TORTS: MEDICAL MALPRACTICE: CAUSATION: EVIDENCE: EXPERT TESTIMONY WITHOUT ADEQUATE BASIS IN FACT

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Shartz v. Miulli, ___ So. 3d ___, 38 Fla. L. Weekly D1421 (Fla. 2d DCA June 28, 2013)

The son was born with a heart condition that made him susceptible to cardiac arrest.  When he died of this condition at the age of seventeen, during a preseason baseball workout, the parents sued the primary care doctor and his employer for … Click To Read Full Case Law Review...

SUBJECT MATTER JURISDICTION: THERE IS NO DISTINCTION BETWEEN THE SUBJECT MATTER JURISDICTION OF THE SMALL CLAIMS DIVISION OF THE COUNTY COURT AND THE COUNTY COURT

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LaSalla v. Pools By George of Pinellas County, Inc., ___ So. 3d ___, 38 Fla. L. Weekly D1426 (Fla. 2d DCA June 28, 2013)

The plaintiff sued the defendant in the small claims division of the county court for (1) breach of a contract to pay for services, and (2) foreclosure of a construction lien, even though equitable claims are … Click To Read Full Case Law Review...

REAL ESTATE: MORTGAGE FORECLOSURE; CIVIL PROCEDURE: DISCOVERY: SANCTIONS: DISMISSAL: ABSENCE OF FINDING OF WILLFUL NONCOMPLIANCE: APPEALS: JURISDICTION: DISMISSAL WITHOUT PREJUDICE WAS APPEALABLE

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Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. v. Stahler, ___ So. 3d ___, 38 Fla. L. Weekly D1431 (Fla. 5th DCA June 28, 2013)

The trial court erred by dismissing without prejudice an action to foreclose upon a mortgage “as a sanction for perceived discovery abuses” because of the absence of findings or evidence in the record of willful noncompliance with the … Click To Read Full Case Law Review...

APPEALS: SANCTIONS: FALSE ASSERTIONS OF FACT: RELIANCE ON FACTS NOT SUPPORTED BY THE RECORD: LACK OF RECORD REFERENCES: INTERJECTING NEW POINT ON APPEAL IN REPLY BRIEF: NEGLIGENT VIOLATION OF THE RULES MAY JUSTIFY SANCTIONS: EVERY LAWYER WHOSE NAME APPEARS ON A BRIEF IS RESPONSIBLE FOR ITS CONTENTS

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Hagood v. Wells Fargo N.A., ___ So. 3d ___, 38 Fla. L. Weekly D1437 (Fla. 5th DCA June 28, 2013)

The appellate court imposed sanctions against the appellant’s lawyers for making false assertions of fact, relying on facts not supported by the record, failing to make record references, and interjecting a new point in the reply brief.  Although the … Click To Read Full Case Law Review...

INSURANCE: PIP: CONDITION PRECEDENT: EXAMINATION UNDER OATH: 2012 AMENDMENT TO PIP STATUTE IS NOT RETROACTIVE

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Nunez v. GEICO General Insurance Company, ___ So. 3d ___, 38 Fla. L. Weekly S440 (Fla. June 27, 2013)

A condition in an automobile insurance policy requiring an insured to submit to an examination under oath as a condition precedent to the recovery of PIP benefits violates Section 627.736, Florida Statutes, which is designed to promote “swift and virtually automatic … Click To Read Full Case Law Review...