Chalita v. IMG Academies (Bollettieri Tennis)

Summary

15-day negligence jury trial. Christian Chalita was a 16-year old who passed out while exercising on a treadmill and died of cardiac arrest at the Bollettieri Tennis Academy, an elite training program for aspiring professional athletes at IMG Academies in Bradenton, Florida.

The boy's parents sued the school, talent management agent International Management Group, and medical personnel, claiming they failed to adequately monitor and treat Chalita's heart condition.

The jury assigned negligence to IMG (18%), a physician (18%), a nurse (18%), and the student's mother (46%), and awarded $1.5 million to the estate of Christian Chalita. The jury also asked in a pre-verdict note that IMG Academies set up a scholarship in Christian Chalita's name.

For more:
http://www.bradenton.com/news/local/story/1799016.html

Outcome

Damages for Christina Chalita: Past-500,000, Future-1,000,000
Fault: IMG-18% Soler-18%, Tomlinson-18%, Christina Chalita-46%

Case Information

Attorneys

Witnesses

Plaintiff: Chalita, Christian
Defense: IMG Academies LLP
Verdict: $1,500,000

Judge: Janette Dunnigan
Jurisdiction: 12th Judicial Circuit of Florida
Court: Manatee County Judicial Center

Case Number: 2005-CA-4480 and 2006-CA-700
Industry: Education
Practice Area: Tort Law, Art, Entertainment and Sports Law, Negligence, Health Law, Education Law

Plaintiff

Chalita, Christian

Represented By:
Lazzara, Benny (Wilkes & McHugh, P.A. )
Ruiz-Carus, Issac (Wilkes & McHugh, P.A. )
Figarotta, Joe (Wilkes & McHugh, P.A. )

Defense

IMG Academies LLP

Represented By:
Crotts, Troy (Bush Ross, P.A.)
Toole, Gary (Smith Toole & Wiggins, PL)
Reid, John "Jay" (Smith Toole & Wiggins, PL)

Sessions

Attorney

Witness

Type

Description

AM Session

Not in Session

0 Chapters

PM Session

Openings

13 Chapters

OCT

PM Session

Plaintiff Witness(es)

14 Chapters

	Description	Attorney	Witness	Presence
00:00:00	Witness Direct Examination	Lazzara, Benny	Trocsler, Linda	In Person
00:24:20	Witness Cross Examination	Toole, Gary	Trocsler, Linda	In Person
00:28:28	Witness Re-Direct Examination		Trocsler, Linda	In Person
00:30:28	Witness Re-Direct Examination	Lazzara, Benny	Trocsler, Linda	In Person
00:32:00	General Case Activities
00:34:39	General Case Activities		Trocsler, Linda	In Person
00:36:45	General Case Activities
00:38:10	Witness Direct Examination	Ruiz-Carus, Issac	Thompson, Christina	In Person
01:19:18	Break
01:47:08	Witness Cross Examination	Toole, Gary	Thompson, Christina	In Person
02:12:48	Witness Re-Direct Examination	Ruiz-Carus, Issac	Thompson, Christina	In Person
02:17:02	General Case Activities
02:18:20	Witness Re-Direct Examination	Ruiz-Carus, Issac	Thompson, Christina	In Person
02:26:16	Witness Re-Cross Examination	Toole, Gary	Thompson, Christina	In Person

AM Session

Plaintiff Witness(es)

14 Chapters

	Description	Attorney	Witness	Presence
00:00:00	General Case Activities
00:01:40	Witness Direct Examination			Audio Recording
00:06:22	Witness Direct Examination	Ruiz-Carus, Issac	Ther, William	In Person
00:36:23	Witness Cross Examination		Ther, William	In Person
00:37:45	Witness Direct Examination	Lazzara, Benny	Brussal, Dr. Willson Jr.	In Person
01:34:45	Witness Cross Examination	Crotts, Troy	Brussal, Dr. Willson Jr.	In Person
01:48:20	Witness Re-Direct Examination	Lazzara, Benny	Brussal, Dr. Willson Jr.	In Person
01:50:22	General Case Activities
01:51:35	General Case Activities		Brussal, Dr. Willson Jr.	In Person
01:52:50	Break
02:14:23	Witness Direct Examination	Lazzara, Benny	Trocsler, Linda	In Person
02:16:20	General Case Activities
02:16:57	Witness Direct Examination	Lazzara, Benny	Trocsler, Linda	In Person
02:44:58	End of Session

