Ruling Affirmed: Florida Fourth District Court of Appeal (Professional Negligence)

Orlando Partner, Michael D’Lugo, and West Palm Beach Partners, Mark Ruff and Nicholas Seamster, recently prevailed in a matter heard by the Florida Fourth District Court of Appeal.

This was a professional negligence claim brought by a contractor against our client, an engineer, stemming from the construction of two sewage pump stations. The Plaintiff claimed that our client negligently designed and negligently administered the project, causing the contractor to fall behind and to be improperly terminated by the city that had originally commissioned the project. The Plaintiff sought over $12 million in actual and consequential damages.

Several counts of the Complaint were disposed of via summary judgment prior to trial, and Mark Ruff and Nicholas Seamster tried the case on the remaining counts in Palm Beach County, Florida, in February 2022. Although the jury awarded approximately $100,000 in damages and split the liability equally between the Plaintiff and our client, we moved for a directed verdict which was granted post-trial.

Plaintiff appealed the directed verdict in June 2023, and Michael D’Lugo filed our Answer Brief in October 2023. In early June, the Florida Fourth District Court of Appeal affirmed without discussion on all issues related to our client.