Asilia Law Firm

Motion to Dismiss/ Motion to Quash Granted – Statute of limitations run – Dismissal with prejudice

On December 3, 2024, Fort Myers office obtained a Final Dismissal in a matter styled  Plaintiff  v. Pierre Luis and Uber Technologies. The Plaintiff was drunk driver who crashed into the Defendant’s vehicle on New Years Eve of 2019. The defendant had two passengers in the backseat of his vehicle who were utilizing a ride share program. One of the passengers in the backseat of Defendant’s vehicle tragically lost his life as he was crushed to death when the Plaintiff’s pickup truck came to a rest on top of the Defendant’s Toyota Camry. The named individual Defendant, as well as the surviving female passenger were also injured as a result of the accident as well. Deposition evidence, as well as blood tests taken in the ER right after the accident, revealed evidence of the outrageous behavior the Plaintiff had been engaged in prior to the accident including testimony that the Plaintiff and his front seat passenger had been barhopping and using cocaine throughout the day just prior to the accident. The Plaintiff attempted to claim his friend, his front seat passenger, was the driver, however the police were able to determine that the much taller passenger did not comport with the driver’s seat position, in addition to the fact that the truck was owned by the Plaintiff, as well physical evidence that showed the Plaintiff’s forehead cracked the windshield which matched the Plaintiff’s large hematoma. Despite the fact that the Plaintiff’s blood drawn revealed the Plaintiff’s BAC was more than three times the legal limit, and he tested positive for cocaine use, and evidence uncovered by accident reconstruction experts along with eyewitnesses estimated the Plaintiff was traveling nearly double the speed limit in the seconds leading up to the fata crash. Astoundingly, the Plaintiff claimed that the Defendant failed to yield the right-of-way and filed suit against the Defendant and the rideshare program. The Plaintiff is currently awaiting trial on vehicular homicide charges. The Plaintiff filed suit just four days prior to the statute of limitations expiring. The Plaintiff failed to serve the Defendants within 120 days, failed to adhere to the Court’s Order to show good cause for not serving the Defendants, The Court noted that the Plaintiff attempted to circumvent the Court’s two prior rulings and orders by simply re-filing in a closed case three months later when the case had been judicially closed. However, justice ultimately prevailed when the case was ordered dismissed on December 3, 2024, when a hearing was held to hear the Defendants’ Motion to Dismiss and Motion to Quash. The Court ruled that the case was dismissed without prejudice, but acknowledged that the statute of limitations had run, precluding the Plaintiff from re-filing, and thus the Order to Dismiss would have the effect of being with prejudice.