New West Palm
Beach
Office
Mr. Koons has moved his office from
316 Banyan Blvd.,
West Palm Beach,
FL to
1806 Old Okeechobee Road,
West Palm Beach,
FL
33409.
Mr. Koons joins a group of lawyers who have long
standing roots in the West Palm
Beach community and are well
recognized in the community and in the state.
Mr. Koons invites all of his
Palm Beach
clients to come to this new office, located at the address
above. The facilities are impeccable with video conferencing
capabilities and is conveniently located five minutes from
the Palm Beach County Courthouse.
Settlements v.
Trials
It seems that this has
become an age of settlements. Over the past 10-15 years, Mr.
Koons has noticed that there seems to be a great deal of
skepticism and even hostility for injured Plaintiffs
bringing claims before juries in the state court system
located in Central and South Florida. If pre-suit settlement
is not fruitful and your case goes into litigation, you can
rest assure that Mr. Koons will push your case to the
earliest possible resolution. Mr. Koons prepares each case
knowing full well that he will have to try it if the
defendant’s insurance company is not convinced of the case’s
true value.
Therefore, in view of the type of climate that is now
in existence, it is, all the more necessary that an injured
Plaintiff obtain the most experienced and aggressive
Plaintiff’s lawyer that can be found. The reality that is
now facing 90% of all litigants in these types of cases, is
that their case will ultimately be settled. The amount of
the settlements that will be received varies greatly with
the facts of each case and also with the ability of the
lawyer representing the injured Plaintiff.
Mr. Koons counsels all of his clients that in the
event after litigation and mediation process, that if a
settlement is offered by an insurance company, which falls
in the range of being reasonable, one should seriously
consider taking it. Mr. Koons maintains his ability to try
any case that he feels honestly compelled by the facts to
try and is confident that a recovery can be made. Not
withstanding that, if the insurance carrier has acted in
good faith and has been convinced by able counsel that a
person is deserving of a settlement that is in at least the
serious 6 figures, that Plaintiff should seriously consider
taking the settlement, inasmuch as the case then is
concluded, there is no uncertainty in trial, and there is no
subsequent appeal.
With that backdrop in mind, Mr. Koons approaches all
of his cases with an effort to resolve any and all cases
that he has even before suit is filed for the absolute
maximum that he believes can be recovered on behalf of
injured Plaintiffs. This approach, has been very beneficial
to his clients inasmuch as most of them receive their
recoveries before suit is even filed and within the shortest
period of time.
Commercial Truck
Litigation
It seems recently that the incidence of serious motor
vehicle commercial truck collisions are occurring in Central
and South Florida.
Mr. Koons has recently concluded two commercial
vehicle and commercial truck cases involving substantial
recoveries to both clients. One client has received
$650,000.00 in a partially structured settlement and the
other client received $210,000.00.
These cases are particularly complicated and need an
experienced practitioner inasmuch as the rules relating to
commercial trucking play a very important role in how the
case is prosecuted on behalf of injured Plaintiffs.
Medical
Malpractice
Mr. Koons has recently concluded two highly contested
medical malpractice cases with confidential settlements. The
exact amounts or even a description of the amounts of the
actual recovery to the clients are privileged and are
confidential pursuant to an agreement reached with the
insurance company for both healthcare providers.
Mr. Koons is gratified that he was able to obtain
this type of resolution on behalf of both of these very
satisfied clients after extensive litigation and would
remind all persons who might have claims against health care
providers, that recovery has been very difficult, inasmuch
as law protecting patient’s rights in Florida has been
seriously eroded due to statutory and constitutional
amendments.
Nonetheless, Mr. Koons was successful in obtaining
these results to the satisfaction of both of his clients.
Hurricane
Litigation
Mr. Koons recently represented a large luxury
condominium association located in Melbourne Beach, and was
successful in obtaining recovery of $1.7M dollars from the
Citizens Property and Casualty Company for hurricane damage
in a dispute involving a public adjuster.
Mr. Koons continues to be involved in litigation
involving insurance carriers on a selective basis.
Criminal
Law
Mr.
Koons recently represented a statewide contractor in a
criminal prosecution located in
Brevard
County
where the contractor was prosecuted for environmental
violations and commercial
dumping.
Enclosed
is the text of the front page article reporting Mr. Koons
successful effort in persuading the State Attorney’s Office
to dismiss all charges against his
client.
Mr.
Koons continues to represent the persons charged with the
crime only on a select basis on certain types of criminal
matters. In reviewing Mr. Koons biography, you can see that
he has an extensive background in criminal law dating back
to the mid 1970’s, when he was an Assistant State Attorney
and Assistant General of
Florida.
.
Premises
Liability
Mr. Koons recently concluded a premises liability
case involving a closed head jury with a mild brain damage
involving a gentleman who was attempting to navigate his
bicycle down a sidewalk located in
Melbourne,
Florida. He struck an
obstruction overhanging the sidewalk that was placed there
by a real estate company on behalf of their commercial
client.
This case was resolved with a $245,000.00 settlement
immediately before trial.
Family Law
Mr. Koons continues to practice family law on a
selective basis. Mr. Koons recently concluded a trial in the
Circuit Court in
Brevard
County, where the
major issue in dispute was the equitable distribution of all
marital property.
Florida
is an equitable distribution state which means that all
marital property is to be equitably distributed between the
husband and wife upon dissolution.
There is a great misconception that this means that
there is a 50/50 split of all martial property. That is not
the case and is not the law.
Mr. Koons recently concluded the equitable
distribution case as mentioned above in which his client,
the wife received 70% of the marital of the property and the
husband received 30%.
These cases are handled on an hourly basis and not on
a contingency basis and Mr. Koons always approaches these
cases in a very business like and unemotional manner. Once a
marriage has ended, it is really just a matter of concluding
the business of the marriage and that is the equitable
distribution of the martial assets.
Mr. Koons has also been involved in custody disputes.
He would remind those litigants that the primary
consideration of any custody determination is what is in the
best interest of the child. Sometimes the parent doesn’t
understand that is the primary consideration and will be the
overriding concern of the court in determining appropriate
custody matters.