“Chet”, a former client and all around good guy is a talented chef. He usually worked at huge resorts and he eventually found himself the head chef at a local “clothing optional” resort mainly because it was close to where he lived. The big resorts were always a long commute for him and considering the long hours of a chef, he wanted to be closer to home.

One day, long after I had finished up working his legal case, Chet called me to inquire if I was in the office because he had a delivery for me. Hmmm. A little later he arrived at my office with a giant cooler filled with containers of frozen soup. Lobster bisque, cheddar beer soup, beef stew, clam chowder, chicken tortilla soup. I think all in all he gave me 16 quarts of soup. I did the math, that’s 4 gallons of soup.

How’d he know I loved soup? “When you represented me I told you one of my specialties for these resorts was my famous daily soups, you told me how much you like soup. I never forgot and now I can share some of my talents with you.”

I was really touched, but what was I going to do with all this soup? It reminded me of an old Seinfeld episode when a large dinner party was canceled and Estelle Costanza was wandering around saying, “What am I going to do with all this paella?!?” in her large, New York accent.

Needless to say, my friends and neighbors were awash in gifted soup, but I kept the best ones.

Flash forward some time, Chet called me to inquire if I handle class action lawsuits. It seems he had been diagnosed with some hideous cancer that was directly linked to a dangerous chemical he regularly handled in his work life before he became a chef. I did introduce him to a national law firm that already handled those specific class action cases.

Chet told me he was still working at a clothing optional resort and, as off-putting as that seemed at first, he loved his regulars and they were very loyal to him. I asked Chet to please let me know if there was anything I could do for him and to keep in touch about his cancer treatments.

A short while later Chet called me to invite me to a fundraiser given by the resort to raise money for himself. He had run out of sick time and personal time, his income was halved while he was treating and his insurance co-pays and deductibles were draining his family dry. The fundraiser was put on by his “nude family” at this resort and he’d love it if I would come.

There was no question I would write a big check, but, should I go or just mail it to him? I decided he was way too generous to me for me not to support him in person.

The day of the fundraiser was in the pre-Covid days and it was a warm Sunday. I was actually a bit nervous, but I already knew peer pressure nudity wouldn’t effect me in the least. In fact, in shorts and a hoodie I was already a bit overdressed for the warm weather.

First impression, these people like privacy. This place is in the middle of nowhere. I thought I could pretty much drive anywhere in one hour in Tampa Bay. Nope. It was almost an hour and a half drive.

Next, the entrance is pretty secluded. Without specific directions, it’s very easy to miss since it’s down a sideroad off of a nondescript highway. After getting through the guard booth – “Oh you’re here for Chet’s party!! Great guy! Have fun!”, it was time to drive to the clubhouse for the event.

The landscaping and the grounds in general were very nice. Lots of modern buildings and the clubhouse was huge. What surprised me most up to this point was the parking lot. The parking lot was completely full, and full of late model cars, like Mercedes, Audis, BMWs, etc. Not sure why I was surprised but so far nothing was as I thought it might be.

Chet had warned me about the security – it’s tight. As I walked into the clubhouse there were three separate areas of security and a metal detector. After I got my wrist band I was ready to join the party. I was directed that the party for Chet wasn’t inside the clubhouse, it was poolside. So far, everyone I encountered worked there and were fully clothed.

I walked out to the poolside. It really is an oasis in the middle of nowhere. There were a number of pools, waterfalls, large and smaller with beach chairs, lounges, tables, covered areas everywhere.

And most everyone was in some state of nudity. My natural inclination was to keep my eyes focused straight ahead, except my peripheral vision was, of course, more curious and did reveal human details that we’ve all been taught should remain under wraps.

I wondered as I drove there, who exactly goes here? Is it young, hardbody beautiful people tending toward exhibitionism, or is it older folks long past any degree of modesty who just want to be comfortably undressed as the laws of entropy and gravity pull at their body in unkind ways?

While a significant portion of the resort guests that were between, say 30 and 50, I will say that the majority of guests were north of 50 years of age. Chet told me in advance that this scene is less the Playboy Mansion with its free flowing sexual entanglements, and more a place where like minded people could go and “be free.” The caveat being, what goes on after hours is anyone’s private business.

The fundraiser for Chet was amazingly big. A band was playing, there was a lunchtime buffet, a VIP area, tables were set up for the silent and live auctions, and while people around the pool were interspersed, at the location of the party there were dozens and dozens of people interacting, dancing, lounging, bidding on the auction things, eating and just celebrating their favorite chef, Chet.

