Chad E. Leeper - Wicker, Smith, O'Hara, McCoy & Ford, P.A.

Profile

Chad E. Leeper, a native of Georgia, joined Wicker Smith in 2006. He has managed the firm’s Melbourne office since 2013.

Over the course of his career, Mr. Leeper has litigated hundreds of cases and conducted numerous civil trials on behalf of the firm’s clients throughout the state of Florida. Mr. Leeper’s diverse experience includes matters involving personal auto liability, commercial transportation, insurance coverage, general liability, premises liability, retail liability and sexual abuse. A significant portion of Mr. Leeper’s practice also involves representing healthcare professionals, local hospitals and national hospital chains in medical malpractice and other related matters. He currently serves as outside corporate counsel for a local mental health hospital with ten separate patient facility locations in the central Florida area.

Mr. Leeper has delivered lectures on topics ranging from general liability matters to emerging medical-legal issues. His audience has included insurance personnel, board of directors for corporate clients, physicians and nurses, and hospital staff.

His representative clients include AIG, CenturyLink, Circles of Care, Community Health Services, Crum & Forster; GuideOne Insurance Company, Lexington Insurance Company, MAG Mutual Insurance Co., MV Transportation, Inc., The Redwoods Group, Inc., Scottsdale Insurance Co., Vanliner, Winn-Dixie Stores, and Zurich, N.A., to name a few.

Mr. Leeper received a B.A. degree from the University of Florida, and his J.D. from Mercer University School of Law. He is admitted to practice in the states of Florida and Georgia. He is a member of the Florida Bar, the Georgia Bar, United States Middle District of Florida, United States Southern District of Florida, United States Northern District of Florida, Brevard County Bar Association, and CLM.

Outside of his law practice, Mr. Leeper is an avid motorcyclist, boater, and fisherman.

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Credentials

Education

Mercer University (J.D., 2007)
University of Florida (B.A., high honors, 2004)

Representative Matters

Summary Judgment: Seminole County, Florida (Premises Liability)

Melbourne Partner, Chad Leeper, and Associate, Bianca Taraschi, obtained final summary judgment in a premises liability case on behalf of a national membership retail warehouse club in Seminole County, Florida, last week. Plaintiff claimed she slipped and fell on a piece of food in the warehouse near a sampling cart. She claimed injury to her neck, shoulder, and hip as a result of the fall, for which she underwent physical therapy, injections, and surgery. Record evidence showed that Plaintiff’s fall occurred less than a minute after the condition was created, which did not afford the store a reasonable amount of time to resolve the condition. Plaintiff’s primary argument at the hearing was that the Defendant failed to warn Plaintiff of the fall in that an employee of the warehouse saw the food substance fall to the floor and was on his way to pick it up when the fall occurred. Plaintiff argued the employee should have yelled out to customers in the area to warn them of the substance. The Court agreed with our argument that Florida law does not require a store owner to yell out to customers who are in the vicinity of a transitory substance and that the situation did not create a triable issue for a jury considering the undisputed facts. As such, the Court entered summary judgment in our client’s favor. Congratulations Chad and Bianca on this great result!

Practices

Education

Mercer University (J.D., 2007)
University of Florida (B.A., high honors, 2004)

Honors

Florida Super Lawyers, 2018
Florida Super Lawyers “Rising Star”, 2013-2017

Credentials

Admitted to Bar

2007, Florida
2008, US District Court for Middle District of Florida
2011, Georgia
2016, Southern District of Florida

Professional Affiliations

The Florida Bar
The Georgia Bar
Orange County Bar Association
Brevard County Bar Association
Melbourne Chamber of Commerce
Transportation Lawyers Association
Defense Research Institute