MIAMI – Carlton Fields is pleased to announce that Miami Shareholder and Chair of the Appellate Practice and Trial Support Group, Wendy F. Lumish, and Miami Shareholders Alina Alonso and Jeffrey A. Cohen were recognized December 3 by the Daily Business Review as Finalists for its Most Effective Lawyers awards in the category of Appellate Law for their outstanding work on two different cases. The awards luncheon was held at The Four Seasons Hotel on Brickell Avenue.
Lumish and Alonso were recognized for overturning a $13 million verdict against the Archdiocese of Miami while Lumish and Cohen were recognized for overturning an $11 million verdict against Mitsubishi. The Archdiocese case involved Gabriel Maynoldi and his best friend, both 17, who illegally obtained and drank alcohol on the last day of school in 2001, went to an unsupervised party at a private home several miles from Archbishop Coleman F. Carroll High School and continued drinking. They left the party five hours after school was dismissed and crashed their car into a tree at more than 80 mph. The passenger was killed and Maynoldi, who police determined had been driving drunk, was left quadriplegic with catastrophic brain injuries. Maynoldi’s parents sued the Archdiocese, claiming they had a duty and/or undertook a duty to supervise the party and protect Gabriel. Other parties, including the parents who owned the house where the party took place and the School's principal, settled their claims.
The jury awarded a verdict of $55.8 million, but after reductions for comparative fault and fault of nonparties, judgment was entered against the School in the amount of $12.9 million. Lumish and Alonso successfully argued on appeal that Florida schools are not liable for personal injuries when a student is injured off campus, during non-school hours, and as part of an activity that was neither school-sponsored nor school-related. On February 10, 2010, Florida’s Third District Court of Appeal reversed the judgment and ordered judgment entered in favor of the Archdiocese.
The Mitsubishi case was brought by the parents of 25-year-old Scott Laliberte, who died in a 2004 accident while a passenger in a Mitsubishi sport utility vehicle that rolled off I-95 in Brevard County. Plaintiff’s lawyers argued the vehicle was defectively designed and a Palm Peach County jury awarded the family $11 million in damages.
In 2009, Lumish and Cohen successfully argued that the trial court’ improperly excluded evidence of testing that would have supported Mitsubishi’s expert’s opinions that the vehicle was safely designed. The Fourth District Court of Appeal reversed and remanded the case for a new trial.
Lumish concentrates her practice in appellate law and complex litigation. She is certified as a specialist in appellate law by The Florida Bar. Her primary focus is products liability, commercial litigation, and personal injury defense. Lumish received a bachelor’s degree, summa cum laude, in 1978 from Lehigh University, and a law degree, cum laude, in 1981 from the University of Miami School of Law.
Alonso is a member of Carlton Fields’ Appellate Practice and Trial Support Practice Group and is Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Appellate Law. She handles appeals in state and federal court, including brief writing and oral argument. She also provides litigation support, including drafting and arguing case dispositive motions, pre-trial motions, and post-trial motions. Alonso received her J.D., cum laude, from the University of Miami. Prior to joining Carlton Fields in 2001, she served as a staff attorney to the Honorable R. Fred Lewis of the Florida Supreme Court.
Cohen's practice focuses on litigation support and appeals in cases throughout Florida and around the United States. Cohen has defended claims involving manufacturers of motor vehicles, recreational products including firearms, medical and pharmaceutical products, and a variety of other products. He has also prosecuted and defended significant commercial matters, including contract disputes and fraud and conspiracy claims for a number of corporate and individual clients. Cohen received his J.D., cum laude, from the University of Miami School of Law in 1995 and his B.A. from the University of Wisconsin in 1992.