Preview
Filing # 129594402 E-Filed 06/28/2021 09:59:44 AM
IN THE CIRCUIT COURT
OF THE TWELFTH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT
IN AND FOR MANATEE COUNTY
STATE OF FLORIDA, CIVIL DIVISION
MYRNA RIVERA-ROSADO
Plaintiff,
-Vvs-
FOREST COVE, LLC.
Defendant.
/ CASE NO.:
COMPLAINT
Plaintiff, MYRNA RIVERA-ROSADO, by and through the undersigned counsel, hereby
sues Defendant, FOREST COVE, LLC., and alleges as follows:
1. This is an action for damages that exceeds the sum of THIRTY THOUSAND
DOLLARS ($30,000.00), exclusive of costs, interest and attorneys’ fees. The actual value of
Plaintiff's claim will be determined by a fair and just jury in accordance with Article 1, Section 21,
Fla. Const.
2. Plaintiff, MYRNA RIVERA-ROSADO, is a natural person residing in Manatee
County, Florida.
3. At all times material to this action, Defendant, FOREST COVE, LLC., is a Florida
profit corporation licensed to do business in the State of Florida.
4. At all times material hereto, Defendant, FOREST COVE, LLC., was the owner and.
in possession of the apartments located at or near 1470 45" Ave. Circle West in Manatee County,
Florida, open to the general public, including the Plaintiff herein.
5. On or about April 22, 2020, Plaintiff, MYRNA RIVERA-ROSADO, was a tenant
at the address listed above.
E-Filed with MCCC - 2021CA002643AX- 6/28/2021 9:59 AM - PG 1 of 66. Plaintiff, MYRNA RIVERA-ROSADO, was lawfully a guest upon the premises
of the Defendant, FOREST COVE, LLC., who owed Plaintiff a nondelegable duty to exercise
reasonable care for her safety.
7. Plaintiff, MYRNA RIVERA-ROSADO, warned Defendant about the exposed tree
roots right outside her unit, but Defendant failed to remedy this dangerous condition.
8. As a result, Plaintiff tripped and fell over the exposed tree roots outside her unit in
an area controlled by the Defendant.
COUNT I- CLAIM FOR PREMISES LIABILITY AGAINST
DEFENDANT, FOREST COVE, LLC.
9. Plaintiff realleges and reasserts the allegations contained within paragraphs one (1)
through six (8) as if fully set forth herein.
10. At said time and place, Defendant owed Plaintiff duties to maintain the premises in a
reasonably safe condition, and to warn Plaintiff of dangerous condition on their premises.
11. At said time and place, Defendant breached these duties to Plaintiff by
committing one or more of the following omissions or commissions:
a) Negligently failing to maintain or adequately maintain the grounds, thus
creating a hazard to members of the public utilizing said premises,
including the Plaintiff herein, thus creating an unreasonably dangerous
condition for Plaintiff
b) Negligently creating a trip hazard to members of the public utilizing said
premises, including the Plaintiff herein, thus creating an unreasonably
dangerous condition for Plaintiff;
c) Negligently failing to inspect or adequately warn the Plaintiff of the
danger of the grounds, when Defendant knew or through the exercise of
reasonable care should have known that said premises’ grounds were
unreasonably dangerous and that Plaintiff was unaware of same;
d) Negligently failing to correct and/or inspect and/or maintain and/ repair
and/or adequately correct and/or replace the unreasonably dangerous
condition of the grounds, when said condition was either known to
E-Filed with MCCC - 2021CA002643AX- 6/28/2021 9:59 AM - PG 2 of 6Defendant or had existed for a sufficient length of time such that
Defendant should have known of same had Defendant exercised
reasonable care;
e) Negligently failing to have adequate staff on duty and/or assigned to the task
of inspecting and/or maintaining the grounds for dangerous conditions;
f) Negligently failing to train and/or inadequately training its employees to
inspect, maintain, and/or repair grounds for dangerous conditions;
g) Negligently failing to follow its own corporate policy(ies) regarding the
dangerous condition;
h) Negligently failing to have adequate policies in place to identify dangerous
conditions that may have accumulated on the grounds despite knowledge of
prior personal injuries at the subject location caused by transitory foreign
substances or other dangerous conditions that were not timely identified by
Defendant’s employees and corrected/remedied or for which notice was
given to guests at the premises;
i) Negligently failing to enforce its stated policy that all associates are
responsible for inspecting ground surfaces for dangerous conditions and
correcting/remedying said conditions and/or warning guests of said
conditions;
j) Negligently failing to act reasonably under the circumstances;
k) Negligently engaging in a mode of operations when Defendant knew, or
should have known, that said mode of operations would result in dangerous
conditions to the general public, including the Plaintiff herein;
1) Negligently engaging in routine or regular practice of business that was not
the reasonable custom of the community
m) Negligently failing to install, maintain and provide a safe grounds within the
subject premises;