While I eventually relaxed and just letting my eyes go where they may, even before the days of Covid and social isolationism, this was all uncomfortably close. It’s one thing to be bumped atabuffet table by an elbow, but what was that that just brushed up against me?

Now, this is my hangup, not theirs. They were completely unphased by the couple of clothed guests who were obviously there for Chet and were not regulars at the resort. In fact, they were unnervingly nice. Many of them went out of their way to introduce themselves and talk about Chet and how much they love it there, as if they were in recruitment mode. “Oh you’re Chet’s lawyer! He talks about how you love his soup!” Clearly most of these people had a connection with lots of other like-minded people. And it made me a bit envious of this community of people who had spend years cultivating strong bonds with each other about every weekend.

So I guess my day was a bit anti-climactic. I went expecting Caligula and it was more like the movie Cocoon. The bodies may have been in various states, but the overarching theme was dignity and decency.

Best yet, the money was flowing. Everyone was on board to help out their very own chef get through this hard time. When I finally saw Chet and his wife, he was clearly enjoying his day but was also clearly in chemotherapy recovery mode. He looked tired and wore a mask. He immediately escorted me to the VIP area which had its own buffet and bar and went back to working the event.

So while the fundraiser went on almost all day, about an hour into it I decided it was time to write my donation, bid on some silent auction items and leave. Sensory-way-overload. But I left with overall positive thoughts about the experience and happy that these folks found each other and had an available outlet to express their essence of freedom.

The post My Day At A Nudist Resort appeared first on Blenner Law Group.

By, Walter W. Blenner

Earlier this year I became one of only a handful of attorneys nationwide who have represented a lottery winner of what is called, “extreme wealth”. This prize of $451 million won here in Florida was the fifth largest lottery win in US history. However, it was soon to be eclipsed by someone in N.H. who won over $560 million. Regardless of what one thinking about any one single person winning this kind of largesse, it is a new reality in the world of Powerballs and isn’t going away. And most all winners of big wealth need help navigating these unfamiliar waters.

While I’ve spent most of my legal career representing clients with severe injuries after accidents as well as estate planning, my venture into lottery winners began almost 4 years ago when I got a call out of the blue from a gentleman who won $3 million in – believe it or not – a scratch-off ticket.

There can be parallels between winning $3 million and $451 million: In both of cases, the men who purchased the winning ticket had no experience managing any kind of wealth. My relatively modest $3 million winner was a middle-aged single dad of adult children who was a laborer and who worked from paycheck-to-paycheck. My extreme wealth winner was all of 20 years of age and who also had more debts than assets and zero experience with managing anything more than an income tax refund. He instantly became one of the wealthiest Americans alive, yet because he had to quit his job and go into hiding, he was a multi-millionaire on paper but without any available cash.

Is there any difference in logistics when one wins the Lottery whether big or small? Not really. What does one do when holding a very valuable piece of paper? Most attorneys agree to the best practices rule, i.e., sign the ticket, put it in a safe place, tell as few people as possible and go into hiding. Quit your job if you need. Line up your experts before you head to Lottery Headquarters and establish your corporate vehicle so everything is in place when you cash in your ticket to receive the wire transfer of money.

One big difference, however, is the inherent risk of impending danger with extreme wealth winners. While it may be reported in the media that a local resident won a multi-million lottery ticket, when the win is in the hundreds of millions of dollars, there is almost an audible buzz in the community and in my recent case, throughout the country. This win was announced in every possible national media outlet. To instill the sense of potential harm and the need to seclude his immediately family into hiding, I had to advise my client that one insurance company does offer ransom and kidnap insurance. This worked. The client and his family relocated out of town in a rental town under as assumed name. Within hours of the announcement, media trucks started staking out the store where the ticket was purchased, reporters start interviewing locals to speculate who it might be, and, when someone drops out of sight, everyone who knows him or her starts to get very suspicious.

My big winner had a cubicle job and was a rising star in his company. His boss respected his work ethic and his co-workers liked him very much. When he just stopped showing up for work with a variety of transparent texted excuses, the questions started coming from co-workers: “Hey buddy, was it YOU?”, “Do I now have a very rich friend?” His boss, however, was worried that something nefarious happened to her favorite employee and sent these torturous text message that tore at my client’s sense of guilt.

