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FLORIDA RECORD

Friday, March 29, 2024

Daniel Fisher News


Lawyers seek dismissal of 'shotgun' complaint by Florida repair firm

By Daniel Fisher |
WEST PALM, BEACH, Fla. (Legal Newsline) - A law firm sued in federal court by a former client whose repair business was damaged by a change in Florida insurance law seeks to dismiss the case, saying the suit is an improper “shotgun pleading” that fails to identify any specific examples of malpractice.

Lawyers sued by Florida repair firm for allegedly mismanaging insurance claims

By Daniel Fisher |
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (Legal Newsline) - A Florida repair firm with a long history of suing insurance companies has turned on its lawyers, seeking to recoup more than $1 million it says it lost after insurers took advantage of new laws and a favorable court ruling to reject claims it filed on behalf of property owners under the state’s since-repealed assignment-of-benefits law.

Florida lawyers get lesson on how to sue the dead

By Daniel Fisher |
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (Legal Newsline) - An absolute two-year limit on liability against the estate of a dead person doomed a lawsuit by women who were injured in an accident with a man driving a company car, the Florida Supreme Court ruled.

Appeal costs smoker $16 million award but at least she can recover legal fees

By Daniel Fisher |
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (Legal Newsline) - A woman who sued RJ Reynolds over the smoking-related death of her sister can recover legal fees for an appeal that ultimately cost her a $16 million punitive-damages award because her compensatory damages were still higher than a settlement offer RJR had rejected.

Private lawyers pocket $73 million in Florida's opioid case; Is it against state law?

By Daniel Fisher |
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (Legal Newsline) - Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody says she found a way to pay private lawyers tens of millions of dollars for negotiating opioid settlements without triggering the state’s $50 million cap on contingency fees, though a state legal reform group disagrees.

Lead-paint plaintiff who spent settlement money can't sue for more

By Daniel Fisher |
ALBANY, N.Y. (Legal Newsline) - A man who traded a lifetime annuity of $3,000 a month for up-front payments worth a fraction of that amount can’t sue an insurance company for allowing him to sign such a bad deal, New York’s highest court ruled.

Church must face 20-year-old abuse claim in Florida

By Daniel Fisher |
MIAMI (Legal Newsline) - A man who waited nearly 20 years to sue the Catholic Church over his alleged abuse by a priest can proceed with claims the church committed intentional infliction of emotional distress even though his negligence claim is barred by the statute of limitations, a Florida appeals court ruled.

Lawyer can continue 'heavy-handed' campaign against client's opponent

By Daniel Fisher |
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Legal Newsline) - A man who accuses an insurance brokerage of shortchanging him on commissions can continue to publish false and misleading statements about the firm, a Florida appeals court ruled, largely overturning a trial judge’s injunction against over tactics the man’s lawyer acknowledged could be “heavy-handed” and “relentless.”

Parents of Florida school-shooting victims must risk losing lawsuit against gun companies

By Daniel Fisher |
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (Legal Newsline) - Parents of a girl who was killed in the Marjory Stoneman Douglass High School shooting massacre in 2018 must actually sue gun manufacturers to find out whether a state law will compel them to pay defense costs if they lose, an appeals court ruled.

'Ultimate salesman' must pay contingency fee to his firm after court dispute

By Daniel Fisher |
MIAMI (Legal Newsline) - A man who refused to pay a contingency fee to Boies Schiller and challenged an arbitrator’s decision requiring him to do so lost in court, with a Florida appeals court agreeing with the arbitrator who called him “the ultimate salesman” willing to say what he needed to save money.

Estate slammed with $22 million verdict can't get Allstate's records

By Daniel Fisher |
LAKELAND, Fla. (Legal Newsline) - The estate of a woman whose car hit and paralyzed a motorcyclist can’t get personnel records and other documents from Allstate Insurance to prove its case the insurer rejected settlement offers in bad faith. After lawyers for the motorcyclist couldn’t reach agreement within the woman’s insurance limits, they took the case to trial and won a $44 million jury verdict.

Judge stops 3M's plan to handle massive earplug litigation

By Daniel Fisher |
INDIANAPOLIS (Legal Newsline) - A bankruptcy judge shot down 3M’s attempt to halt litigation over its Combat Arms military earplugs, saying a generous funding agreement between 3M and its bankrupt Aearo unit eliminated any risk creditors – including some 290,000 earplug claimants – would suffer from an unfair distribution of assets if the lawsuits proceed.

Firefighters fired over penises drawn on Black colleague's family pictures lose lawsuit

By Daniel Fisher |
MIAMI (Legal Newsline) - Firefighters who lost their jobs and sued the City of Miami and its fire chief for allegedly linking two events - penises drawn on a Black colleague's family photos and the later placement of a string resembling a noose on one of the pictures - had no case, an appeals court ruled, citing the absolute immunity afforded government officials for actions taken “within the scope of their duties.”

Latest opioid ruling puts MDL judge further out of step on public nuisance

By Daniel Fisher |
A federal judge soundly rejected the “public nuisance” theory behind most opioid litigation, further isolating the judge in charge of thousands of similar lawsuits who has consistently ruled in favor of plaintiffs on this very question.

$4 million malpractice verdict reversed over daughter's lifetime damages

By Daniel Fisher |
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (Legal Newsline) - A Florida appeals court reversed a $4 million wrongful death verdict after a plaintiff attorney urged jurors to consider the “long, long life” over which an alleged malpractice victim’s daughter would have to think about her father’s death.

$50 million cap stares at AG Moody's hired guns as private lawyers reap opioid windfall

By Daniel Fisher |
Florida began the trial in its opioid lawsuit against the Walgreens pharmacy chain yesterday, with outside attorneys representing the state in what could be an expensive, weeks-long courtroom ordeal.

Florida jury can place blame on State, not Walgreens, for opioid crisis

By Daniel Fisher |
DADE CITY, Fla. (Legal Newsline) - A Florida jury will hear evidence that the state’s attorney general once blamed weak regulatory oversight and the lack of a centralized prescription database for the opioid crisis, which it now blames on the Walgreens pharmacy chain.

Addiction crisis: Florida AG tries to blame Mexico and China in public but not in court

By Daniel Fisher |
Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody lost her bid to prevent opioid defendants from telling jurors about illegal fentanyl flooding the state from conspirators in Mexico and China - a theory the Republican AG herself has loudly promoted in calls for tighter border security.

Ruling dooms Florida tobacco lawsuits, Supreme Court justice says

By Daniel Fisher |
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (Legal Newsline) - A decision by the Florida Supreme Court requiring tobacco plaintiffs to identify specific statements that convinced them to smoke will make it “virtually impossible” for such cases to succeed in the future, a dissenting justice said.

Court reverses $42.5 million tobacco verdict over juror's thoughts on addiction

By Daniel Fisher |
MIAMI (Legal Newsline) - A Florida appeals court reversed a $42.5 million verdict against R.J. Reynolds Tobacco, ruling the trial judge should have excused a juror who said she believed cigarettes are addictive.