Dinsmore’s Miami Appellate Team Successfully Defends Favorable Judgment in the Florida Supreme Court

Dinsmore Miami appellate partner Katie Ender and appellate associate Janice Lopez successfully defended a judgment in favor of their client on appeal in Florida’s Second District Court of Appeal and, again, in the Florida Supreme Court.

The case involved the tragic drowning death of a child at an apartment complex in Tampa, Florida. Dinsmore’s appellate team represented the apartment complex and its management company at the appellate level. After briefing and oral argument, the Second District Court of Appeal of Florida issued a lengthy opinion affirming the final judgment in favor of Dinsmore’s clients. The appellate opinion thoughtfully reaffirmed Florida’s long-established body-of-water rule which states that an owner of a body of water is not liable for negligence as a result of a drowning unless the body of water is constructed in a manner constituting a trap or there is otherwise some unusual element of danger present that does not exist in similar bodies of water. Florida’s Second District Court of Appeal also rejected the Plaintiff’s attempt to create an exception for child invitees or to otherwise limit the body-of-water rule to cases raising the attractive nuisance doctrine.

The Plaintiff sought review in the Florida Supreme Court on the basis of express and direct conflict with decisions of other Florida district courts of appeal and the Supreme Court. After jurisdictional briefing, however, the Florida Supreme Court declined to accept jurisdiction over this issue. As a result, the final judgment in favor of Dinsmore’s clients will now become final.

You can read the appellate opinion here.