There is always a tension between wanting to cash in this ticket worth a ton of money and the need to secure all the variables necessary to protect your new-found wealth. While most want to cash in as soon as possible, the better rule is to take your time. Once you’ve protected yourself and your family, take the time necessary to do your homework and line up a team with whom you’ve met, interviewed and now trust. The other side of the tension is, the longer a client waits, the more likely word of the identity of the winner will leak out drip-by-drip from various sources in the know.

A common misconception is a lottery winner can only be competently represented by professionals in big cities. Manhattan, Boston and Los Angeles have very talented professionals, but I’ve now worked with professionals in local communities and I’ve heard from other highly respected individuals who deal with clients with extreme wealth from all over the country in both big and smaller cities. Not all wealth accumulates in a big metropolis. And almost all wealth managers spend much of their time in airports traveling to see clients all over the globe.

Does the size of a lottery win affect what one does with the money? Absolutely. The largest difference in legal representation of Lottery winners is between a modest win and a huge windfall. After my $3 million winner paid his $1 million in federal taxes, he bought himself a nicer home and car and gifted some family members an amount. His remaining funds were well under $1 million and after meeting with a simple financial advisor a plan was put into effect to help grow his money over time. He took some time off from work, traveled, had a good time and before too long was back at work and now lets his money work for him.

However, when one has one half a billion dollars, the scale changes dramatically. This kind of wealth needs constant tending. As I analogized to my young client about the size of this wealth, this isn’t like the big dog that needs to be walked twice a day, this is more like the elephant in the living room that needs constant attention. In fact, it’s like a herd of elephants. And, at $451,000,000 it’s like trying to take care of an entire zoo. It cannot be done alone.

Over time I’ve consulted with a variety of lottery winners and not all winners need legal representation, especially when they’ve had experience dealing with savings and investments and the win is several million dollars. But those with little to no experience with wealth and those who’ve won money akin to the gross national product of Thailand absolutely need help. And help should come in the guise of a team. It’s not unusual for a “big win” client to have an ongoing relationship with a tax attorney, a CPA or accounting firm and a host of wealth managers, from full service diversified companies to even registered investor advisors (RIA) who manage funds on a fixed percentage.

Those with extreme wealth are generally not active investors – they already have all the money in the world and the don’t need the risks of the stock market to grow their money. Most monetary growth is done modestly and while some enjoy investing in smaller ventures (see everyone on Shark Tank), if one doesn’t aspire to grow to a billionaire conservative wealth management is the way to secure one’s future and that of future generations. Many set aside money in a trust for a philanthropic legacy and with the tax savings of a life insurance policy still make money in the process while leaving a large chunk for a favorite charity or cause.

And finally, despite being around such wealthy clients’, attorneys who represent Lottery winners are not enriching themselves exponentially. It is unethical to charge a percentage of the Lottery win and all attorney’s fees must be reasonably related to the work effort that one does on an hourly basis. Still, as stressful as it can be to help transport a client and his winning ticket to Lottery HQ, it is as fun and rewarding as anything else I’ve done in the law.

Walter W. Blenner is the owner and operator of Blenner Law Group, P.A., a personal injury and estate planning law firm located in Palm Harbor, Florida.

Picture credit: alphaspirit / 123RF Stock Photo

The post My $451,000,000 Lottery Winner appeared first on Blenner Law Group.

Here’s a real life example of what a smaller firm can do for injured folks from my own practice. This happened just earlier this summer but some facts have been slightly changed to disguise identities: A woman was in a really horrific crash as a passenger when the driver lost control of the car and slammed it into a concrete pole at a high rate of speed. It was a single car collision. The driver may have had a medical event, like a seizure or was perhaps overmedicated.

The car engine was pushed back so far that the dashboard was in their laps. A photo of the front of the car looked like the pole ended up where the windshield used to be. They each had to be cut out of the car.

My client was in the critical care unit of a local hospital for 4 days with massive, but survivable injuries. She was released from care after almost 7 days in the hospital to go home and was in severe discomfort with fractured ribs and a broken collar bone.

A friend recommended a billboard law firm be called which immediately sent out an “investigator” to her home to just “talk to her”. Alone, in pain, on medication and feeling like she was being marketed by a used car salesman, she did sign up with this firm. She immediately regretted it.

