Wicker Smith

Orlando Partners, Michael D'Lugo and Kurt Spengler, recently prevailed in a matter heard by the Florida Fifth District Court of Appeal.   The underlying case involved the trial of a trucking negligence case with a husband and wife as co-plaintiffs. There was a total of nearly $780,000 in boardable meds at the trial, and Plaintiffs’ counsel asked the jury for $4 million at closing. The evidence showed that our insured truck driver was moving at very low rate of speed when the collision occurred and as a result, the jury found no causation between the collision and Plaintiffs’ subsequent medical procedures, and returned a complete defense verdict in October 2022.   Plaintiffs filed their Motion for New Trial after the verdict, claiming that the jury disregarded part of the jury instructions before rendering their verdict. That motion was denied by the trial court, and the case was then appealed to the Fifth DCA. In our Answer Brief, Mr. D’Lugo argued that Plaintiffs had no legitimate grounds to request a new trial, as there had been no error on the part of the trial court. On February 4, the Fifth DCA issued a per curiam affirmance of the trial court’s ruling.   Congratulations Michael and Kurt on this great result. 

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Jacksonville Associate William Roe and Partner Chris Brown recently handled a case that was dismissed by the lower court and upheld by the Florida Fifth District Court of Appeal. The underlying cause of action involved a multiple car rear-end accident on the expressway where our insured was cited for improper speed and not paying attention. As a result of the subject accident, Plaintiff complained of neck pain, back pain, headaches, and right shoulder pain where he later underwent a right shoulder arthroscopy with rotator cuff repair. The lower court dismissed the action due to Plaintiff’s failure to attend the case management conference. Plaintiff moved for reconsideration citing excusable neglect, which the lower court denied. Plaintiff then appealed to the Fifth DCA. In the Answer Brief, William Roe argued that there had been no error on the part of the lower court, and that Plaintiff’s argument of excusable neglect did not meet the standard of review. The appellate court agreed, and upheld the lower court’s dismissal of the case. The statute of limitations has now passed and Plaintiff is barred from bringing another lawsuit. Congratulations Chris and Billy on this great outcome! 

West Palm Beach Partner Traci Glickman, Fort Lauderdale Partner Jordan Cohen, and West Palm Beach Associate Charles Roussin were successful in having Plaintiffs’ Fourth Amended Complaint dismissed with prejudice against their client, a certified surgical assistant who was alleged to have participated in a complex scheme involving “fake surgeries” and been a party to over 40 instances of malpractice.   Over the past three years, the legal team successfully filed motions to dismiss Plaintiffs’ voluminous initial Complaint as well as the two subsequent Amended Complaints. After dismissing the Plaintiffs’ Third Amended Complaint, the Court made it clear that it would give the Plaintiffs one final chance to fix the inadequacies in the prior Complaint and Amended Complaints.   This Fourth Amended Complaint, spanning over 1,400 pages, consisted of 41 plaintiffs bringing causes of action sounding in medical malpractice, civil conspiracy and civil RICO.   Glickman, Cohen, and Roussin again prepared a Motion to Dismiss this Fourth Amended Complaint against their client, for numerous grounds including failing to state discernible causes of action, conclusory allegations, failure to comply with the medical malpractice presuit action, failure to comply with the statute of repose, etc. A lengthy hearing was held on December 19, 2024.   On February 3, 2025, a Broward County Circuit Court Judge granted the Motion to Dismiss with Prejudice.   This was a complicated and challenging case. Congratulations Traci, Jordan, and Charles on your great work on behalf of our client. 

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Tampa Partners, Jim Brown and Andrew Willers, obtained final summary judgment in a construction defect case in Hillsborough County, Florida, last week.   They defended a window manufacturer, which was sued by a Homeowner’s Association for alleged construction defects. It was alleged that the installation instructions were improper and that this lead to numerous defects and damages with the conventional wood framed walls covered with stucco.    The summary judgment argument was made in two parts: the first, that the case was barred by the four year statute of limitations; and the second, that the case was barred by the doctrine of laches.   As to the statute of limitations defense, there were no documents produced that showed the exact date when the defects were discovered, which would have triggered the running of the statute of limitations. However, an expert report suggested the defects had been discovered more than four years before suit was filed. Also, the HOA’s banking records pertaining to a loan to pay for the exterior wall repairs suggested that the defects were discovered more than four years before the suit was filed. Plaintiff filed an expert affidavit and argued that the Association could not have possibly discovered the defects until much later. This argument was rejected and summary judgment was granted.    As to Laches, it was argued that even if the statute of limitations did not bar the case, the doctrine of laches did. The Association delayed bringing suit, and they failed to issue a 558 Notice of Intent. Also, once in suit, the Association changed the specific allegations against the window manufacturer close to trial, and the Association lost or destroyed relevant evidence; thus, prejudicing the window manufacturer’s defenses. Summary judgment was also granted as to Laches.    Congratulations to Jim and Drew on this excellent work on behalf of our client. 

Last week, Wicker Smith was proud to once again serve as an event sponsor for the Stetson University College of Law career connection event, “Campus to Career 2025: How I Lawyer.   Allyson Adams, the firm’s Director of HR, was accompanied at the on-campus event by Stetson alumnae Peyton Yentzer (Associate, Orlando), Jocelyn Nance, Esq. (Associate, Tampa), and current Stetson 2L and incoming Summer Associate, Breanna Monteiro.   This annual event is hosted by the Office of Career and Professional Development, and allows law students to meet and engage with lawyers and members of the judiciary in the practice areas that have sparked their interest. Both Peyton and Jocelyn volunteered as Practice Mentors, sharing a glimpse of the day to day life of a busy litigation associate with the students, while Allyson and Breanna were on hand to greet students and answer questions about the firm and the many opportunities we offer.   There are dozens of proud Stetson alums among our ranks throughout the firm. We are grateful for our ongoing relationship with Stetson Law and look forward to welcoming the newest generation of aspiring trial lawyers to join us here at Wicker Smith.

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