Rumberger, Kirk & Caldwell: News & Information

June 23, 2011

Florida Trend Names Three Rumberger Kirk & Caldwell Partners to Legal Elite 2011

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ORLANDO, FL – Each year, Florida Trend recognizes the state’s top attorneys as selected by their peers. Four Rumberger Kirk & Caldwell partners – Daniel J. Gerber, Scott M. Sarason and Leonard J. Dietzen, III – have earned recognition in Florida Legal Elite 2011.

All three partners are recognized for the accomplishments in litigation including trial work. Dietzen, a labor and employment lawyer, is listed for the first time. Gerber is recognized for his work in commercial litigation and toxic tort law and Sarason for his product liability practice.

The sixth annual edition of Florida Trend’s Legal Elite is a prestigious roster recognizing 1.9% of the approximately 61,500 active Florida Bar members who practice in Florida. Beginning in October 2008, all in-state members of the Florida Bar were invited to name attorneys whom they hold in the highest regard.

More than 18,000 votes were processed, checked and tabulated by Outsource American and Suncoast Opinion Surveys. A panel comprised of 2009 Legal Elite lawyers from around the state then reviewed the selection process and the list of finalists.

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Rumberger, Kirk & Caldwell provides litigation and counseling services in a wide range of civil practice areas including product liability, commercial litigation, construction, intellectual property litigation, environmental, labor and employment law, insurance coverage, professional liability and administrative law. Offices are located in Orlando, Tampa, Miami, Tallahassee and Birmingham, Alabama. For more information, please visit www.rumberger.com.

June 17, 2011

Thirteen Rumberger Kirk & Caldwell Attorneys Named Florida Super Lawyers: Seven Named as Rising Stars

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Click here for details!

June 13, 2011

Follow Our Summer Clerks as they go Through Rumberger Kirk & Caldwell’s Summer Associate Program

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In Florida, Rumberger Kirk & Caldwell is known for the quality of our Summer Associate Program. Each of the nine weeks the clerks take workshops and learn how to build a case– all for the mock trial during the last week. The clerks are teamed up and given a case in which they take turns both as defense and plaintiff counsel. Follow them as they post each week on what they have done and learned by clicking here.

May 4, 2011

Florida House Passes Senate HB 142 OverrulingD’Amario v. Ford in crashworthiness cases

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Today, the Florida House of Representatives passed Senate Bill 142 which expressly overrules D’Amario v. Ford Motor Co., 806 So. 2d 424 (Fla. 2001). SB 142 provides that Florida’s comparative negligence principles apply to product liability actions, including cases in which it is alleged that the claimant’s injuries were enhanced by a defective product. The statute is intended to eliminate the unfair and inequitable outcomes which result from the minority view adopted by the Florida Supreme Court in D’Amario The statute is retroactive in application and will be effective upon being signed into law by Governor Scott. The result of SB 142 is that juries will be required to apportion fault for injuries among all persons who are responsible for the accident.

Keep checking www.rumberger.com for updates.

March 3, 2010

Eleven Rumberger Kirk & Caldwell Attorneys Named Florida Super Lawyers: Eight Named as Rising Stars

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ORLANDO, FL — Eleven attorneys from Rumberger, Kirk & Caldwell have been named to Florida Super Lawyers 2010 and eight lawyers were named Florida Super Lawyers Rising Stars.

Super Lawyers is a comprehensive guide to the top 5 percent of attorneys in the state, as chosen by their peers and categorized by city and practice area.

Through peer nominations and independent research by Law & Politics magazine, attorneys are asked to nominate the best lawyers they’ve personally observed in action. Safeguards are placed to avoid ballot manipulation, such as lawyers nominating themselves or “stacking” the ballots with only colleagues from within their own firms. Further evaluation is done based on peer recognition and professional achievement. Florida Super Lawyers is based on a survey of approximately 44,000 ballots of attorneys who have been in practice for more than five years.

The following Rumberger, Kirk & Caldwell attorneys have been named to Florida Super Lawyers:

Miami
Scott M. Sarason – Civil Litigation Defense

Orlando
Lori J. Caldwell – Civil Litigation Defense
Ernest “Skip” Eubanks – Personal Injury Defense: General
Daniel J. Gerber – Business Litigation
William “Bud” Kirk – Business Litigation
J. Scott Kirk – Personal Injury Defense: General

Tallahassee
Richard A. Greenberg – Criminal Defense
E. Thom Rumberger – Environmental Litigation
Darren Schwartz – Employment & Labor

Tampa
Robert L. Blank – Personal Injury Defense: General
J. Richard Caldwell, Jr. – Civil Litigation Defense

No more than 2.5 percent are named to the Rising Stars list. The selection process for Rising Stars is the same as the Super Lawyers selection process except that a candidate must be either 40 years old or younger or in practice for ten years or less, and Rising Stars candidates do not go through a peer evaluation by practice area.

The following attorneys have been named as Rising Stars

Miami
Manu Davidson – Personal Injury Defense: General
Christina McGinley Paul – Personal Injury Defense: General
Monica C. Segura – Personal Injury Defense: Products

Orlando
LaShawnda K. Jackson – Personal Injury Defense-General
Lauren Fackender Carmody – Insurance Coverage

Tampa
Anna Upton – Personal Injury Defense – Business Litigation
Michael Forte – Personal Injury Defense-General
Jared Smith – Personal Injury Defense-General

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Rumberger, Kirk & Caldwell provides litigation and counseling services in a wide range of civil practice areas including products liability, commercial litigation, intellectual property, environmental, employment, insurance, professional liability, health care and administrative law. Offices are located in Orlando, Tampa, Miami, Tallahassee and Birmingham, Alabama.

