News & Events

Joshua C. Canton a partner in the firm’s Thomasville, Georgia office, along with Justin B. Hales, an associate in the firm’s Thomasville, Georgia office, recently prevailed on a motion for summary judgment in a pedestrian versus motor vehicle accident in Athens-Clarke County, Georgia where they argued that Plaintiff walked into oncoming traffic without regard for the right-of-way.  An offer of settlement was served by Defendant resulting in a claim against the Plaintiff for defense fees and costs.

Cristobal Casal, managing partner, and Elliott Tubbs, an associate, in the firm’s Fort Myers office, obtained a defense verdict in a first party property case tried over 2 days in Lee County, Florida. Plaintiff was a roofing company and claimed that the insured home was damaged as a result of Hurricane Irma and that the insurance carrier breached the subject policy of insurance by not providing coverage for the alleged roof damage. The plaintiff demanded the full amount of an entire roof replacement for a roof that was built in 2003. The jury found that the Plaintiff had not met its burden of proving that the roof was damaged within the policy period and returned a defense verdict after deliberating for less than 15 minutes. 

Tom McCausland and Josh Nathanson, both partners in the Hollywood office, tried an admitted liability auto negligence case where Plaintiff sustained significant fractures to both wrists with surgery and hardware secured to both wrists. Plaintiff had additional claims of Complex Regional Pain Syndrome and PTSD, which would require treatment for over 50 years following the accident. The defense was Plaintiff sustained a permanent injury from an orthopedic standpoint, but received a good result and did not need any future treatment and that she did not suffer from Complex Regional Pain Syndrome. The defense stipulated to past medical bills of $126,439.51. The plaintiff’s attorney asked the Jury to award $20 million for her injuries and the Defense suggested the jury award $650,000. After deliberating for 3 hours, the jury returned a verdict of $1,465,439.51. There was over $5 million in coverage and there was never a demand of less than the policy limits. 

Hollywood partners Seth R. Goldberg, Joshua E. Nathanson, Michael J. Paris and appellate partner Hinda Klein recently obtained a defense verdict. This was a products liability case based upon a claim that the product, a portable generator was defective as it caused severe burns to the plaintiff. The defense was that there was no defect as several hundred of the same generators were sold by the defendant, our client without incident. Despite the fact that the plaintiff told the ER Doctor he was putting gasoline in the generator when it exploded, the plaintiff's attorney asked the jury to ignore this fact and argued that the generator was defective and that is what caused the injuries.

Thomas McCausland, partner, and Lauren McEndree, associate, obtained a defense verdict in a premises liability case that was tried over 4 days in Miami-Dade County, Florida. Plaintiff claimed she slipped and fell in the parking lot of the defendant gas station as a result of an improperly painted parking stripe. The jury ruled for defendant in under 15 minutes of deliberations having concluded that defendant was not negligent.