News & Events

John Viggiani and Jesse Dyer recently prevailed on a motion for final summary judgment in a personal injury action arising from a trucking accident in Duval County, Florida, in which the plaintiff was rendered paraplegic. The defendant was an international transportation services company, against whom the plaintiff alleged theories of negligent brokering and vicarious liability. The Court concluded that the plaintiff’s vicarious liability claim failed as a matter of law because the entity that brokered the shipment was acting outside the scope of any agency relationship which may have existed with the defendant. The Court concluded that the plaintiff’s negligent brokering claim failed as a matter of law because the defendant did not act as a broker for the specific transaction at issue.

Attorneys Samuel Kugbei and Christopher Corkran in the firm's Hollywood office prevailed on a motion for summary judgment in a case in Miami-Dade County in which the Plaintiff alleged that the Defendant insurance carrier was liable for the Plaintiff's car breaking down 4 months after the insurance carrier paid to have the Plaintiff's vehicle repaired at the Plaintiff's chosen body shop. The Plaintiff alleged that the replacement parts were not of 'like kind and quality' to the original damaged parts. The Court agreed with the defense. It held that without evidence of there being a contractual or other business relationship to indicate the insurance carrier was guaranteeing work performed by the body shop, the insurance carrier was not required to extend coverage for the subsequent failure of the Plaintiff's car.

Hinda Klein, head of the firm’s appellate division, was successful in obtaining a reversal of a directed verdict on causation in a case before the new Sixth District Court of Appeal.  The case involved a 24-year-old Plaintiff who was in an accident with our client and claimed to have suffered serious low back injuries.  The Plaintiff did not complain of back pain in the emergency room, did not seek medical attention for his back pain for about 18 days after the accident and was previously and subsequently engaged in rowing crew competitively.  In addition, the Plaintiff had consulted a chiropractor before the accident for low back pain and did not complete his course of treatment.  The trial court directed a verdict against the defense on the ground that no expert testified that the Plaintiff had not suffered some injury in the accident. 

In the past, insurance fraud detection consisted of employees manually poring over data and investigating potentially fraudulent claims. While the human element was sometimes effective, many instances of fraud got past gatekeepers and cost insurance companies large amounts of money. As insurance fraudsters have gotten more sophisticated, insurance companies have needed to stay one step ahead of them. At the very minimum, they need to keep pace with modern criminality.

Samuel Spinner, appellate associate, and Hinda Klein, appellate partner, recently obtained an affirmance on appeal of a defense verdict in a first party homeowner's  insurance case brought by an assignee roofing company. At trial, which was handled by partner Robert Horwitz, the jury returned a verdict for the insurer, finding that the roofing company failed to demonstrate that the property's roof was damaged by Hurricane Irma.