February 18, 2010

Rumberger Kirk & Caldwell Attorneys Rob Blank and Jared Smith Win Defense Verdict for Cook Moving Systems, Inc

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Thirteenth Judicial Circuit Court, Hillsborough County, Florida – Rumberger Kirk & Caldwell attorneys Rob Blank and Jared Smith of the Tampa office obtained a defense verdict on February 12, 2010 in the case of Robert Myers and Joyce Myers v. Cook / Tampa Bay Moving Systems, Inc., Case No.: 06-08377. Rumberger Kirk & Caldwell attorney Anna Upton of the Tampa office also assisted at trial.

Plaintiff, a roofer, was hired to fix a leak on the Cook Moving warehouse roof. He fell through a skylight on the warehouse roof while he was working; Plaintiff alleged he did not see the skylight due to coating placed on it three years earlier that he claimed blended with the rest of the roof. The defense successfully argued that Plaintiff was on notice of the skylights since he had been inside the warehouse before going on the roof, knew he was there to repair skylights and because the skylights were in fact distinguishable from the rest of the roof, while Cook Moving did not have notice of how the roof looked at the time of the accident. Plaintiff underwent an open reduction internal fixation surgery of his pelvis and an open reduction internal fixation surgery of his right wrist.
The jury found that Cook Moving did not have actual or constructive knowledge of a latent danger on the roof and entered a verdict in favor of the defense. Following the defense verdict, the Honorable James M. Barton, II entered final judgment in favor of Defendants. Plaintiff’s last demand to Cook Moving was $1,000,000. Cook Moving served a $1,000 proposal for settlement on December 22, 2006, and will be moving for its attorneys fees.

Rumberger Kirk & Caldwell’s Suzanne Singer Wins Summary Judgment for Schindler

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The Plaintiff alleged that while entering an elevator maintained by Schindler, the elevator doors closed on her, causing her to fall backward. The Plaintiff’s complaint included counts for negligence and negligence per se under Fla. Stat. §399.02. The Court heard oral arguments on January 8, 2010. On behalf of Schindler, Rumberger, Kirk & Caldwell partner Suzanne Singer argued that negligence per se pursuant to §399.02 may be appropriate against the property owner, but is not applicable to the elevator service provider. Regarding the Plaintiff’s negligence claims, there is not a scintilla of evidence Schindler failed to inspect or maintain the subject elevator or was negligent in any manner. Indeed, the undisputed facts reveal Schindler properly inspected and maintained the subject elevator at all material times.

The Court agreed. By Order on January 14, 2010, the Court held that there exists no questions of material fact, and no record proof of any breach of duty owed the Plaintiff by Schindler.

February 10, 2010

Rumberger Kirk Caldwell Partner speaks to Florida Public Employer Labor Relations Association

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Rumberger Kirk & Caldwell partner, Leonard Dietzen was a featured speaker at the FPERLA (Florida Public Employer Labor Relations Association) Training Conference on February 9, 2010 in Orlando. Dietzen’s topic was “Navigating the Storm. Public Records, Smart Phones and Social Media.” Dietzen discussed how Face book, MySpace, Twitter and Texting are poised to create a perfect storm for public records and Government in the Sunshine. Already, Florida’s public agencies are grappling with the consequences of on-line Networking. He advised public employers how to cast a net over all these issues so that they don’t end up off-course when it comes to protecting the organization.

December 11, 2009

Rumberger Kirk & Caldwell Wins Appeal for Kmart

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In May v. Kmart, the Second District Court of Appeal denied the plaintiff’s Petition for Certiorari regarding the location of his deposition. The injured plaintiff allegedly sustained a head injury in the subject accident, and therefore a conservator filed suit on his behalf. The injured plaintiff lives in Michigan, and he claimed he was not required to return to Florida for his deposition because he was not a party to the lawsuit. There is no case law directly on point, but Rumberger, Kirk & Caldwell argued the injured plaintiff must return to Florida because he is the real party in interest, despite not filing the suit himself. In addition, Rumberger, Kirk & Caldwell analogized the deposition rule to other rules of procedure in which the term “party” is used. Courts have ruled real parties in interest are parties in the contexts of medical examinations (Rule 1.360), proposals for settlement (Rule 1.442) and substitution of parties (Rule 1.260). Therefore, a real party in interest should be treated as a party plaintiff and required to return to Florida. After rendering its ruling, the appellate court granted Rumberger, Kirk & Caldwell’s Motion for Appellate Fees.

October 29, 2009

Rumberger Kirk & Caldwell Obtains Summary Judgment in Busch Gardens Case

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The Plaintiff fell on a walkway at Busch Gardens, allegedly twisting his knee. He sued Busch Entertainment Corporation (“BEC”) for negligence and intentional infliction of emotional distress. At his deposition, Plaintiff admitted he fell while running in the rain. On September 29, 2009, Hillsborough County Circuit Court Judge Martha Cook granted BEC’s Motion for Final Summary Judgment and entered Final Judgment in favor of BEC. BEC’s Motion for Fees and Costs are pending.

Rumberger Kirk & Caldwell attorneys Rob Blank and Ana Upton represented BEC.

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