$ 5,000,000.00 verdict in Federal Court against an insurance company

$5,000,000.00 verdict in Federal Court against an insurance company which wrongfully refused to defend a municipality in our lawsuit against the municipality arising out of the ocean drowning death of a 36 year old man. Our client was building a sand castle with his three young daughters on the beach when a woman caught in a rip current screamed for help. Our client attempted to rescue the woman, but both he and the woman drowned while his wife and three daughters watched in horror. This case was appealed to the Florida Supreme Court, which ruled in our favor that the municipality owed a duty, the same as a private land owner, to warn of dangerous conditions of which the municipality knew or should have known, such as the existence of dangerous rip currents, and that this portion of the beach did not have lifeguards. Users of the beach thought that it was a guarded, safe swimming area because there were concessionaires, licensed by the municipality, renting beach chairs, umbrellas and water craft, and who appeared to be lifeguards. There were also public restrooms, showers, fountains and parking, attracting people to use the beach at this location.

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