This woman started calling around day 2 or 3 to inquire the status of her claim. Who would pay her bills? Should she give the doctors her Medicare information or her car insurance information? What doctors should she see? Can she get some medical care at home? This senior citizen was told that her case hadn’t been assigned to anyone yet and that someone would get back to her.

Days later, frustrated after having heard nothing, another friend advised her to fire this firm and to come and see me. So, she did fire them and she did come and see me.

As is customary, I wrote Big Firm and reminded them that their representation had been terminated and I requested a copy of their file so that I didn’t have to duplicated efforts in writing to insurance companies and in getting the police accident report, etc. However, having been down this road before, I knew I wouldn’t receive anything from Big Firm because……they hadn’t done anything yet.

Within two days, my paralegal and I obtained the police accident report, I had all the insurance information, I notified the insurance companies of my representation, I wrote for all medical bills and reports. I also introduced myself to the insurance company adjusters as the attorney on the case and I spoke with them of the severity of this incident, the hospital stay and the huge hospital bill that would be coming. I cooperated with the adjusters and built credibility on the claim.

Probably by the time Big Firm knew and processed that they had been fired, I settled the case for the insurance limits of liability with both insurance companies. It was a bit rare that the case settled so quickly, but considering the modest limits of a little more than $100,000 and the client’s obvious injuries, the insurance companies knew that the value of the claim exceeded their insurance limits, so they paid.

And, since we settled the claim before Medicare had paid out any benefits to the doctors or hospitals, we didn’t have to wait for or negotiate a lien. My client’s settlement was very satisfactory to her and she was, in a word, thrilled.

I have to wonder if Big Firm would be this far by even now, late summer.

Before hiring a big billboard firm, I have few questions consumer should ask them: Who is my initial contact? Is it a lawyer? Will I be assigned to one lawyer that I can talk to? Will I ever talk to a lawyer? If not, will I have one dedicated paralegal or case manager assigned to my case, or will I be forever in the shuffle of various paralegals assigned to hundreds of cases at any given time? How many cases does this lawyer/paralegal handle at one time? Is it dozens or hundreds? If I don’t have one of those multi-million dollar cases they boast about on TV, but one with more modest value, will my case be given equal treatment as those big cases?

I don’t have billboards; I don’t want billboards. I also don’t want hundreds of cases. Those of us with smaller firms are proud to represent our clients on a much more personal, one-on-one basis. Those of us like to get to know our clients, their families, their medical conditions and build a case upward to reach maximum settlement potential. A client should be more than a claim number to an insurance adjuster and more than a score-card to the Big Firm. “We’ve represented over 1 million clients…” That’s great, but what can they do for you?

Image credit: kadmy / 123RF Stock Photo

The post Questions for that Big Time TV and Billboard Lawyer appeared first on Blenner Law Group.

The inventor was Dean Kamen, and the invention turned out to be the Segway. Don’t you own one? Yeah, it was an overall dud unless you give city tours to groups of strangers in helmets. The Segway was a victim of complete over-hype and of limited utility to those who don’t live in urban areas.

But there is an invention that has changed everyone’s lives over time- It’s the internet. Those 40 years of age and younger don’t recall a day without it. Those of us who remember the Draconian times when we had to actually walk to a library for research, go to the store to purchase an item or pick up the phone to call someone now don’t know how we lived without it.

But one downside of the internet is the anonymity of it. The lack of human interaction – one can send an e-mail or order anything from a can of soup to an entire car online, without uttering a word. Almost anything can be done with an internet connection and a simple computer. Life has become in one way easier, but in another way, it can be a lonely, unspoken existence.

The fewer interactions we have with others, the more disconnected we can become and with that sometimes comes incivility. It’s much easier to “yell” via e-mail at some nameless service person who may be sitting in your town or typing from India than it is to be rude to someone when you face to face with that same person. These e-insults are very unproductive – consumer anger can be met with corporate indifference and then it becomes a stalemate.

When it all hits the fan is when we get called. All lawyers have received calls from clients complaining about the bad service they’ve received from someone – whether it’s in their home, their car, or their professional’s office. Largely, it’s a function of bad or miscommunications. When the bad service has amounted to the loss of a large amount of money, a lawyer is essential to advocate the client’s rights and try to get that money back through negotiations or litigation.

However, when the sum of money that the service person charged is modest, it usually isn’t economically feasible to hire a lawyer. It’s what I call ‘falling between the cracks of law and equity’ – you know you were wronged, but to get justice on your matter may just be throwing good money after bad and small claims court just seems like a waste of time.

