In this medical malpractice case, a husband sued after his wife died allegedly from kidney failure after the defendant doctor performed surgery. At the trial, the husband testified about various issues, including his wife’s active lifestyle before the surgery, and date of the onset of kidney problems. After the trial, the husband quarrelled with his… Read more
In this products liability case, final judgment was entered in favor of the defendant following a four-week jury trial. The plaintiff alleged that the defendant had committed fraud on the court and sought to set aside the final judgment pursuant to Fla. R. Civ. P. 1.540(b)(3). The trial court granted plaintiff’s motion finding that the defendant (1) had destroyed… Read more
In this contentious foreclosure case, the lender filed multiple complaints that allegedly attached an inauthentic mortgage and assignment. After receiving a sanctions motion by defense counsel, the lender dismissed the action without prejudice. The lender then filed a second lawsuit in which it submitted yet another purported assignment with a different date and signed by… Read more
Per the Florida Supreme Court’s Order amending the Florida Rules of Civil Procedure to implement service by email, the following rules have been updated: 1.080 Service of Pleadings, Orders, and Documents 1.170 Counterclaims and Crossclaims 1.351 Production of Documents and Things Without Deposition 1.410 Subpoena 1.440 Setting Action for Trial 1.442 Proposals for Settlement 1.510… Read more
At issue in this appeal before the Fourth DCA was the trial court’s award of sanctions, pursuant to Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.730(c), for a parties violation of a mediation agreement. The Fourth DCA determined that the imposition of sanctions per Rule 1.730(c) required specific factual findings as to the breach or failure to… Read more
The Defendant and his attorney failed to appear for a properly scheduled jury trial, the Court then continued the trial and the Plaintiff moved for sanctions. After noting that the Court could have held the trial without the Defendant’s present, the Fourth DCA found that the Defendant’s actions in failing to appear for trial constituted… Read more
In this case of modern day witness tampering, the CFO of Sky Development, Inc. first passed a witness a note during the deposition, for which he was admonished, then, at trial, during a sidebar, sent the same witness two text messages advising him on his testimony. After discovering the text messages, the trial court immediately declared a… Read more
In this case, appellee received an attorneys’ fee judgment based upon a sanction award for discovery violations by appellants. The award, however, reflected an hourly rate that exceeded the rate actually billed to the client. The court found this to be error and reversed. Effective Teleservices, Inc. et al. v. Smith, 34 Fla. L. Weekly D1692b… Read more
In this breach of contract case, plaintiffs filed a motion to take the prisoner-defendant’s deposition. Plaintiffs tried to appear telephonically at the hearing on their motion but failed to do so. At the hearing, the trial court reviewed the complaint and dismissed it sua sponte for failure to state a cause of action. The appellate court… Read more