that the driver of the automobile caused the accident and also that driver's failure to ensure that the minor child was seatbelted were the legal causes of the accident. Plaintiff's accident reconstruction expert used computer simulations to show how the accident ocurred and how the accident would have likely been prevented if proper warning signs and devices had been in place on the roadway. The case settled at approxiamately 50% of full value.

Conely v. South Central Florida Express, Inc.

Apr 04, 2007

OUTCOME: $350,000.00 jury verdict

The plaintiff sued South Central Florida Express, Inc. claiming that its train sparked a fire which destroyed 200 acres of unimproved land in Martin County, Florida. After several years of litigation ... and after recieving the reports from the plaintiff's fire expert the case proceeded to trial on damages only. The plaintiff's property appraiser expert opined that the value of the plaintiff's property had been diminished by $355,000.00 as a result of the fire. The defense appraiser expert testified that the plaintiff's losses were less that $50,000.00. The jury awarded the plaintiff damages in the amount of $350,000.00.

Melear v. Dixon Harvesting and Hauling, Inc. & Nationwide Mutual Fire Insurance Company

Nov 01, 2006

OUTCOME: 4.85 million dollar jury verdict.

An 18 year old male decedant was killed in a motor vehicle accident when a grove truck, (commonly known as a "goat truck") crossed the center line of a two lane highway colliding nearly head first into ... the plaintiff's pick up truck. The plaintiff sued the harvesting company and his underinsured motorist carrier. The defendant harvesting company denied liability for 3 years but, shortly before trial admitted liability. The insurance defendant initially claimed only one liability policy applied to the accident. The plaintiff's filed a seperate declaratory action claiming that a second liability policy applied to the accident. The plaintiff obtained a declaratory judgment that both liability policies applied. The plaintiff proceeded to trial when the various insurance carriers refused to tender their various policy limits. The jury awarded 4.85 million dollars in damages. The defendants appealed the verdict. The jury verdict was affirmed on appeal. A bad faith claim was then brought against the underinsured motorist carrier for the amount of the excess verdict and other damages. The Bad Faith/ Excess Verdict case was settled.

Roberts v. Bombardier, Inc.

Feb 01, 2006

OUTCOME: Settlement while Jury was deliberating.

A 13 year old girl was killed while operating a Sea-Doo personal watercraft which was manufactured by the defendant. The decedant's mother brought this product liability claim against the defendant cl ... aiming that it negligently failed to properly warn users of the personal watercraft of the dangers of the Sea-Doo. Plaintiff claimed that this was especially true for minors or novices who operated the personal watercraft. During the first trial the jury could not reach a unanimous verdict and a mistrial was declared. During the second trial the second jury advised the court that it could not reach a unanimous verdict. Before the jury was excused the parties negotiated a confidential settlement. The second trial was featured on "Court TV."

Mitchell v. CNA Insurance Company

Apr 01, 1999

OUTCOME: Confidential Settlement

Plaintiff brought a declaratory and breach of contract case against CNA Insurance Company after it refused to pay its $300,000.00 policy limits after her father died. CNA Insurance Company denied the ... claim stating that the plaintiff/ beneficiary had misrepresented the decedant's health on the insurance application. The plaintiff was able to establish that if there were any misrepresentations on the application they were made by the insurance agent and not the beneficiary or by the decedant. Resultantly, the insurance company settled the claim for a confidential amount.

Watson v. Browning Ferris Industries of Florida, Inc.

Jan 01, 1999

OUTCOME: Won the Appeal and Settled the case.

Plaintiff was paralyzed when the driver of the garbage truck with whom he was working ran over him when the driver backed up causing the plaintiff to fall from the rear of the garbage truck. The defen ... dant defended in part on the basis that the plaintiff was precluded from bringing suit by virtue of Florida's Worker's Compensation immunity doctrine. The plaintiff alleged that the owner of the truck was a different BFI Company than his employer. The plaintiffs introduced evidence that while the BFI Company passed a resolution to transfer its stock to the new BFI Company (the plaintiff's employer) it never followed up on the resolution with any sale document or transfer document. The trial judge initially granted a summary judgement to the effect that the plaintiff was barred from bringing the suit based on Florida's Worker's Compensation immunity statute. The appeallate court reversed the trial judge's summary judgment. The case was sent back to the trial judge. The parties settled the case for a confidential amount of money prior to trial.