12. As a result, while Plaintiff was on the Defendant’s property, when she tripped and.
fell due to an exposed tree root, sustaining significant personal injuries.
13. As a direct and proximate result of the negligence of Defendant, Plaintiff suffered
bodily injury resulting in pain and suffering, disability, disfigurement, permanent and significant
scarring, mental anguish, loss of the capacity for the enjoyment of life, expense of hospitalization,
E-Filed with MCCC - 2021CA002643AX- 6/28/2021 9:59 AM - PG 3 of 6medical and nursing care and treatment, loss of earning, loss of the ability to earn money, and
aggravation of previously existing condition. The losses are either permanent or continuing and
Plaintiff will suffer the losses in the future.
WHEREFORE, the Plaintiff, MYRNA RIVERA-ROSADO, sues the Defendant,
FOREST COVE, LLC., for damages and demands judgment in excess of Thirty Thousand
Dollars ($30,000.00), plus interest and costs, and demands trial by jury of all issues so triable.
COUNT II - CLAIM OF NEGLIGENCE UNDER THE NON-DELEGABLE DUTY
DOCTRINE AGAINST DEFENDANT, FOREST COVE, LLC.
14. Plaintiff reasserts and realleges the allegations contained within paragraphs one
(1) through six (8) as if fully set forth herein.
15. At said time and place, Defendant owned, controlled, and/or possessed the business
premises.
16. At said time and place, and by virtue of their ownership, control, and/or possession.
of the premises, Defendant owed Plaintiff a common law non-delegable duty to maintain the
premises in a reasonably safe condition.
17. At said time and place, Defendant breached these duties to Plaintiff by
committing one or more of the following omissions or commissions:
a) Negligently failing to maintain or adequately maintain the grounds, thus
creating a hazard to members of the public utilizing said premises,
including the Plaintiff herein, thus creating an unreasonably dangerous
condition for Plaintiff;
b) Negligently creating a trip hazard to members of the public utilizing said
premises, including the Plaintiff herein, thus creating an unreasonably
dangerous condition for Plaintiff
d) Negligently failing to inspect or adequately warn the Plaintiff of the
danger of the grounds, when Defendant knew or through the exercise of
E-Filed with MCCC - 2021CA002643AX- 6/28/2021 9:59 AM - PG 4 of 6reasonable care should have known that said premises’ grounds was
unreasonably dangerous and that Plaintiff was unaware of same;
e) Negligently failing to correct and/or inspect and/or maintain and/ repair
and/or adequately correct and/or replace the unreasonably dangerous
condition of the flooring, when said condition was either known to
Defendant or had existed for a sufficient length of time such that
Defendant should have known of same had Defendant exercised
reasonable care;
f) Negligently failing to have adequate staff on duty and/or assigned to the task
of inspecting and/or maintaining the grounds for dangerous conditions;
g) Negligently failing to train and/or inadequately training its employees to
inspect, maintain, and/or repair the grounds for dangerous conditions;
h) Negligently failing to follow its own corporate policy(ies) regarding the
dangerous condition;
i) Negligently failing to have adequate policies in place to identify dangerous
conditions that may have accumulated on the grounds despite knowledge of
prior personal injuries at the subject location caused by transitory foreign
substances or other dangerous conditions that were not timely identified by
Defendant’s employees and corrected/remedied or for which notice was
given to guests at the premises;
jp Negligently failing to enforce its stated policy that all associates are
responsible for inspecting the grounds for dangerous conditions and
correcting/remedying said conditions and/or warning guests of said
conditions;
m) _Negligently failing to act reasonably under the circumstances;
n) Negligently engaging in a mode of operations when Defendant knew, or
should have known, that said mode of operations would result in dangerous
conditions to the general public, including the Plaintiff herein;
0) Negligently engaging in routine or regular practice of business that was not
the reasonable custom of the community;
p) Negligently failing to install, maintain and provide a safe flooring surface
within the subject premises
18. As a result, while Plaintiff was on the Defendant’s property, when she tripped and
fell due to an exposed tree root, sustaining significant personal injuries.
