Verdicts by Attorney: Dunham, Deana N.

This case arose out of a property insurance claim, in which the Plaintiff claimed that the roof of his property was damaged as a result of a windstorm that occurred on either July 19, 2021, February 7, 2020, or July 7, 2021. Plaintiff initially reported the claim with a  date of loss of July 19, 2021. After retaining a public adjuster (PA), the PA changed the date of loss to February 7, 2020. Then, during his deposition, Plaintiff testified that he believed the correct date of loss was July 7, 2021. The claim had been denied because there was no storm created damage to the roof and no peril created opening which allowed water to enter the interior of the property.  The court granted Defendant’s Motion for Summary Judgment in part as to there being no peril created opening, but found a question of fact as to whether there was storm damage to the roof. The parties proceeded to trial on December 8, 2023. 

Plaintiff’s last demand before trial was for $90,000 global.   On the morning of the first day of trial, the parties settled for nominal amount, as the jury was in the process of being convened from the jury assembly room.  The case had been in litigation for 21 months at the time of trial/settlement and had been through considerable discovery, including depositions of both parties and their respective experts. 

Plaintiff asked Jury for $3.6 M - 1 Week Trial Duval County - Net Verdict $43,000.

Jacksonville Partner Deanna Dunham, Esq., obtained Summary Judgment in a premise liability case entitled Suzann Wisner v. Defendant Retail Store in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida. Plaintiff filed suit alleging that the Defendant breached its duty to the Plaintiff by negligently allowing a transitory foreign substance to remain on the floor, causing a dangerous condition, and failing to warn the Plaintiff of the resulting dangerous condition. As a result of the incident, the Plaintiff claimed a fracture of her right knee and incurred medical expenses in the amount of approximately $43,000.

The case involved a cup of yogurt, which was dropped by a customer in the dairy department of Defendant’s store. CCTV video clearly showed the customer dropping the yogurt at 10:59:33 a.m., chasing after the container and picking it up, leaving a small amount of light green yogurt on the floor. At 10:59:51, Defendant’s maintenance associate entered the area and overheard the customer announce that she had dropped yogurt. The customer was not addressing him directly, but was conveying a general warning to everyone in the area. The maintenance associate began to scan the area for the spilled yogurt just as Plaintiff slipped and fell in the yogurt at 10:59:58. A total of 35 seconds had elapsed between the time the yogurt was dropped and the time of Plaintiff’s fall. The court granted Defendant’s Motion for Summary Judgment based on lack of notice to the Defendant based on Florida Statute 768.0755, which requires a person who slips and falls in a transitory foreign substance in a business establishment to demonstrate that the business establishment had actual or constructive knowledge of the substance and should have taken action to remedy it.

In opposition to Defendant’s Motion for Summary Judgment, Plaintiff argued that Defendant’s maintenance associate was on actual notice and failed to clean or guard the spill. In its Order Granting Defendant’s Motion for Summary Judgment, the Court reasoned that the video footage showed Defendant’s employee lacked actual notice of the spilled yogurt until the customer pointed directly at it at 10:59:57, and prior to that, the customer’s general statement that she had dropped yogurt on the floor did not apprise him of the exact location of the spill. Plaintiff fell at 10:59:58. The court ruled that Plaintiff failed to meet her burden to demonstrate a triable issue of fact and could not show that Defendant had sufficient time to remedy the dangerous condition. The Court ruled, as a matter of law, that the Defendant was not liable for any injuries allegedly suffered by Plaintiff. A proposal for settlement was filed early in this case, which has allowed the client the opportunity to recover most of the defense fees and costs in this matter. Read More.

Jacksonville Defense Verdict November 2, 2021. During closing arguments, Plaintiff requested a verdict in excess of $1.3M.

Jacksonville Managing Partner Todd Springer, Esq., and Junior Partner Deana Dunham, Esq., obtained a defense verdict following a three day jury trial in matter styled Joyce Daugherty v. Defendant Retail Store in Baker County, Florida. Mrs. Daugherty, a 70 year old preschool teacher, alleged that Defendant breached its duty by negligently allowing a “saturated” mat to remain on the floor of the store’s vestibule, which caused Plaintiff to slip and fall. As a result of the incident, the Plaintiff claimed an injury to her right hip, for which she underwent emergency surgery and expressed continued complaints of pain and limitations. Plaintiff presented medical bills totaling approximately $150,000.00, although the court had previously granted Defendant’s Motion in Limine to limit the medical bills to what was allowed by Medicare. The parties stipulated to past medical expenses in the amount of the liens, which totaled approximately $43,000.00.

Prior to the trial, the court had granted Plaintiff’s spoliation motion, based on the inadvertent loss of 48 minutes of CCTV video prior to the fall. This resulted in a jury instruction that Defendant had a duty to maintain additional in-store video, which it did not do; and as a result the jury should find for Plaintiff unless Defendant rebutted the presumption of negligence by a greater weight of the evidence.

Defendant overcame the presumption of negligence using photographs taken by the store manager approximately 13 minutes after Plaintiff’s fall which showed the condition of the mat to be reasonably dry; and by eliciting testimony from the former store manager about his observations of the area at the time of his inspection. Defendant also used the CCTV video itself, which showed 12 minutes before the fall, and approximately an hour and a half after the fall. Defendant was able to demonstrate that the carpeted mat was not saturated and was reasonably safe.

Plaintiff elicited testimony from the responding paramedic that the floor was wet and the mat was saturated. The paramedic testified that, while she did not specifically recall the incident, review of a report refreshed her recollection, and that she recalled both the floor and mat being extremely saturated. She also testified that she, herself, had slipped as she entered the store. Defendant demonstrated to the jury that her testimony was unreliable as the CCTV video showed the EMT entering the area through a separate door, and never walking over or looking toward the mat in question.

During closing arguments, Plaintiff requested a verdict in excess of $1.3M. The jury returned a defense verdict within approximately 40 minutes. A proposal for settlement was filed early in this case, which has allowed the client the opportunity to recover most of the defense fees and costs in this matter. Read more

On October 11, 2018, Jacksonville Managing Partner Todd Springer, Esq. and Senior Associate Deana Dunham, Esq. obtained a defense verdict in a slip and fall matter styled  O’Neal v. Shops at St. Johns. Plaintiff demanded $224,000 at trial. Plaintiff was walking next to her daughter back to her car when she suddenly fell, coming down on brick pavers. Plaintiff alleged that an uneven brick paver protruded above the rest, causing her to trip and fall.  Read More

Jacksonville Associate Deana Dunham, Esq. prevailed on a Motion for Summary Judgment in a trip and fall matter styled Sowders v. Simon Property Group d/b/a Pier Park LLC. on September 26, 2016.  Plaintiff was shopping at the Mall and was walking in the parking lot when she tripped on a parking curb in front of her vehicle. Read More