Directed Verdict

Press Release 1

Romaguera, Baker, Dawson & Bringardner, P.A. congratulates Raul Romaguera and Denise Dawson, equity partners, on a Directed Verdict in a construction/property owner case in Sanford, FL.

Raul Romaguera

Denise Dawson

The trial before the Eighteenth Judicial Circuit, Seminole County, Florida, Judge Robert McGregor, in Sanford, lasted 10 days. Raul Romaguera (rromaguera@rd-legal.com) and Denise Dawson (ddawson@rd-legal.com) of the Palm Beach Gardens office of Romaguera, Baker, Dawson, Bringardner & Dias, P.A., represented the Defendants, MSA/PSI Altamonte Limited Partnership and Simon Property Group d/b/a C.C. Altamonte Joint Venture. Fisher, Rushmer, Werrenrath, Dickson, Talley & Dunlap, P.A. represented co-Defendant, Keene Construction Company. Phares Heindl and Faith Horning-Keating represented the Plaintiffs.

Causes of Action

Plaintiff claimed that she received an electrical shock while using the telephone at property owned by Defendant, Simon Properties.

Brief Summary of Fact

Plaintiff alleged electrical shock caused severe headaches including migraines, chronic fatigue, drastic weight loss, anxiety, depression, loss of reading ability, post traumatic stress disorder, cataracts, chronic pain, low blood pressure, blood disorders, frequent abdominal cramping, muscle spasms, hemorrhoids, vertigo, short and long term memory loss, loss of sex drive, dry eyes, loss of hearing in her right ear, tinnitus, seizures, colitis, stomach ulcers, panic attacks, loss of balance, farsightedness, lost sense of smell and taste, kidney stones, inappropriate behavior, a short attention span, nausea, vertigo, alopecia, passing out, dehydration, cold and heat intolerance, jaw pain, low thyroid levels, bed wetting, low back pain, severe constipation, bursitis, arthritis, and she had surgical intervention for a neurological implant attached to a power pack to maintain routine bodily functions.

Defendant, Simon's witnesses testified that it had no actual or constructive knowledge of any alleged defects in its grounding system, and if any defect was found to exist that it was a latent defect. The Defendant, Simon's, maintenance of its premises was reasonable and adequate, the premises was properly and adequately grounded and in compliance with all applicable building codes.

The agency with authority to interpret the National Electrical Code, the City of Altamonte Springs Building Department, determined that the subject shopping center was constructed to code as evidenced by its issuance of a permit and subsequent Certificate of Occupancy.

Defendants, MSA/PSI Altamonte Limited Partnership and Simon Property Group d/b/a C.C. Altamonte Joint Venture, received a Directed Verdict in their favor at the end of Plaintiff's case.

The Court also found that the defect was latent as a matter of law, the Slavin doctrine applied, and that the dangerous instrumentality law as it related to electricity did not apply to a property owner.