So what I’ve seen over the advent of my practice – heck, what I’ve seen over the course of just the last ten years, are people who believe they’ve been wronged exacting their revenge on the Internet. There’s no shortage of mouthpiece websites – from Angie’s List to Trip Advisor to Yelp to Twitter to Nextdoor…the list goes on.

Can’t get back that $312 for the failed car repair at the local mechanic’s garage? Disgruntled clients can trash them – and sometimes anonymously, which really lets the hounds of hell loose on the keyboard. When there are no consequences for expressing your vitriol the hyperbole can get turned up a few notches. And the CAPITAL LETTERS and exclamation marks (!!!!!) start flying.

As a lawyer, I’ve seen both sides of this from clients – from the aggrieved client who just wants her money back and is met with a company that will not do the right thing, to a client with an agent who is being blackmailed with a bad review unless they buckle to waiving fees on last minute transactions.

It is subject to abuses on both sides of the aisle. Many times when clients can hire me to try to find a rational, reasoned solution, they’ll take the quick route which doesn’t cost them any money. Why pay attorney’s fees to work out a solution for that bad manicure or that crummy paint job on the house or that computer IT guy who couldn’t debug your computer? “I can complain to the entire social media community, trash this guy, ruin his day, his month, or even his business.”

And I’ll tell you why this isn’t a panacea for all consumer complaints – because sometimes that service company or that handyman has a defense. Standing on an e-mountain and screaming foul s often times very patently unfair. There are factual nuances to almost all cases – no case is a study of black and white. There’s an old saying from Texas Congressman Sam Rayburn, “Any a jackass can kick down a barn, but it takes a good carpenter to build one.” Keep this in mind, Keyboard Warrior, when you have the ability to truly hurt a business overnight on social media that has been steadily building a good reputation over time.

For those businesses which is truly awful, an aggregate of negative reviews online which are consistent and span a long time will tell the tale. I’m not here to protect them. But for the other businesses, the smaller businesses which aren’t reviewed dozens of times every month, a bad review can be devastating.

A wedding photographer in Texas spent a decade building up a reputation as a good and reliable professional, and it just took one disgruntled couple to trash her reputation to the point where she no longer had bookings. At all. She had to leave her home and move to another town to start her business all over again. And this dispute was over the small cost of a photo album cover that she eventually agreed to waive. Was that the desired result? To ruin someone’s business? Can people really be that awful?

“But….my First Amendment rights!” Yes, you have those rights. But those rights aren’t unfettered and should start with a good understanding of the law. You do not have the right to post lies – “he’s a convicted felon!”; “I think he’s a child molester, but I haven’t confirmed this”; “He embezzled money from another company”; “I heard he’s got a long history of scamming people out of their life savings”, etc. If these are probably false, you’ve just libeled another through the publication of these allegations. Even some puffery like, “I hear myself and hundreds of her clients think she’s utterly incompetent,” may be actionable if there aren’t “hundreds” of others.

So, remember when we have a legitimate complaint with someone in our lives who have provided less than perfect service: Try to work it out in a non-hostile way, preferably over the phone or in person. If that doesn’t work – we attorneys are here for you to navigate the claim hopefully toward a resolution. A small claim is a possibility. But if you must post a negative experience on social media, make it measured, truthful and defensible.

Making it defensible is most important because you may have to defend it – that couple who trashed the wedding photographer in Texas all over social media is now on the wrong side of a $1.08 million jury verdict for defamation of character. As they say, “Freedom of speech is not freedom from consequences.”

Copyright: rawpixel

The post Social Media – Trashing a Business Isn’t Without Repercussions appeared first on Blenner Law Group.

However, most of us don’t live in isolation, we live in societies and communities and nations and countries.What separates us from other beings is the way in which we communicate. Yes, other highly developed animal communities communicate in their species-specific ways, but we humans have sophisticated ways to express ourselves, through words expressed as thoughts and feelings in ways that engender emotions even when we’re long gone.

When someone dies, yes you remember their smiles, their faces, and their persona of course, but what you really remember is their words. Their “being” was their communications with you. You remember their stories, your conversations together, the way he or she made you feel.

