www.waltonlantaff.com SINCE 1934 YOUR PARTNERS IN RISK MANAGEMENT UNITED STATES SUPREME COURT A Clear Policy Against Discrimination Protected Walmart from Huge Class Action Employers nationwide should review the ruling in Walmart v. Dukes Walton Lantaff’s Employment Law Practice keeps abreast of cases like the recent Walmart v. Dukes et al. case in which the United States MIAMI Supreme Court refused to expand the circum- 9350 S. Dixie Hwy stances in which class actions could be certi- 10th Floor fied under Federal Rules of Civil Procedure Miami, FL 33156 Tel: 305-671-1300 23(a)(2) and 23(b)(2). Fax: 305-670-7065 The Supreme Court held that class certifica- FT LAUDERDALE tion in this case was not consistent with Rule 110 E. Broward Blvd. 23(a) which requires the class seeking certifica- Suite 2000 tion to prove that the class has common “ques- Ft Lauderdale, FL 33301 tions of law or fact.” Tel: 954-463-8456 Title VII questions the reason for a particu- Fax: 954-763-6294 lar employment decision and the Plaintiff must ORLANDO prove that their adverse employment decision 200 S. Orange Ave. was based on discriminatory reasons or that Suite 1575 the effect of an employment practice created a Orlando, FL 32801 Tel: 407-425-3250 disparate impact on a suspect class, in this case Fax: 407-425-3255 women. Plaintiffs wanted to sue for millions PENSACOLA* of employment decisions at once and failed 21 East Garden Street to prove that Walmart acted under a general Pensacola, FL 32501 policy of discrimination. Tel: 850-262-0214 Looking at the size and geographical scope Fax: 850-701-1786 * Satellite Office of Walmart, the Court found it unlikely that TALLAHASSEE all managers would exercise their discretion in 2074 Centre Pointe a common way without some direction, and Blvd Walmart’s stated policy forbids discrimination Suite 100 and has penalties for same. Tallahassee, FL 32308 Tel: 850-701-1781 The Court also found that the Plaintiffs Fax: 850-701-1786 backpay claims were improperly certified un- TAMPA der 23(b)(2) and specifically stated that claims 2203 N. Lois Ave. for individualized relief, like back pay should The Plaintiffs in Walmart Suite 750 not be certified under Rule 23(b)(2) at all. Tampa, FL 33607 The preponderance test used by Plaintiffs to wanted to sue for millions Tel: 813-775-2375 Fax: 813-775-2385 obtain certification under 23(b)(2) created the of employment decisions at WEST PALM possibility that individual class members’ com- BEACH pensatory damages claims would be precluded once and failed to prove that 1700 Palm Beach by litigation they had no power to hold them- Lakes Blvd selves apart from, which is why 23(b)(3) protec- the world’s largest retailer 7th Floor tions are so important to monetary claims. West Palm Beach, FL 33401 Furthermore, Walmart is entitled to indi- acted under a general policy Tel: 561-689-6700 Fax: 561-689-2647 PLEASE SEE ‘WAL-MART’ ON PAGE 7 of discrimination. Summer 2011 Page 1 Walton, Lantaff Schroeder & Carson FORT LAUDERDALE Summary Judgment Won In Premises Case A wet surface painted without anti-slip additives may be defective, but it’s latent; Owner held not liable for fall Partner Richard Rosenblum and associate Tom Rogers, from our Fort Lauderdale office, recently won a Summary Judgment on behalf of an insured commer- cial property owner in a premises liability case. The case was filed in Broward County Circuit Court. The plaintiff, a Publix shopper in her early 30’s, slipped and fell on a painted parking lot directional ar- row after a rainfall. Plaintiff alleged the painted surface caused the rainwater to Richard Rosenblum, bead up, making the painted sur- Esq. face more slippery than the sur- rounding asphalt. She further al- leged there were Building Code MIAMI-DADE violations in that the paint material used did not have anti-slip addi- tives. In regard to her injuries, she Hurricane Wilma-related sustained a herniated lumbar disc with resulting surgery. claim blown away The Motion for Summary Judg- ment was based upon two argu- ments. The first was that the -al Tom Rogers, Esq. after clock runs out leged defect was latent, or not easily identified upon reasonable on terms of policy inspection. Here, an independent asphalt contractor had re- surfaced and re-striped the parking lot. The parking lot had The Miami-Dade Circuit court passed inspection by the local Building Department, the entered a final summary judgment prior property owner and the professional property man- in favor of WLSC client State Farm ager. Under the Slavin case doctrine, a property owner is Florida Insurance Company based responsible for patent, or obvious defects, once a contrac- on a provision