Thirteenth Judicial Circuit Court, Hillsborough County, Florida – RumbergerKirk attorney Rob Blank of the Tampa office obtained a defense verdict on February 12, 2010 in the case of Robert Myers and Joyce Myers v. Cook / Tampa Bay Moving Systems, Inc., Case No.: 06-08377.  

Plaintiff, a roofer, was hired to fix a leak on the Cook Moving warehouse roof. He fell through a skylight on the warehouse roof while he was working; Plaintiff alleged he did not see the skylight due to coating placed on it three years earlier that he claimed blended with the rest of the roof. The defense successfully argued that Plaintiff was on notice of the skylights since he had been inside the warehouse before going on the roof, knew he was there to repair skylights and because the skylights were in fact distinguishable from the rest of the roof, while Cook Moving did not have notice of how the roof looked at the time of the accident. Plaintiff underwent an open reduction internal fixation surgery of his pelvis and an open reduction internal fixation surgery of his right wrist. 

The jury found that Cook Moving did not have actual or constructive knowledge of a latent danger on the roof and entered a verdict in favor of the defense. Following the defense verdict, the Honorable James M. Barton, II entered final judgment in favor of Defendants. Plaintiff’s last demand to Cook Moving was $1,000,000. Cook Moving served a $1,000 proposal for settlement on December 22, 2006, and will be moving for its attorneys fees.