OCT

AM Session

Plaintiff Witness(es)

15 Chapters

	Description	Attorney	Witness	Presence
00:00:00	Witness Direct Examination	Ruiz-Carus, Issac	Reiberg, Rob	In Person
00:20:12	General Case Activities
00:21:50	Witness Direct Examination	Ruiz-Carus, Issac	Reiberg, Rob	In Person
00:40:42	Witness Cross Examination	Toole, Gary	Reiberg, Rob	In Person
01:09:55	Witness Re-Direct Examination	Ruiz-Carus, Issac	Reiberg, Rob	In Person
01:24:27	Witness Re-Cross Examination	Toole, Gary	Reiberg, Rob	In Person
01:27:17	General Case Activities
01:29:07	General Case Activities		Reiberg, Rob	In Person
01:33:20	Break
01:56:37	Witness Direct Examination	Lazzara, Benny	McCone, William	In Person
02:09:28	Witness Cross Examination	Crotts, Troy	McCone, William	In Person
02:25:10	Witness Re-Direct Examination	Lazzara, Benny	McCone, William	In Person
02:28:39	General Case Activities
02:29:16	General Case Activities		McCone, William	In Person
02:31:25	Witness Direct Examination	Figarotta, Joe	Nurrel, Monica	Video Recording

PM Session

Plaintiff Witness(es)

12 Chapters

	Description	Attorney	Witness	Presence
00:00:00	General Case Activities
00:01:40	Witness Direct Examination	Figarotta, Joe	Nurrel, Monica	Video Recording
00:02:25	General Case Activities
00:04:50	Witness Direct Examination	Figarotta, Joe	Nurrel, Monica	Transcript Reading
00:06:40	Witness Direct Examination	Figarotta, Joe	Nurrel, Monica	Video Recording
00:24:20	Break
00:31:50	Witness Direct Examination	Figarotta, Joe	Nurrel, Monica	Video Recording
01:15:33	Break
01:38:36	Witness Direct Examination	Figarotta, Joe	Nurrel, Monica	Transcript Reading
01:41:34	Witness Direct Examination	Figarotta, Joe	Nurrel, Monica	Video Recording
02:51:53	General Case Activities
02:53:00	End of Session

OCT

AM Session

Plaintiff Witness(es)

14 Chapters

PM Session

Plaintiff Witness(es)

15 Chapters

	Description	Attorney	Witness	Presence
00:00:00	General Case Activities
00:01:10	Witness Direct Examination	Figarotta, Joe	Oshendorf, Tamara	In Person
00:21:20	Witness Cross Examination	Toole, Gary	Oshendorf, Tamara	In Person
00:40:22	Witness Re-Direct Examination	Figarotta, Joe	Oshendorf, Tamara	In Person
00:43:29	Break
01:04:00	Witness Direct Examination	Ruiz-Carus, Issac	Miller, Joanie	In Person
01:28:12	Witness Cross Examination	Crotts, Troy	Miller, Joanie	In Person
01:30:32	Witness Re-Direct Examination	Ruiz-Carus, Issac	Miller, Joanie	In Person
01:32:24	Witness Direct Examination	Lazzara, Benny	Bartow, Daniel	In Person
01:55:13	Witness Cross Examination	Crotts, Troy	Bartow, Daniel	In Person
02:07:12	Witness Re-Direct Examination	Lazzara, Benny	Bartow, Daniel	In Person
02:15:57	General Case Activities
02:17:22	Witness Direct Examination	Lazzara, Benny	Moreau, Michael	Transcript Reading
02:41:42	General Case Activities
02:44:17	End of Session

OCT

AM Session

Plaintiff Witness(es)

