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Clarke County Jury Vindicates Alabama Roadbuilder

Jeff Luther of Luther Collier Hodges & Cash, LLP won a defense verdict from a Clarke County jury after a four-day trial on September 26, 2019.  The firm’s client, H.O. Weaver & Sons, Inc., was operating a tri-axle dump truck loaded with asphalt in route to a paving job in Wilcox County.  The H.O. Weaver […]

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ALABAMA – Products Liability – Spoliation

The Supreme Court has reviewed the standards surrounding spoliation of evidence in the context of a products liability action.  Imperial Aluminum hired Taylor to carry out a painting job on its premises. Imperial gave Taylor a new paint sprayer to do the job. After a day’s work, when Taylor was in the process of cleaning […]

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ALABAMA – Dispositive Motions – Procedure

The Supreme Court has reviewed the dissolution of a law firm in Mobile, and clarified the hearing requirements related thereto. The law firm was established in 1994, until one of the partners, Zieman, withdrew in 2014. Zieman, Speegle, and Hoffman were the equity-holding members of the firm.  Speegle and Hoffman filed a petition for approval […]

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Florida – Jury Verdict Contrary to Manifest Weight of Evidence

Plaintiff was a passenger in a vehicle rear-ended by the Defendant. Defendant admitted liability but denied Plaintiff was injured in the accident. Plaintiff testified she was injured and sought treatment the following day and continued for some time to receive treatment. Plaintiff’s medical witnesses opined she was injured in the accident and one concluded it […]

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Florida – Trial Court’s Directed Verdict for Plaintiff on Intoxication Defense Reversed

Defendant appealed the trial court’s granting of a directed verdict during trial on the intoxication defense raised by Defendant pursuant to Florida Statute § 768.36. This statute precludes Plaintiff from recovering damages if the Plaintiff was more than 50% at fault as a result of being under the influence of alcohol or drugs. The evidence […]

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ALABAMA – Appeals – Timeliness as a Jurisdictional Requirement

The Supreme Court of Alabama recently led out some of the nuance in appeals filing stemming from a will contest. The contest involved a brother and sister attempting to probate two separate wills for their deceased mother. The probate court transferred the contest to circuit court, which found the sister’s will to be the valid […]

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ALABAMA – Summary Judgment – Issues of Material Fact

The Supreme Court of Alabama has described the bounds of issues of material fact in a dispute of entitlement to referral fees. An attorney, Caldwell, worked for George Woerner, and helped Woerner run several of his businesses. When the BP Oil Spill occurred, Caldwell enlisted the help of Cunningham Bounds, a law firm in Mobile, […]

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Florida – Standing In Real Property Suit

In a lawsuit filed by a former owner of property against the City of Dunedin for tort claims and declaratory relief regarding the City’s handling of permitting and zoning for improvements to the property, the Trial Court granted a summary judgment filed by the City alleging that the Plaintiff had no standing because it no […]

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Florida – Corporate Law – Which is Appropriate, Derivative or Direct Lawsuit?

A shareholder of a company brought a direct action, as opposed to a derivative action, for constructive fraud, fraud, and breach of contract against the officers of a publicly traded company. The trial court dismissed all three claims. On appeal, the 5th DCA reversed only the trial court’s ruling on the first count of constructive […]

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ALABAMA – Dismissal of Actions – Declaratory Judgment

The Supreme Court of Alabama has been asked to decide on the ability of a party to seek declaratory judgment for various issues surrounding the sale of business assets. The Court decided that there can be no declaratory judgment when a party is seeking a declaration of nonliability in tort, but will allow declaratory judgment […]

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