E-Filed with MCCC - 2021CA002643AX- 6/28/2021 9:59 AM - PG 5 of 619. As a direct and proximate result of the negligence of Defendant, Plaintiff suffered
bodily injury resulting in pain and suffering, disability, disfigurement, permanent and significant
scarring, mental anguish, loss of the capacity for the enjoyment of life, expense of hospitalization,
medical and nursing care and treatment, loss of earning, loss of the ability to earn money, and
aggravation of previously existing condition. The losses are either permanent or continuing and
Plaintiff will suffer the losses in the future.
WHEREFORE, the Plaintiff, MYRNA RIVERA-ROSADO, sues the Defendant,
FOREST COVE, LLC., for damages and demands judgment in excess of Thirty Thousand
Dollars ($30,000.00), plus interest and costs, and demands trial by jury of all issues so triable.
RESPECTFULLY submitted this 28" day of June, 2021
/s/ Robert Bonanno, Jr.
Robert Bonanno, Jr., Esquire
Morgan & Morgan Tampa, P.A.
One Tampa City Center
201 N. Franklin Street, 7th Floor
Tampa, FL 33602
Tele: (813) 223-5505
Fax: (813) 223-5402
RBonanno@ForThePeople.com
KKopacz@ForThePeople.com
Florida Bar #: 506931
Attorney for Plaintiff(s)
E-Filed with MCCC - 2021CA002643AX- 6/28/2021 9:59 AM - PG 6 of 6
Preview
Filing # 129594402 E-Filed 06/28/2021 09:59:44 AM IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE TWELFTH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT IN AND FOR MANATEE COUNTY STATE OF FLORIDA, CIVIL DIVISION MYRNA RIVERA-ROSADO Plaintiff, -Vvs- FOREST COVE, LLC. Defendant. / CASE NO.: COMPLAINT Plaintiff, MYRNA RIVERA-ROSADO, by and through the undersigned counsel, hereby sues Defendant, FOREST COVE, LLC., and alleges as follows: 1. This is an action for damages that exceeds the sum of THIRTY THOUSAND DOLLARS ($30,000.00), exclusive of costs, interest and attorneys’ fees. The actual value of Plaintiff's claim will be determined by a fair and just jury in accordance with Article 1, Section 21, Fla. Const. 2. Plaintiff, MYRNA RIVERA-ROSADO, is a natural person residing in Manatee County, Florida. 3. At all times material to this action, Defendant, FOREST COVE, LLC., is a Florida profit corporation licensed to do business in the State of Florida. 4. At all times material hereto, Defendant, FOREST COVE, LLC., was the owner and. in possession of the apartments located at or near 1470 45" Ave. Circle West in Manatee County, Florida, open to the general public, including the Plaintiff herein. 5. On or about April 22, 2020, Plaintiff, MYRNA RIVERA-ROSADO, was a tenant at the address listed above. E-Filed with MCCC - 2021CA002643AX- 6/28/2021 9:59 AM - PG 1 of 66. Plaintiff, MYRNA RIVERA-ROSADO, was lawfully a guest upon the premises of the Defendant, FOREST COVE, LLC., who owed Plaintiff a nondelegable duty to exercise reasonable care for her safety. 7. Plaintiff, MYRNA RIVERA-ROSADO, warned Defendant about the exposed tree roots right outside her unit, but Defendant failed to remedy this dangerous condition. 8. As a result, Plaintiff tripped and fell over the exposed tree roots outside her unit in an area controlled by the Defendant. COUNT I- CLAIM FOR PREMISES LIABILITY AGAINST DEFENDANT, FOREST COVE, LLC. 9. Plaintiff realleges and reasserts the allegations contained within paragraphs one (1) through six (8) as if fully set forth herein. 10. At said time and place, Defendant owed Plaintiff duties to maintain the premises in a reasonably safe condition, and to warn Plaintiff of dangerous condition on their premises. 