11 Chapters

	Description	Attorney	Witness	Presence
00:00:00	General Case Activities
00:02:14	Witness Direct Examination	Lazzara, Benny	Lucenko, Leonard	In Person
00:56:55	Witness Cross Examination	Crotts, Troy	Lucenko, Leonard	In Person
01:35:18	Break
01:56:50	Witness Cross Examination	Crotts, Troy	Lucenko, Leonard	In Person
02:07:43	General Case Activities
02:09:52	General Case Activities		Lucenko, Leonard	In Person
02:12:25	Witness Direct Examination	Lazzara, Benny	Daniels, Stacey	In Person
02:27:24	Witness Cross Examination	Crotts, Troy	Daniels, Stacey	In Person
02:29:11	General Case Activities
02:29:42	General Case Activities		Daniels, Stacey	In Person

PM Session

Plaintiff Witness(es)

20 Chapters

	Description	Attorney	Witness	Presence
00:00:10	General Case Activities
00:01:20	Witness Direct Examination	Ruiz-Carus, Issac	Lazano, Dr. Michael	In Person
00:07:47	Witness Cross Examination	Toole, Gary	Lazano, Dr. Michael	In Person
00:24:38	Witness Re-Direct Examination	Ruiz-Carus, Issac	Lazano, Dr. Michael	In Person
00:32:30	Witness Re-Cross Examination	Toole, Gary	Lazano, Dr. Michael	In Person
00:35:50	Witness Re-Direct Examination	Ruiz-Carus, Issac	Lazano, Dr. Michael	In Person
00:37:50	General Case Activities
00:39:03	General Case Activities		Lazano, Dr. Michael	In Person
00:43:00	Witness Direct Examination	Figarotta, Joe	McCovvel, Jody	Video Recording
00:47:45	Break
01:12:40	Witness Direct Examination	Figarotta, Joe	McCovvel, Jody	Video Recording
01:42:34	Witness Cross Examination	Crotts, Troy	McCovvel, Jody	Video Recording
01:48:48	Witness Cross Examination	Crotts, Troy	McCovvel, Jody	Transcript Reading
01:50:00	Witness Direct Examination	Lazzara, Benny	Marcinco, David	In Person
02:03:55	General Case Activities
02:23:15	Witness Direct Examination	Figarotta, Joe	Marcinco, David	In Person
02:53:50	Witness Cross Examination	Toole, Gary	Marcinco, David	In Person
02:57:36	Witness Re-Direct Examination	Figarotta, Joe	Marcinco, David	In Person
03:00:00	General Case Activities
03:04:40	Witness Direct Examination	Lazzara, Benny	Dejesus, Vecente	Transcript Reading

OCT

PM Session

Plaintiff Witness(es)

17 Chapters

	Description	Attorney	Witness	Presence
00:00:00	General Case Activities
00:01:32	Witness Direct Examination	Ruiz-Carus, Issac	Brunich, Greg	In Person
00:22:47	Witness Cross Examination	Crotts, Troy	Brunich, Greg	In Person
00:31:05	Witness Re-Direct Examination	Ruiz-Carus, Issac	Brunich, Greg	In Person
00:35:20	General Case Activities
00:37:00	General Case Activities		Brunich, Greg	In Person
00:42:12	General Case Activities	Ruiz-Carus, Issac	Brunich, Greg	In Person
00:43:45	General Case Activities		Brunich, Greg	In Person
00:45:50	Witness Direct Examination	Ruiz-Carus, Issac	Rollie, John	Video Recording
01:30:40	Break
02:08:42	Witness Direct Examination	Lazzara, Benny	Lemos, Miguel	In Person
02:52:57	Witness Cross Examination	Toole, Gary	Lemos, Miguel	In Person
03:01:55	General Case Activities
03:03:33	Witness Cross Examination	Toole, Gary	Lemos, Miguel	In Person
03:19:42	General Case Activities
03:20:28	General Case Activities		Lemos, Miguel	In Person
03:22:00	General Case Activities		Lemos, Miguel	In Person

OCT

AM Session

Plaintiff Witness(es)

11 Chapters

PM Session

Defense Witness(es)

