1. Never File a Reply to Affirmative Defenses Which Just "Denies Each and Every Affirmative Defense and Demands Strict Proof Thereof.

2. Don't Tell the Judge What Happened Outside the Courtroom.

3. Do Not, Under Any Circumstances, Give Your Original Jury Instructions to the Trial Judge!!!

4. Taking the Wind Out of Their Sails.

5. Making and Preserving Jury Challenges for Cause.

6. The Problem of the Late-Listed Witness—Prejudice is the Key.

7. Dismissal of Your Complaint Without Any Motion Under Fla. R. Civ. P. 1.140(h)(2)—Welcome to the Twilight Zone.

8. Mid-Testimony Conferences With Clients About Their Testimony During Recesses in the Trial or Deposition (Debunking a Courthouse Legend)

9. Substantive Changes to Deposition Testimony (Debunking Another Courthouse Myth).

10. Survivors’ Non-Liability for PFS Fees.

11. No Fault Threshold Inapplicable to Lost Consortium Claims.

12. Sayonara to Fundamental Error.

13. Amendments to Pleadings to Defeat Summary Judgment–Never Too Late.

14. Motions "To Strike" or "For Partial Summary Judgment"?—A Rose is Not a Rose.

15. Bifurcation of Trial of Issues of Liability and Damages.

16. "High-Low" Settlement Agreements—Nothing "Smellie" About Them.

17. Your Star Witness Develops Sudden Amnesia—Substantive Use of a Deposition of an Otherwise-Available Non-Party.

18. Recovery of Court Awarded Attorneys Fees—Some Basics.

19. Motions to Amend to Conform to the Evidence—Risky Business

20. Acceptance of Workers’ Compensation Benefits by Tort Claimant—an Election of Remedies?

21. The Meat of Establishing Jurisdiction Under Venetian Salami—Discovery and Affidavits are Needed—and That’s No Boloney.

22. Enforcement of Settlements.

23. Introducing the Full Amount of Written-Off Medical Bills.

24. Calling Witnesses to Summarize Records—Comply with Section 90.956 First.

25. Release and Dismissal of Active Tortfeasors.

26. Preservation of Error—Inconsistent Definitions of "Inconsistent Verdicts" - Send the Jury Back If You Don’t Like the Verdict.

27. Affidavits and Verifications—Notarization Not Always Necessary (Or Sufficient).

28. Proposals for Settlement in Sovereign Immunity Cases.

29. Requests for Admissions—Maximizing the Benefits.

30. Avoiding Summary Judgment with Affidavits that Conflict with Prior Deposition Testimony.

31. Pleading Claims for Punitive Damages.

32. Court Reporters Must Keep Typing Videotaped Testimony During Trial—No Rest for the Weary.

33. Motions to Disqualify Judges for Bias or Prejudice.

34. Civil Procedure 101 Revisited—Critical Difference Between "Service" and "Filing" of Documents.

35. Moving for Mistrial or Rolling the Dice? Having Your Cake and Eating It Too.

36. Proving Medical Standards of Care.

37. The Plaintiff Dies Before Trial—Now What?

38. Dealing with 120 Day Deadline for Service of Process Under Rule 1.070(j)-Some Things Are Getting Easier.

39. Keeping Defense Doctors' So-Called "IME" Reports Out of Evidence.

40. Recovery of Psychic Damages Without Waiver of Psychotherapist-Patient Privilege—Walking the Tightrope.

41. Refreshing Witnesses’ Recollection With Inadmissible Documents.

42. Stalking Another Courthouse Legend—Award of Payment To Attorneys Fees Expert Not Guaranteed.

43. Exclusion of Wrongful Death Survivors From Courtroom Under "The Rule."

44. Reflections of a Trial Lawyer: The Image Is Not Always That Clear.

45. Don’t Let Jurors Conceal Prejudicial Litigation Experience.

46. Move All Exhibits Into Evidence Before You Rest (And What to Do If You Forget).

47. Keeping Non-Parties Off the Verdict Form Under Fabre.

48. Striking a Defendant’s Pleadings for Tampering with Evidence May Jeopardize Insurance Coverage — the Baby or the Bathwater?

49. Discovery of Work Product - Communications from Counsel to Experts.

50. Pleading Res Ipsa Loquitur as a Separate Count.

51. Recovering Loss of Earnings Capacity, in U.S. Dollars for Plaintiff Who is an Illegal Alien.

52. Motion for Costs and Attorneys Fees’— Timeliness is All-Important.

53. Disclosure of Liability Insurance Information- Remedies for Insurer’s Violation.

54. Payments to Witnesses - Lay and Experts.

55. Records Custodians No Longer Necessary at Trial.

56. OVERCOMING VAGUE OBJECTIONS THAT DISCOVERY IS "OVERLY BURDENSOME."

57. Overcoming the "Sudden Stop" Defense in Rear-End Collision Cases.

58. Successor Judges Can Overturn Prior Non-Final Rulings of Original Judge.

59. Delaying Summary Judgment Hearings Due to Incomplete State of Discovery or Inability to Timely Get Refuting Affidavits.

1 © 2003 by Roy D. Wasson. These Trial Law TIPS are intended only for the private use of paid subscribers to the Trial Lawyers E-Mail List.