When it comes down to it, words are our personal legacy. It’s the glue that binds us to others, that forges relationships of all sorts. Words often turn into deeds. The way we communicate can mobilize groups or even nations – it can inspire others to follow us into action. This can be for good or not-so-good. Language can also be used to manipulate, of course. Words matter. I made a decision long ago to speak the truth – or as close to the truth as I can attain. My personal legacy will be me being as honest with myself and my friends and family as I can. I do not engage in known lies or falsehoods.

I also learned a long time ago to distance myself from those who do engage in known lies. And let’s call them what they are – falsehoods, untruths, embellishments, “alternative facts” are all euphemisms for lies. A lie is defined simply as “a false statement made with the deliberate intent to deceive.”

As a lawyer, I’m particularly attuned to truth-telling. It’s part of a lawyers’ Code of Ethics. It’s part of how you build a case in court – through evidence which is provable as fact-based and known to be reliable. It’s how you build credibility with your clients, your colleagues and your courtroom.

My word is my code. I’m proud of the professional relationships I’ve built and the friendships that have come from that.  All based on honor, trust, and truthfulness.

Now, none of this is to say that people don’t engage in White Lies: “Yes, that’s a lovely shade of lime green paint on your house…”  or even hubris in some legal negotiations: “My client has told me to just file suit on this case…”. These go to either preserving the feelings of people or zealously representing your client’s interests and, while not ideal, they do not make up the fundamental nature of a person’s moral code.

Anyone who engages repeatedly in lies as a matter, of course, shows profound disrespect to the listener whether one-on-one or to a nation of people. Regularly engaging in lies assumes a degree of ignorance on behalf of the listener – that somehow the speaker is superior to us intellectually and that we’re too dumb to know the difference.  Now, where a government is concerned clearly there are state secrets that we are not, nor should we, be privy to. But the remedy for that is to not address the issue – to state that the question cannot be answered. But known lies are no way to build trust between an institution and its people. And when known lies are hoisted upon the body politick for no apparent reason than to make the speaker look better, we had better watch out. Our loyalties are and should be to our Country, not one very flawed individual.

And if lies are commonplace over the mundane what are we to believe when the issues are of world importance?

Again, words matter. And when the fabric of the speaker is so checkered with threads of distrust, dishonesty, and disdain for the listener, it’s almost impossible to know what’s fact based and what’s fabrication. It’s all tainted.

To accept a known lie silently isn’t being polite or being a good citizen. It only enables the speaker to engage in more of it and it’s fundamentally dishonest to ourselves for who we are. It should smack us right in the chops as an insult to our very core.

If around a dishonest or dishonorable individual, just walk away. If, however, it’s endemic in our institution, our government and especially our leader, we must not let it go. We must fight for integrity, for honesty, for truth.

Lies are not who we are. It’s just not.

Image credit: kbuntu

The post All We Are Is Our Word appeared first on Blenner Law Group.

“What? You sued Disney?!?” I wonder when I’m asked that if it’s a judgment against suing “the happiest place on Earth”, or if it’s more of wonderment for taking on the Goliath of Florida. For most people, it’s a little bit of both.

At my old law firm we had a client with a legitimate claim against Disney World for injuries sustained at Magic Kingdom. I was given the task of finding an Orlando law firm that we could refer the client to since we’re 100 miles away from Disney and it was daunting for a small firm such as ours taking on one of Florida’s biggest corporations. After all, they could crush a small firm in legal costs if they wanted.

Surprise, surprise: No Orlando law firm, big or small, wanted the case.

There were three possibilities why this was the case: First, plainly, some firms may have been intimidated by the prospect of taking on the Mouse; Second, since the client’s injuries weren’t catastrophic or life altering, it may just have been too much work for too little financial reward to go after Walt & Co.; Third, and this was ingenious – for a while, the Disney Corporation was hiring every major law firm in Orlando to do a piece of legal work for them which resulted in a conflict of interest so that in effect, no major Orlando firm would or could take on Disney. They were all “conflicted out”.

What to do with this case? It looked like I had it and had to run with it.

First, about the case: My client was a middle aged man on a Magic Kingdom ride. As he was loaded into the ride’s car, he was the first one seated with others behind him in a recumbent position – almost lying down legs outstretched. It was a single file system – four people to the car, each one behind the other. “Joe” was first in.

One thing that hasn’t changed in all the years Disney World has been around – they hire lots of young people with varying degrees of attention spans to run most of the theme park, including the rides. Now the young man in charge of starting the ride had a choice of two buttons to push – one would propel the ride along the tracks where the fun would begin; the other button alters the tracks to take the cars off-system. The cars would then head into what looked like a solid wall, but was actually swinging doors where the cars would be stored behind the scenes.

