Kansas R. Gooden is the chair of Florida Defense Lawyers Association’s Amicus Committee and oversees the filing of amicus briefs across the state.  She recently filed two amicus briefs.

The Nemours Foundations v. Arroyo, Case No. 5D18-1969 (Fla. 5th DCA) concerns whether Amendment 7, known as the Patient’s Right to Know Amendment, abrogated a hospital’s or medical facility’s attorney-client privilege with regard to documents which fall within the required disclosures.  The FDLA argued that there is nothing within the passage of the Amendment which would show an intent to abrogate the attorney-client privilege.

Palmentere Bros. Cartage Serv., et. al. v. Copeland, Case No. 1D17-2330 is a case where an insurance company was held liable in a third-party case for a punitive damage verdict entered against an insured.  In addition, the trial court added the punitive damages award to the  proposal for settlement “judgment obtained” number and awarded the plaintiff attorney’s fees. Notably, the proposal for settlement specified that the offer did not include punitive damages as none were pled in the complaint at the time. FDLA maintained that both of these rulings were error and against well-established public policy.

If you have any questions about these cases or would like to involve the FDLA in a case, please contact Kansas R. Gooden.