9 Chapters

	Description	Attorney	Witness	Presence
00:00:48	Witness Direct Examination	Reid, John "Jay"	Soler, Joseph	Transcript Reading
00:00:02	General Case Activities
00:40:00	Witness Direct Examination	Reid, John "Jay"	Odom, Kathy	Transcript Reading
00:49:53	Break
01:12:47	Witness Direct Examination	Reid, John "Jay"	Tomlinson, Carol	Transcript Reading
02:08:00	Witness Direct Examination	Reid, John "Jay"	Wilson, Dr. George	Transcript Reading
02:24:30	General Case Activities
02:25:25	Witness Direct Examination	Reid, John "Jay"	Carvahal-Loreno, Maria	Transcript Reading
02:37:50	Witness Direct Examination	Reid, John "Jay"	Carvahal, Francisca	Transcript Reading

OCT

AM Session

Defense Witness(es)

15 Chapters

	Description	Attorney	Witness	Presence
00:00:57	Witness Direct Examination	Crotts, Troy	Fortuin, Nicolas	In Person
00:00:00	General Case Activities
01:00:00	Witness Cross Examination	Lazzara, Benny	Fortuin, Nicolas	In Person
01:20:32	General Case Activities
01:23:57	Break
02:10:46	Witness Cross Examination	Lazzara, Benny	Fortuin, Nicolas	In Person
02:17:45	Witness Re-Direct Examination	Crotts, Troy	Fortuin, Nicolas	In Person
02:21:55	Witness Re-Cross Examination	Lazzara, Benny	Fortuin, Nicolas	In Person
02:22:40	General Case Activities
02:26:00	General Case Activities
02:33:46	Witness Direct Examination	Toole, Gary	Roland, Ken	In Person
02:46:40	General Case Activities
02:47:22	Witness Direct Examination	Toole, Gary	Roland, Ken	In Person
02:50:25	General Case Activities	Ruiz-Carus, Issac	Roland, Ken	In Person
02:52:58	Witness Direct Examination	Toole, Gary	Roland, Ken	In Person

PM Session

Defense Witness(es)

10 Chapters

	Description	Attorney	Witness	Presence
00:00:02	Witness Direct Examination	Toole, Gary	Roland, Ken	In Person
00:19:51	Witness Cross Examination	Ruiz-Carus, Issac	Roland, Ken	In Person
00:31:55	General Case Activities
00:34:07	Witness Cross Examination	Ruiz-Carus, Issac	Roland, Ken	In Person
00:45:35	General Case Activities
00:47:05	Witness Cross Examination	Ruiz-Carus, Issac	Roland, Ken	In Person
00:55:43	Witness Re-Direct Examination	Toole, Gary	Roland, Ken	In Person
00:57:51	Witness Re-Cross Examination	Ruiz-Carus, Issac	Roland, Ken	In Person
00:59:18	General Case Activities
01:02:00	End of Session

OCT

AM Session

Defense Witness(es)

7 Chapters

PM Session

Defense Witness(es)

9 Chapters

	Description	Attorney	Witness	Presence
00:00:00	Witness Cross Examination	Lazzara, Benny	Thayerit, Steven	Video Recording
00:58:20	Break
01:19:52	Witness Cross Examination	Lazzara, Benny	Thayerit, Steven	Video Recording
02:01:25	Break
02:02:45	Witness Cross Examination	Lazzara, Benny	Thayerit, Steven	In Person
02:21:05	Witness Re-Direct Examination	Crotts, Troy	Thayerit, Steven	Video Recording
02:33:10	Witness Re-Cross Examination	Lazzara, Benny	Thayerit, Steven	Video Recording
02:35:01	General Case Activities		Thayerit, Steven	Video Recording
02:38:10	General Case Activities

OCT

AM Session

Defense Witness(es)

