Litdell McDonald v. Eric Newman

Carl Bober (Hollywood, FL)(Personal Injury) obtained summary judgment in a case involving a fire which occurred at our client’s property resulting in a total loss and alleged serious burns to the Plaintiff tenant.  The specific allegations of the Complaint, which were made in Fort Lauderdale, Broward County Circuit Court, were that our client negligently maintained the electrical wiring at his rental property which caused a fire during which the Plaintiff was severely burned.  The Plaintiff further claimed that he had personally informed our landlord client about the problems but that he failed to take any corrective action.  Through discovery, however, we were able to establish that the Plaintiff, who did side jobs as an auto mechanic, kept numerous flammable items in the rental apartment. We also retained a cause and origin expert who was able to conclusively show that it was in fact the presence of gasoline kept in the apartment by the Plaintiff – which was unknown to our client – that ultimately caused the fire and his injuries.  The trial judge found that there was no negligence by our client and granted our Final Motion for Summary Judgment.  Our motion to recover our client’s attorney’s fees and costs, which was the result of an expired Proposal for Settlement previously made to the Plaintiff, is pending.