in the policy requir- tor’s work has been accepted. ing suit to be filed within 5 years However, a property owner is not responsible for ac- of the date of the loss. The insured cepted latent defects not discovered in work performed by filed suit against State Farm in Jan- a contractor. The contractor remains liable to the injured uary of 2011 for a loss that allegedly party under latent defect circumstances. The second argu- occurred in October of 2005 as a ment was that plaintiff failed to prove that a negligent condi- result of Hurricane Wilma. Thomas Caldwell, Esq. tion existed. Since the suit was filed about five The Court agreed that plaintiff’s testimony that water had years and two months after the hur- beaded upon the painted surface and that to her it was more ricane, WLSC’s Tom Caldwell prepared a motion for sum- slippery than the surrounding asphalt was insufficient fac- mary judgment based on a breach of the policy’s require- tually to support allegations of a dangerous condition. ment that suit be filed within five years of the date of the loss. The defense also had a pending Motion to Dismiss for Even though Florida has a five-year statute of limitations Fraud upon the Court, but that Motion was not heard. period, under the case law the limitations period does not Plaintiff had lied about her past medical history. begin to run until there has been an alleged breach of the It became unnecessary to argue the Motion to Dismiss contract, so the statutue of limitations was not a ground for for Fraud once the Court granted the defendant’s Motion for the motion for summary judgment. Summary Judgment. Page 2 Summer 2011 www.waltonlantaff.com Walton Lantaff: Committed to the pursuit of justice for over 77 years, with long traditions of community service This article is dedicated to the In 1957, Miller Walton from high school into law school at the memory of Senior Partner Lawrence D. University of Georgia, clearly an im- Smith, whose 30 years of service to the joined the board of possible thing to do in today’s world, firm and its clients was an extension of and rare even in the early 1900s. the founders’ original vision. trustees for Baptist He moved to Fort Lauderdale in 1925 and nine years later opened the As the second oldest law firm in the Hospital, three years doors to his own practice. It was from State of Florida, Walton, Lantaff, Schro- before the hospital actually there on that Mr. Walton dedicated eder & Carson has a vast and unique his life to both his work and his com- history. Founded in 1934, Miller Wal- opened. munity, instilling the values which ton built the firm on solid ground: a Walton Lantaff came to pride itself on. professional commitment to providing tory of both the state of Florida and The first Walton Lantaff office found exceptional – and honest – legal servic- our country. One of his ancestors was itself in the heart of Miami in the Con- es complimented by a moral commit- a representative for Georgia in the gress Building, which has since been ment to community engagement. Continental Congress and went on to added to the National Register of His- sign the Declaration of Independence. toric Places. After the firm moved to a MILLER WALTON When Mr. Walton’s ancestors later new location, the Congress Building moved to Florida, they founded Walton became the first building in Miami to Miller Walton came from a very County in North Florida. Mr. Walton, have air conditioning. prominent family in colonial Georgia. who was described by many as the per- Famously, Miller Walton would not His ancestors played roles in the his- fect Southern gentleman, went straight allow the firm to return to the much Miller Walton Bill Lantaff Summer 2011 Page 3 Walton, Lantaff Schroeder & Carson cooler building for fear that going from the epitome of a volunteer, Mr. Walton Club, an organization internationally an air conditioned building to a humid never received a penny in compensa- dedicated to helping children in all fac- courtroom would engender disease tion for all his years working with Bap- ets of life. and illness amongst his employees. tist Hospital. Mr. Walton, himself, was a worka- In addition, his civic engagement ex- BILL LANTAFF holic, often working six or seven days tended to mediation. A problem solver, a week and often found vacationing on in 1951, Mr. Walton was part of a four William “Bill” Lantaff was one of the beach with his case files. man trustee committee dedicated to the most powerful political figures in Said to be very thorough and dedi- resolving a tumultuous rift between South Florida of his time. Originally cated to his clients, Mr. Walton could from Buffalo, New York, Mr.