Attorneys: Richard E. Ramsey

Our client in this case, a lawyer, represented the Plaintiff, also a lawyer, in Plaintiff’s own Bar proceeding. Plaintiff was found liable by a District Court Judge of the allegations in the underlying matter, which triggered the scheduling of a disciplinary proceeding by The Florida Bar. Plaintiff did not attend this proceeding, and was subsequently disbarred.

Plaintiff sued our client for malpractice, alleging that he missed the proceeding due to insufficient communication by our client as to the scheduling. Emails in evidence showed that our client timely notified the Plaintiff of the scheduled disciplinary proceeding, but the Plaintiff misunderstood the communication. We moved for summary judgment, arguing that whether or not Plaintiff attended his disciplinary proceeding would not have impacted the resulting disbarment, as he had already been found liable for the underlying allegations. The Court agreed with our assessment, and awarded summary judgment in our client’s favor.

Attorneys: Michael E., Lindsay T. Brigman, Alyssa Reiter

We represented a defense lawyer in a malpractice matter in which he faced a $535 million claim arising from an underlying auto claim with unusual and aggravating facts. The Plaintiff alleged the attorney’s misinterpretation of a settlement offer led to the defendant’s exposure to an excess judgment. Summary judgment was sought and subsequently granted by the trial court, and the case was dismissed. Plaintiff appealed, and on October 27, 2023, the Florida Second District Court of Appeal affirmed the lower court’s summary judgment ruling.

Attorneys: Krista Cammack, Raymond E. Watts, Jr., Michael R. D’Lugo

Orlando Partners, Krista Cammack, Ray Watts, and Michael D’Lugo recently prevailed in a professional liability case in Orange County, Florida.

This was a dispute over attorney’s fee in which our client was a lawyer who represented the Plaintiff in an underlying employment dispute. Plaintiff asserted that our client breached their contractual obligations, breached their fiduciary duty, and committed legal malpractice in the course of their representation of the Plaintiff. Our client denied these allegations and asserted that the Plaintiff was appropriately charged pursuant to a valid contingency agreement. Plaintiff demanded $485,000 in compensation prior to trial.

Ms. Cammack and Mr. Watts tried the case in Orlando in early February. After several days of testimony, the jury found for the defense on one claim, and for the Plaintiff on two claims, and ultimately awarded $101,200. However, due to the application of a setoff provided by a pre-trial settlement with a co-defendant, this award prompted the defense to file a post-trial Motion for an Entry of Judgment Notwithstanding the Verdict.

Mr. D’Lugo wrote the motion and Ms. Cammack argued it. The Court granted the motion on July 9, 2025, resulting in a judgment in our client’s favor and negating the jury award. This ruling also triggers a Proposal for Settlement filed by the defense prior to trial, and our client now intends to seek fees and costs from the Plaintiff.

This was a complicated case with a difficult set of facts. Congratulations to Krista, Ray, and Michael on this great work on behalf of our client.

Attorneys: Kyle R. Fontaine

Orlando partner Kyle Fontaine recently obtained a dismissal with prejudice in a professional liability case in Orange County, Florida.

Plaintiff in this case alleged that the dispensing pharmacy and pharmacist failed to warn him of the risks of adverse side effects from an injectable male enhancement formula compounded by the pharmacy, resulting in him developing an allegedly debilitating case of Peyronie’s disease. He claimed damages in the seven figures.

The Court agreed, after nearly 18 months of motion practice, that the Plaintiff was not owed a duty to warn by the pharmacy or the pharmacist, and dismissed the case with prejudice.

Congratulations Kyle, on this great outcome.

Attorneys: Mark H. Ruff Jr., Nicholas S. Seamster, Michael R. D’Lugo

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.

Attorneys: John Floyd, Sr., John Floyd Jr.

Nashville Partners, John Floyd, Sr., and John Floyd, Jr., obtained a defense verdict in a chiropractic malpractice case in Cullman County, Alabama.

Plaintiff alleged that our client’s treatment caused him to have an internal carotid artery dissection that ultimately led to a stroke. They presented evidence of alleged brain damage and a substantial loss of earnings claim.

In closing arguments, Plaintiff’s counsel asked the jury to award $8 million per year for each year since the injury, for a total of $64 million. The jury returned a defense verdict in 15 minutes.