Fort Lauderdale Attorneys Win Post-Trial Motion to Set Aside $5 Million Dollar Jury Verdict

On September 15, 2015, the Honorable Judge Marina Garcia-Wood granted Litchfield Cavo LLP’s client’s, a condominium association of a active-adult 55+ communities located in Boca Raton, Florida, a Motion for Judgment Notwithstanding the Verdict, setting aside a $5 million jury verdict in favor of the Plaintiff.

Our client, a civic association of more than 250 condominium associations, is located just south of Boca Raton. The Plaintiff, one of the condo associations, filed a derivative action against our client alleging it and its former president acted negligently and breached his fiduciary duty. Prior to trial, the former president was dismissed leaving our client as the remaining Defendant. The case was tried in April 2015, and the jury returned a verdict of $5 million in favor of the Plaintiff.

In granting our client’s Motion for Judgment Notwithstanding the Verdict, the Court found most compelling the argument that the Plaintiff lacked standing to bring a derivative action. Specifically, in executing the Order, Judge Garcia-Wood acknowledged the Fourth District Court of Appeals decision in Provence v. Palm Beach Taverns, Inc., 676 So.2d 1022 (Fla. 4th DCA 1996) in which that Court stated, “a derivative action is one in which a stockholder seeks to sustain in his own name a right of action existing in the corporation.” In applying the law to the matter before it, Judge Garcia-Wood opined that the Verified Complaint became moot when the former president was dismissed leaving our client as the only defendant.

Litchfield Cavo’s trial team included Geralyn M. Passaro, Shari D. Smith and Angela M. Swenka.