Tomasa Fortaneli Ponce v. Walmart Stores East, LP, Case No. 20-CV-61608-RAR (in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, Fort Lauderdale Beach Division)

Plaintiff Tomasa Fortaneli Ponce alleges she was injured when she slipped and fell on water that leaked from the store’s ceiling and onto the floor at a Walmart store in Pompano Beach, Florida.  Ms. Ponce claims Walmart failed to maintain the store in a reasonably safe condition and that it failed to warn her of the water on which she slipped.  Due to the Court’s COVID-19 safety protocols, the parties selected a jury on June 9, 2021 and returned on June 14, 2021 to commence trial. After three (3) days of trial, the jury agreed that Walmart had no knowledge of the water on which Plaintiff slipped and returned a defense verdict in Walmart’s favor. Ponce claimed various injuries as a result of her fall, including her neck, lower back, and right shoulder.  She sought over $4.2 million dollars in damages which included over  $300,000.00 in past medical expenses after undergoing lumbar spine surgery.   Jerry D. Hamilton and Suzette L. Russomanno were the trial lawyers from the  HM&B trial team who secured a complete defense verdict for Walmart. This was the longest post-COVID trial in the U.S. District Court Southern District of Florida and was part of the Court’s Pilot Jury Trial Program.