James Kloss (Partner-Orlando, FL), Rachel Walters (Of Counsel-Miami, FL) and Claire Turtle (Associate-Orlando, FL) were brought into a slip/trip-and-fall case on the eve of trial to represent the janitorial services company at a mall. While the court recognized it was unfair to have a trial on such short notice, the case was on the Florida Supreme Court’s list and, as such, the court did not have the freedom to continue the case. The team was unable to retain experts (but did share experts already retained by the co-defendant) or depose the plaintiff due to the limited time frame before trial. The plaintiff’s most recent demand to our client was $1.2 million. The plaintiff alleged he tripped and fell over an outlet in the carpet flooring of the mall premises. The plaintiff claimed our client owed a duty to notify the mall of a dangerous condition, and to reasonably maintain the area. The team filed a motion for summary judgment on lack of duty, arguing our client owed no duty based on its contract language and the scope of janitorial services. Per the limited contractual services, our client was under no duty to reasonably maintain the premises. The motion was heard less than a month before trial, and the judge granted the motion finding “based on the plain language of the contract, [the janitorial service] was under no duty to reasonably maintain the premises.”