11. At said time and place, Defendant breached these duties to Plaintiff by committing one or more of the following omissions or commissions: a) Negligently failing to maintain or adequately maintain the grounds, thus creating a hazard to members of the public utilizing said premises, including the Plaintiff herein, thus creating an unreasonably dangerous condition for Plaintiff b) Negligently creating a trip hazard to members of the public utilizing said premises, including the Plaintiff herein, thus creating an unreasonably dangerous condition for Plaintiff; c) Negligently failing to inspect or adequately warn the Plaintiff of the danger of the grounds, when Defendant knew or through the exercise of reasonable care should have known that said premises’ grounds were unreasonably dangerous and that Plaintiff was unaware of same; d) Negligently failing to correct and/or inspect and/or maintain and/ repair and/or adequately correct and/or replace the unreasonably dangerous condition of the grounds, when said condition was either known to E-Filed with MCCC - 2021CA002643AX- 6/28/2021 9:59 AM - PG 2 of 6Defendant or had existed for a sufficient length of time such that Defendant should have known of same had Defendant exercised reasonable care; e) Negligently failing to have adequate staff on duty and/or assigned to the task of inspecting and/or maintaining the grounds for dangerous conditions; f) Negligently failing to train and/or inadequately training its employees to inspect, maintain, and/or repair grounds for dangerous conditions; g) Negligently failing to follow its own corporate policy(ies) regarding the dangerous condition; h) Negligently failing to have adequate policies in place to identify dangerous conditions that may have accumulated on the grounds despite knowledge of prior personal injuries at the subject location caused by transitory foreign substances or other dangerous conditions that were not timely identified by Defendant’s employees and corrected/remedied or for which notice was given to guests at the premises; i) Negligently failing to enforce its stated policy that all associates are responsible for inspecting ground surfaces for dangerous conditions and correcting/remedying said conditions and/or warning guests of said conditions; j) Negligently failing to act reasonably under the circumstances; k) Negligently engaging in a mode of operations when Defendant knew, or should have known, that said mode of operations would result in dangerous conditions to the general public, including the Plaintiff herein; 1) Negligently engaging in routine or regular practice of business that was not the reasonable custom of the community m) Negligently failing to install, maintain and provide a safe grounds within the subject premises; 12. As a result, while Plaintiff was on the Defendant’s property, when she tripped and. fell due to an exposed tree root, sustaining significant personal injuries. 13. As a direct and proximate result of the negligence of Defendant, Plaintiff suffered bodily injury resulting in pain and suffering, disability, disfigurement, permanent and significant scarring, mental anguish, loss of the capacity for the enjoyment of life, expense of hospitalization, E-Filed with MCCC - 2021CA002643AX- 6/28/2021 9:59 AM - PG 3 of 6medical and nursing care and treatment, loss of earning, loss of the ability to earn money, and aggravation of previously existing condition. The losses are either permanent or continuing and Plaintiff will suffer the losses in the future. WHEREFORE, the Plaintiff, MYRNA RIVERA-ROSADO, sues the Defendant, FOREST COVE, LLC., for damages and demands judgment in excess of Thirty Thousand Dollars ($30,000.00), plus interest and costs, and demands trial by jury of all issues so triable. COUNT II - CLAIM OF NEGLIGENCE UNDER THE NON-DELEGABLE DUTY DOCTRINE AGAINST DEFENDANT, FOREST COVE, LLC. 14. Plaintiff reasserts and realleges the allegations contained within paragraphs one (1) through six (8) as if fully set forth herein. 15. At said time and place, Defendant owned, controlled, and/or possessed the business premises. 16. At said time and place, and by virtue of their ownership, control, and/or possession. of the premises, Defendant owed Plaintiff a common law non-delegable duty to maintain the premises in a reasonably safe condition. 