WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (Legal Newsline) – Sun Coast Nursing Centers and other parties won their appeal as Florida’s 4th District Court of Appeals overturned lower court rulings in a wrongful death lawsuit.
Sun Coast, Airamid Florida LLC (a Delaware company), and Sun Coast President Howard Jaffe asked the lower court to dismiss Linda Littman’s case. She filed as the personal representative of the estate of Arthur Littman, alleging the nursing home was at fault for Arthur Littman’s death. While Sun Coast’s motion to dismiss was denied in circuit court, the appeals court reversed and remanded on April 8.
Arthur Littman was admitted to the Boca Raton Rehabilitation Center in 2016. Shortly after, he suffered medical complications ahead of his death. His estate accused Boca Rehab in the wrongful death lawsuit of not caring for him properly. Sun Coast was named because it oversaw staffing procedures and budgets at Boca Rehab while Airamid also took part in Boca Rehab’s policies like operations and staff.
“We conclude that the circuit court erred in failing to conduct a limited evidentiary hearing to resolve conflicts in the evidence as to Jaffe and Sun Coast, and in failing to dismiss Airamid. We reverse and remand for the court to proceed in accordance with this opinion,” says the per curiam opinion from justices Martha Warner, Dorian Damoorgian and Mark Klingensmith.
In the lower court, Jaffe had issued an affidavit to show that he’s a resident of Pennsylvania and didn’t manage day-to-day operations at Boca Raton Rehabilitation Center, which is where the deceased resided when he passed. Airamid also provided an affidavit that said the company is a Delaware company and lacked a principal place of business in Florida. Because they presented affidavits to challenge personal jurisdiction, the plaintiffs had to issue their own affidavits to back their claims.
While they provided a deposition from Jaffe that dates back to 2017 in a separate nursing home case, “that deposition allegedly contained statements that conflicted with the allegations in Jaffe’s affidavits for Sun Coast and himself,” the judges ruled. Because of this, they determined that the lower court should’ve had an evidentiary hearing for Jaffe and Sun Coast, and ultimately should have dismissed the case against Airamid because there wasn’t enough proof to show the court had specific or generic jurisdiction.
The appellants were represented by Amy Christiansen of Spector Gadon Rosen Vinci of St. Petersburg. The appellees were represented by John Bogdanoff of The Carlyle Appellate Law Firm of Orlando and Garry Rhoden of Colling Gilbert Wright & Carter of Orlando.
Florida’s 4th District Court of Appeals case number 502018CA008415.