Guess which button Mickey’s daydreaming helper hit?

As the ride started, it jolted into a turn and started heading – pretty quickly – toward a solid wall. In seconds it looked like Joe and his family would be in a crash and Joe’s head would be the first thing to hit the wall.

Now why we do the things we do in an emergency is always a wonder – but at the time it seemed like a good idea for Joe to try to stop this car by taking his legs out of the car and to brace them on the ground in a futile attempt to stop this motorized car a la Fred Flintstone in his Flint-mobile. Yabba-dabba-don’t (sorry).

It didn’t work.
What it did was to hyper-extend his ankles, knees and hips as his feet, firmly planted on the platform remained there while his torso remained strapped in and propelled forward.

Luckily, around this same time Junior woke up and realized he had hit the wrong button and stopped this car just seconds before Joe could have ripped every ligament and tendon in his legs and feet. As it was, Joe suffered a pretty bad series of sprains to his ankle and knees. He spent months getting treatments, therapies, living on pain pills, etc. He went from a wheelchair to a walker to crutches.

For arguments sake, within a few months, Joe was doing pretty well. Miraculous recovery – but he still had weakness in his ankles and his knees were still achy and sore. This was a good case but not a huge case.

Litigation proceeded unremarkably. Disney’s counsel was very professional and courteous. I was pleased that they took this case seriously and didn’t try any bullying tactics. The big issue was, should Joe assume any responsibility for causing his own injuries by this odd reaction of sticking his legs out of the car. Would a “reasonable person” have done this? If a jury thought Joe acted irrationally, they could reduce any judgment by a percentage of his negligence to be determined by the jury.  10% comparative negligence? 50%? How about 0% when it’s about one’s perceived survival?

The next step was a settlement conference, also known as mediation. This was scheduled at the law office of Disney’s counsel. Usually mediation is held in a neutral setting – not either lawyer’s office. However, I really wanted to see this office – after all, it was the “official” office of Disney’s law firm. And, holy smokes, it didn’t disappoint.

It was the “penthouse” of a prominent tall bank building in downtown Orlando. As I was escorted into the private elevator we traveled up to the top. As the doors opened, the large wall in front was painted that iconic Disney color, sort of a dark pink. Inset in the walls were recessed lit alcoves filled with huge pieces of glass of Disney characters. In the middle was a large photograph of the (then) Disney CEO, Michael Eisner, and the law firm’s founder, in suits, standing in front of Spaceship Earth at Epcot. The law firm’s founder was, of course, the lawyer with whom I litigated this case. I was beginning to appreciate the implied intimidation.

Then I was led to the conference room. I’ve never seen a larger conference room or a bigger conference room table, then or since. The table was mahogany, seemingly endless and probably hand carved. Each armed leather chair seemed to weigh 50 pounds and took considerable effort to move. On the walls of the conference room was what appeared to be huge pieces of original art. The cost of this room and its contents undoubtedly exceeded the cost of some houses.

The Disney-employed case adjuster showed wearing an expensive looking suit with Hidden Mickeys on her brass jacket buttons as well as a Disney themes scarf. So, here we were: Me, dressed in my Men’s Warehouse suit and my Florsheim shoes which could have used a polish, and my client, dressed in “business casual”. We were poised to take on the Mouse’s legal team. Before too long we were ready to start this conference. The five of us – two on either side of the table and our mediator sat at the far end leaving every other of 20 chairs empty as we worked on resolving this claim through this settlement process.

Now I’m still bound by confidentiality of the outcome, both for the protection of my client’s privacy and by the terms of the settlement with Disney. Here’s where the story sort of dies: Despite all the trappings of power and intimidation, Disney negotiated in good faith, with fairness and we settled the claim to the satisfaction of my client.

Most recently a 3 year old child was drowned when an alligator pulled him under water in one of Disney’s Lagoons. The event was horrible and tragic. Despite the recent reporting that this family has stated in a public press release that they do not intend to sue Disney, my suspicions are the Disney Corporation has already taken care of them and probably very well. And if I’m right, it was a smart PR move and simply the right thing to do.

Image credit: Krisdog / 123RF Stock Photo

The post My Big Case Against Walt Disney World appeared first on Blenner Law Group.