12 Chapters

	Description	Attorney	Witness	Presence
00:00:00	General Case Activities
00:01:46	Witness Direct Examination	Toole, Gary	Murphy, Carolina	In Person
01:07:15	Break
01:25:57	Witness Cross Examination	Lazzara, Benny	Murphy, Carolina	In Person
02:12:50	General Case Activities
02:14:32	Witness Cross Examination	Lazzara, Benny	Murphy, Carolina	In Person
02:39:40	Witness Re-Direct Examination	Toole, Gary	Murphy, Carolina	In Person
02:44:09	General Case Activities
02:49:02	General Case Activities		Murphy, Carolina	In Person
02:53:56	General Case Activities	Lazzara, Benny	Murphy, Carolina	In Person
02:54:40	General Case Activities	Toole, Gary	Murphy, Carolina	In Person
02:56:54	General Case Activities		Murphy, Carolina	In Person

PM Session

Closings

6 Chapters

OCT

AM Session

Closings

2 Chapters

PM Session

Closings

1 Chapters

OCT

AM Session

Verdict

3 Chapters

OCT

Recording Disclaimer: This proceeding was recorded in full.

	Description	Attorney	Witness	Presence
00:00:14	General Case Activities
00:04:59	General Case Activities
00:23:54	Opening Statement	Lazzara, Benny
01:09:19	Opening Statement	Ruiz-Carus, Issac
01:33:35	Opening Statement	Crotts, Troy
02:15:03	Break
02:36:58	Opening Statement
02:50:04	Opening Statement
03:18:39	Witness Direct Examination	Lazzara, Benny	Checome, Maria	In Person
03:49:19	Witness Cross Examination	Toole, Gary	Checome, Maria	In Person
04:09:29	Witness Cross Examination		Checome, Maria	In Person
04:12:19	Witness Cross Examination		Checome, Maria	In Person
04:14:57	End of Session

Chalita v. IMG Academies (Bollettieri Tennis)

Summary

Outcome

Sessions

Suggest a Trial

CVN Essentials

Video Library

	Description	Attorney	Witness	Presence
00:00:00	General Case Activities
00:01:35	Witness Direct Examination	Lazzara, Benny	Marin , Dr. Barry	In Person
01:00:17	Witness Cross Examination	Crotts, Troy	Marin , Dr. Barry	In Person
01:21:20	General Case Activities
01:31:00	Witness Cross Examination	Crotts, Troy	Marin , Dr. Barry	In Person
01:37:22	General Case Activities
01:39:24	Break
02:10:25	Witness Cross Examination	Crotts, Troy	Marin , Dr. Barry	In Person
02:13:36	Witness Re-Direct Examination	Lazzara, Benny	Marin , Dr. Barry	In Person
02:15:43	General Case Activities
02:19:07	General Case Activities		Marin , Dr. Barry	In Person
02:25:05	General Case Activities	Crotts, Troy	Marin , Dr. Barry	In Person
02:25:55	General Case Activities
02:27:18	End of Session

	Description	Attorney	Witness	Presence
00:00:30	Witness Direct Examination	Lazzara, Benny	Chalita, Christina	In Person
00:56:15	Break
01:17:12	Witness Cross Examination	Toole, Gary	Chalita, Christina	In Person
02:02:35	General Case Activities
02:05:58	General Case Activities		Chalita, Christina	In Person
02:21:54	General Case Activities	Toole, Gary	Chalita, Christina	In Person
02:24:41	General Case Activities
02:25:06	General Case Activities		Chalita, Christina	In Person
02:27:40	General Case Activities
02:28:30	General Case Activities
02:29:40	End of Session

	Description	Attorney	Witness	Presence
00:00:00	General Case Activities
00:00:55	Witness Direct Examination	Crotts, Troy	Tehan, Donald	In Person
01:02:00	Break
01:24:30	Witness Cross Examination	Ruiz-Carus, Issac	Tehan, Donald	In Person
02:00:18	General Case Activities
02:01:41	General Case Activities
02:03:20	Witness Direct Examination	Crotts, Troy	Thayerit, Steven	Video Recording

	Description	Attorney
00:00:03	General Case Activities
00:03:09	Closing Statement	Lazzara, Benny
00:55:35	Break
01:09:29	Closing Statement	Toole, Gary
02:38:09	Closing Statement	Lazzara, Benny
02:59:40	General Case Activities

			Description	Attorney	Witness	Presence
		00:00:00	General Case Activities
		00:00:58	General Case Activities
		00:04:00	General Case Activities