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Plaintiff Jessica Tedrow filed suit in April 2013 against Jimmy Cannon under Florida’s dog-bite statute. Tedrow alleged that her daughter was injured by Cannon’s dog during a party at Cannon’s home in April 2012. The statute provides that “[t]he owner of any dog that bites any person…is liable for damages suffered by persons bitten.” But it also provides that if the owner “had displayed in a prominent place” a sign including the words “Bad Dog,” the owner is only liable if “the damages are proximately caused by a negligent act or omission of the owner.”Cannon responded with a motion for attorneys’ fees, alleging that Tedrow’s complaint had no basis in law and that Cannon “had displayed in a prominent place an easily readable sign including the words, ‘Bad Dog.'” After 21 days, Cannon filed the motion for attorneys’ fees with the circuit court, asserting that he could not be held strictly liable under the statute because he had displayed a “Bad Dog” sign.

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In May 2015, Takata Corp., a Japanese company that makes airbags, announced that roughly 33.8 million vehicles might contain defective airbags that could explode with excessive force. Specifically, they can shoot metal shrapnel at passengers and cause serious injury or even death, sometimes when no airbag-deploying event has occurred. Takata also agreed to a consent order with the National Highway and Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) regarding its obligations in the recall process, which happens to be the largest auto recall in history. It additionally released four defect information reports regarding the details of the affected devices. On Sept. 1, 2015, the NHTSA estimate changed to 23.4 million.

Dozens of lawsuits against Takata have been filed in Florida federal courts. On February 12, 2016, a hearing in the case of injured Florida resident Patricia Mincey indicated that Takata’s own engineers discarded evidence that may have shown the defective airbag propellant as long as 16 years ago. The propellant includes a compound called ammonium nitrate, which was introduced into Takata models as early as 2000 and triggered failures during internal testing. Mincey was paralyzed when her Takata-manufactured airbag deployed defectively during a 2014 accident.

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Linda Porter’s son, Pete Thomas, died 12 years ago in a New Port Richey hospital. Now Porter goes to rock concerts and imagines her long-haired guitarist son with her in the audience. This April, Pete would have been 50 years old.

In October 2014, the 38-year-old was admitted to the Morton Plant North Bay Hospital with abdominal pain. Less than 24 hours had passed before he went into respiratory arrest and was put on a ventilator. He died roughly six weeks later. Porter believes the hospital caused Pete’s death by over-medicating him.

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A Florida appellate court recently reversed a lower court’s ruling that when the amount of the judgment in a tort case is modified on appeal, post-trial interest must accrue from the date of the verdict rather than from the date of the original judgment. The court reasoned that the earlier accrual date in such circumstances unjustly punishes the losing party.In the fall of 2011, a jury rendered a verdict of roughly $7.5 million in a wrongful death lawsuit, finding appellate Shoemaker 40 percent at fault for decedent Stephen Sliger’s death. Following the verdict, Shoemaker and his co-defendants filed a motion to cap non-economic damages according to section 766.118(2) of Florida Statutes. They argued that under 766.118, the non-economic damages should be capped at $500,000. Sonia Sliger, the representative of Stephen Sliger’s estate, responded that section 766.118’s damages limitation violated the Florida and U.S. constitutions.

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The Florida Court of Appeals for the Fifth District reversed a trial court’s ruling for a woman injured by a horse corpse in the road, holding that the defendant Sheriff did not owe the injured woman a duty of care.Kathleen Shinkle was driving on a dark road just before sunrise in a rural part of Flagler County when she struck a dead horse lying on the roadway. The collision caused her car to flip over, resulting in serious injuries to Shinkle. She filed suit against the Flagler County Sheriff. The jury returned a verdict for Shinkle. Moreover, the trial court granted her motion for additur (additional damages) and rendered judgment in her favor.

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The Third District of Florida Court of Appeal recently affirmed a trial court’s ruling for Temple Beth Sholom in a sexual assault lawsuit. Plaintiff Joyce Firestone sought review after the trial court held that her claims against the Temple were filed after the statute of limitations had lapsed.In the early 1970s when she was a minor student at Temple Beth Sholom (the Temple), Firestone was sexually assaulted by Barak Yaron, a teacher employed by the Temple. Firestone sued the Temple approximately 40 years later in 2013. Her claim was based on two primary theories:  (1) the Temple was vicariously liable for Yaron’s actions under the doctrine of respondeat superior; and (2) the Temple violated its fiduciary duty to Firestone.

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The Florida Court of Appeal for the Third District recently upheld a lower court’s dismissal of a lawsuit related to a cruise accident, reasoning that Italy would be a more appropriate forum.The appeals court consolidated two cases – Abeid-Saba and Scimone II – brought by passengers aboard an Italian cruise ship, the Concordia. Both suits alleged that in January 2012, the Concordia’s captain deviated from the cruise’s planned course to perform a trick called a “bow.” During this maneuver, the Concordia struck an underwater reef, causing damage to the hull and requiring the evacuation of 3,206 passengers.

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The Florida Court of Appeals for the Fourth District held that a Palm Beach County trial court erred in applying statutory caps to the noneconomic damages award in a medical malpractice case.Appellant Dr. Jeanne Go and a colleague were sued for medical malpractice resulting from their treatment of Dens Pierre, which caused permanent brain injury to the child. A jury found Dr. Go 75% liable and awarded Pierre and his mother roughly $28.5 million in damages. However, the reward was reduced pursuant to section 766.118(2) of the Florida Statutes. Dr. Go appealed, and Pierre and his mother cross-appealed. The appellate court rejected Dr. Go’s arguments on appeal and reversed with respect to the trial court’s reduction of damages.

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In Lugo v. Carnival Corp., a family of four departed on a cruise vacation in February 2015. While on board the ship, the two children slept on elevated bunk beds. In order to access the bunk beds, the children were required to utilize a removable ladder that did not fully reach the cabin floor. On the last night of the cruise, however, the father slept on one of the top bunks. In the morning, the father apparently fell head first off the ladder while attempting to climb down from the upper bunk in the dark.

According to the man, he lost consciousness as a result of his fall. The father apparently remained in the family’s cabin for some time before seeking treatment from the ship’s medical team. A ship physician ultimately diagnosed the man with a broken rib.

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In Morrissey v. Subaru of America, Inc., a couple was injured when the vehicle one spouse was driving unexpectedly accelerated and collided with a stone fence in the United States Virgin Islands. Sadly, the wife was left permanently paralyzed as a result of the crash. Following the incident, the couple filed a lawsuit in the Southern District of Florida against the Japanese automobile manufacturer, the company’s U.S. distributor, and the dealership that sold the vehicle to its original owners.

In the couple’s complaint, they accused the defendants of negligence per se, failure to warn, negligently designing and manufacturing the vehicle, strict liability, and breach of warranty. The husband also sought damages for his loss of consortium.

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