Trial Win in Contractor Dispute

Trial Win in Contractor Dispute

Dan Levin, Travis Halstead, and Christie Bredahl Gierke recently won a non-jury trial in Orlando, Florida with a final judgment in favor of CSK’s client, E&L Support Services, Inc.

The Plaintiff, Lane Construction Corporation, was a design-build contractor for a roadway construction project. The Contractor sued E&L for professional negligence arising out of alleged errors and omissions in the preparation and administration of a Mass Concrete Plan prepared for construction of a 2 million pound saddle beam intended to support a bridge/ramp for the roadway project. Upon completion of the Ramp C concrete pour, the beam developed premature cracking and structural failure known as delayed ettringite formation (“DEF”). The owner of the project, the Central Florida Expressway Authority, required the Contractor to rip and replace the beam at a cost of approximately $700,000. In turn, the Contractor filed suit against E&L for approximately $700,000, which it contends was an expense resulting solely from the poor design of the Mass Concrete Plan prepared by E&L.

At trial, CSK presented evidence of the Contractor’s material deviations of the Mass Concrete Plan through testimony of the Contractor’s own witnesses and the resident inspector retained by the Owner for on-site inspections and quality control. The Contractor argued that E&L’s plan never would have worked even if the Contractor implemented it perfectly.

The Court found the Contractor failed to prove the requisite element of proximate causation for the professional negligence claim, and entered judgment in E&L’s favor.

 

 

CSK Successfully Defends Pain Management Case Against Morgan and Morgan

Jennifer Watson and Brea Dearing from CSK’s Jacksonville offices successfully defended a 5-day trial/pain management case in St. Johns County against Morgan and Morgan where fault for the auto accident was admitted.

Plaintiff was 29 years old at the time of a t-bone car accident. Plaintiff began conservative care with her chiropractor. Plaintiff’s MRI showed herniations at C5-6 and C6-7. She then added pain management to her treatment regimen one month before she was involved in a motorcycle accident 10 months after the initial complained of accident in 2018. Plaintiff argued the motorcycle accident had nothing to do with her ongoing treatment of head and neck pain. Plaintiff asked for future medicals via a life care planner of $1,500,000.00 (this included RFAs and migraine medicine) and for about $3,000,000.00 in pain and suffering (past and future).

Defendant argued that the 2018 motorcycle accident was an intervening cause of Plaintiff’s injuries and admitted liability only for those medical expenses up to the 2018 motorcycle accident ($20,464.20). Defendant argued that Plaintiff’s overall gym records, race records, and her pain complaints changed/increased after the 2018 accident. Defense argued that these were all indicators that she did injure her neck in the 2018 accident even if not complained of on the day of the subsequent accident. Defendant argued that because Plaintiff’s head (occipital block) and neck (5 level RFA) she received a month before the motorcycle accident masked her ability to sense the pain during the 2018 accident

The jury deliberated two hours during lunch and delivered a verdict for $25,000.00 for past meds with no permanency.