Florida Partner Prevails on Appeal in Flash Fire Suit

Fort Lauderdale Partner Geralyn Passaro recently prevailed on appeal before the Florida Fifth District Court of Appeal, affirming a defense verdict in favor of our apartment complex owner client in a case involving a flash fire.

In 2018, Plaintiff visited a tenant at our client’s residential apartment complex in Daytona Beach, Florida, and attempted to light a community propane grill, which resulted in a flash fire. The fire caused Plaintiff to sustain second-degree burns, permanent scarring and nerve damage. Subsequently, Plaintiff filed suit against our client, among other defendants. In 2024, Litchfield Cavo Partner Michael Perotti represented our client in the Seventh Judicial Circuit Court of Florida. After four hours of deliberation, the jury found no negligence on behalf of our client, resulting in a complete defense verdict. Plaintiff then appealed the Circuit Court’s decision.

On appeal, Plaintiff argued that our client had a non-delegable duty to ensure the safety of property tenants and visitors, and that the trial court improperly denied his motion for a new trial. In response, Litchfield Cavo Partner Geralyn Passaro argued that the lower court did not err in failing to provide the jury instructions on non-delegable duty.

In October 2025, after full briefing and oral argument, the Florida Fifth District Court of Appeal agreed with our defense attorney and awarded prevailing appellate fees in favor of our client.

Geralyn M. Passaro practices primarily in the area of commercial and complex business litigation. She also handles complex personal injury, trucking accident, toxic tort defense and wrongful death actions in addition to construction and employment liability matters.