December 20, 2024 | Legal Alerts

Significant Procedural Rule Changes

As you may be aware, the Florida Supreme Court has enacted significant changes to the Rules of Civil Procedure, most of which are effective on January 1, 2025. We are writing to you to advise you of these changes and let you know how we will be complying with the new rules and how they will affect your company and your insureds in the litigated matters you have been kind enough to assign to our office.

December 18, 2024 | Verdicts and Settlements

Summary Judgment Granted In Premises Liability Case

Seth Goldberg and Jesse Dyer recently secured summary judgment in a slip-and-fall case. The Court granted summary judgment because there was no record evidence that the store owner had actual or constructive knowledge of the water on the floor before the accident occurred. The plaintiff attempted to create an issue of fact with an affidavit stating that the water appeared brown in color which, she argued, suggested the water had been on the floor for a long period of time. The Court agreed the affidavit could not create a genuine issue of fact because it directly contradicted the plaintiff’s prior deposition testimony that she never saw the water and could not describe it.

November 12, 2024 | Verdicts and Settlements

Defense Verdict Obtained in Federal Trucking Case Involving Tortious Interference and Defamation Claims

On November 6, 2024, Joshua Canton, Managing Partner of the firm’s Tallahassee office, and Mattie Birster, an associate in the firm’s Tallahassee office, obtained a defense verdict in trucking case in the U.S District Court for Northern Florida that involved claims of tortious interference with a business relationship and defamation following a two-day jury trial. Plaintiff, a trucker, claimed that the defendant, a common carrier, falsely reported to the DOT that plaintiff refused to submit to a random drug test and asked for $700,000 and punitive damages. Defendant argued that Plaintiff had in fact refused to submit to a drug test under the applicable regulations and that the report to the DOT was truthful. The case turned on how various regulations of the FMCSA applied to the facts of the case.  The jury returned a defense verdict in an hour and a half. 

November 7, 2024 | Speaking Announcements

Matthew Troy to Present on Workers’ Compensation Fraud

Matthew J. Troy, a partner in Conroy Simberg’s Orlando office, will co-present a webinar for Strafford, a national provider of CLE/CPE video webinars, on November 19, 2024. The session, titled “Workers' Compensation Fraud: Red Flags, Conducting Investigations, Defense Strategy, Best Practices for Prevention,” will cover the fundamentals of workers' compensation fraud, its impact on businesses, and common signs of fraud.