A resident of The Villages who was scheduled to be deposed last week by attorneys representing Palmer Legends Country Club, is suing the business for damages he allegedly sustained from a slip-and-fall incident.
Gorrell Stinson, who lives in the Village of Santiago, was scheduled to be deposed on Friday, Oct. 13 in his lawsuit against Legends Partnership, LLC, which does business as Palmer Legends Country Club.
That deposition was cancelled, according to court records. No reason was given for the cancellation and the deposition has not yet been rescheduled in the case.
The case spawns from an incident that allegedly occurred nearly two years ago. According to an amended complaint filed in May, Stinson visited the country club at 1635 Palmer Way on November 30, 2021.
During Stinson’s visit he “suddenly and without warning sustained injuries” as a result of a “breach of duty,” according to Stinson’s attorney, John Windle of Orlando-based Morgan & Morgan, P.A.
In the original complaint, which was filed in March, Stinson stated that while he was “playing golf,” he fell “due to the ground caving beneath him.” The amended complaint, which was filed in the fifth judicial circuit court for Sumter County on May 19, removed that verbiage.
In an answer and affirmative defense filing, Legends Partnership, LLC denied most of the allegations from the complaint, arguing any alleged “injuries and damages” were “caused in whole or in part” by Stinson’s “negligence.”
“The injuries complained of…were not the result of the alleged incident but were caused in whole or in part by injuries, conditions, or events unrelated to the incident, including but not limited to pre-existing idiopathy and/or injuries to the same areas of the body,” according to the filing by attorney Jason A. Camelford of the Fort Lauderdale-based Law Office of Melissa A. Schlutow.
The company’s attorneys say Stinson has “failed to mitigate damages” and that as a result, any alleged damages were caused by “other events” in Stinson’s life and “are not attributable” to the business. They also say that any alleged medical treatment incurred “after the accident” was “not reasonable” or “necessary” as a result of the accident.
“The charges for [Stinson’s] medical treatment, including diagnostic studies, were unreasonable in amount and/or frequency,” according to the company.
Stinson is seeking damages in excess of $50,000, “exclusive of costs, interest, and attorney’s fees.”
