Firm Results

Jason Azzarone was successful in securing a summary judgment in a premises liability case in which the firm represented a large hotel chain. The Plaintiff alleged that he was legally on the premises. While on the property, the Plaintiff slipped and fell, suffering an injury to his shoulder which required surgery. A motion for summary judgment was filed on the basis that the Plaintiff’s status on the property was that of either a trespasser or an uninvited licensee as he was not on the property for any purpose for which it was intended. Mr. Azzarone also argued that there was no evidence of a breach of duty owed to the Plaintiff. The Court agreed and specifically held that as a matter of law, the Plaintiff was not on the property for any purpose for which it was intended and therefore, his status was either that of a trespasser or an uninvited licensee. In light of this finding, and in light of the fact that there was no record evidence of any breach of duty owed to the Plaintiff, the Court granted final summary judgment on behalf of the hotel.

Lou La Cava and Malinda Lugo received a defense verdict in the case wherein the Plaintiff alleged that our insured physician used an obsolete method of closing the pulmonary artery when he performed a pneumonectomy on the Plaintiff. The suture and suture ligature he used came off and the patient bled to death. The Plaintiff further argued that because our insured physician was a general surgeon rather than a thoracic surgeon, he should not have performed the surgery at all and should have referred the patient to a thoracic surgeon who would have used a more appropriate method of closing the pulmonary artery which would have held. The jury was out less than one hour and found our insured physician was not negligent.

Lou La Cava obtained a summary judgment on an important damage issue in the case wherein the Plaintiffs sued an insurance carrier for bad faith and alleged that as a result of an excess verdict against the group, their malpractice premiums increased and they would continue to pay higher premiums in the future. The trial judge held that such damages were not recoverable in a bad faith case. The case was filed in Orlando, FL.