Appellate Results

In October 2006, the Firm obtained an $11.3 million verdict on behalf of a small business owner and her company who were defamed over the Internet. Susan Scheff, who ran a teen referral services, sued a woman who sought her help after the woman posted defamatory statements about Scheff and her business over the Internet. The verdict, which received nationwide media attention because of the size of the verdict, consisted of $6.3 million in compensatory damages and $5 million in punitive damages. The verdict is reportedly the largest ever to be obtained in a case involving Internet Defamation.

In September 2006, the Firm appeared before the Florida Supreme Court on behalf of a 14-year-old girl who suffered a ruptured appendix after a cruise ship doctor failed to properly diagnose her. The trial judge in the case granted summary judgment in favor of the cruise line, holding that the ship was not liable for the medical malpractice of the ships doctor. The Third District Court of Appeals reversed the trial courts decision, and certified the question of whether a cruise line was vicariously liable for the medical negligence of a ships doctor, no passengers, to The Florida Supreme Court. Appearing on behalf of the plaintiff, the Firm argued that the cruise line should be vicariously liable for the medical malpractice committed by its doctor, both as a matter of law and public policy.