17. At said time and place, Defendant breached these duties to Plaintiff by committing one or more of the following omissions or commissions: a) Negligently failing to maintain or adequately maintain the grounds, thus creating a hazard to members of the public utilizing said premises, including the Plaintiff herein, thus creating an unreasonably dangerous condition for Plaintiff; b) Negligently creating a trip hazard to members of the public utilizing said premises, including the Plaintiff herein, thus creating an unreasonably dangerous condition for Plaintiff d) Negligently failing to inspect or adequately warn the Plaintiff of the danger of the grounds, when Defendant knew or through the exercise of E-Filed with MCCC - 2021CA002643AX- 6/28/2021 9:59 AM - PG 4 of 6reasonable care should have known that said premises’ grounds was unreasonably dangerous and that Plaintiff was unaware of same; e) Negligently failing to correct and/or inspect and/or maintain and/ repair and/or adequately correct and/or replace the unreasonably dangerous condition of the flooring, when said condition was either known to Defendant or had existed for a sufficient length of time such that Defendant should have known of same had Defendant exercised reasonable care; f) Negligently failing to have adequate staff on duty and/or assigned to the task of inspecting and/or maintaining the grounds for dangerous conditions; g) Negligently failing to train and/or inadequately training its employees to inspect, maintain, and/or repair the grounds for dangerous conditions; h) Negligently failing to follow its own corporate policy(ies) regarding the dangerous condition; i) Negligently failing to have adequate policies in place to identify dangerous conditions that may have accumulated on the grounds despite knowledge of prior personal injuries at the subject location caused by transitory foreign substances or other dangerous conditions that were not timely identified by Defendant’s employees and corrected/remedied or for which notice was given to guests at the premises; jp Negligently failing to enforce its stated policy that all associates are responsible for inspecting the grounds for dangerous conditions and correcting/remedying said conditions and/or warning guests of said conditions; m) _Negligently failing to act reasonably under the circumstances; n) Negligently engaging in a mode of operations when Defendant knew, or should have known, that said mode of operations would result in dangerous conditions to the general public, including the Plaintiff herein; 0) Negligently engaging in routine or regular practice of business that was not the reasonable custom of the community; p) Negligently failing to install, maintain and provide a safe flooring surface within the subject premises 18. As a result, while Plaintiff was on the Defendant’s property, when she tripped and fell due to an exposed tree root, sustaining significant personal injuries. E-Filed with MCCC - 2021CA002643AX- 6/28/2021 9:59 AM - PG 5 of 619. As a direct and proximate result of the negligence of Defendant, Plaintiff suffered bodily injury resulting in pain and suffering, disability, disfigurement, permanent and significant scarring, mental anguish, loss of the capacity for the enjoyment of life, expense of hospitalization, medical and nursing care and treatment, loss of earning, loss of the ability to earn money, and aggravation of previously existing condition. The losses are either permanent or continuing and Plaintiff will suffer the losses in the future. WHEREFORE, the Plaintiff, MYRNA RIVERA-ROSADO, sues the Defendant, FOREST COVE, LLC., for damages and demands judgment in excess of Thirty Thousand Dollars ($30,000.00), plus interest and costs, and demands trial by jury of all issues so triable. RESPECTFULLY submitted this 28" day of June, 2021 /s/ Robert Bonanno, Jr. Robert Bonanno, Jr., Esquire Morgan & Morgan Tampa, P.A. One Tampa City Center 201 N. Franklin Street, 7th Floor Tampa, FL 33602 Tele: (813) 223-5505 Fax: (813) 223-5402 RBonanno@ForThePeople.com KKopacz@ForThePeople.com Florida Bar #: 506931 Attorney for Plaintiff(s) E-Filed with MCCC - 2021CA002643AX- 6/28/2021 9:59 AM - PG 6 of 6