On Friday, March 23, 2018, Governor Rick Scott signed CS/HB 6509, a claims bill that directs the Florida Department of Children and Families (DCF) to pay more than $5 million awarded by a Florida jury to C.M.H., a victim of sexual abuse by a child in foster care. This marks... View Article
Disclaimer: Most cases result in a lower recovery. Results may not be typical and reflect awards before deduction for attorneys’ fees and expenses. It should not be assumed that your case will have as beneficial a result. Eight developmentally foster care children who were placed in what one judge called... View Article
Disclaimer: Most cases result in a lower recovery. Results may not be typical and reflect awards before deduction for attorneys’ fees and expenses. It should not be assumed that your case will have as beneficial a result. In 2013 a Palm Beach County jury returned a $5 million verdict against... View Article
This was a precedent-setting federal civil rights claim brought by six siblings (collectively called “John Roes” to protect the minors’ identities) who were egregiously physically, sexually and emotionally abused and neglected in a foster / adoptive home in Broward County, Florida. The foster mother, Jaqui Lynch, locked the children in... View Article
The Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta upheld the right of three foster siblings to sue for damages resulting from sexual abuse committed against them while in foster care. The precedent setting decision (H.A.L. v. Foltz) focused on the unsupervised placement of three pre-school-aged foster children with two adolescent... View Article
In Webb v. APD, 939 So. 2d 1182 (Fla. 4th DCA 2006), attorneys with Colodny, Fass, Talenfeld, Karlinsky & Abate, P.A., established the standard used to determine eligibility based upon mental retardation in the State of Florida. At the age of 9 years old, Joshua Webb came into Florida’s foster... View Article
In Baumstein v. Sunrise Communities, 738 So. 2d 420 (Fla. 3d DCA 1999), attorneys with Colodny, Fass, Talenfeld, Karlinsky & Abate P.A., successfully argued in the Third District Court of Appeal to establish a private cause of action for damages based upon the violation of Florida’s Bill of Rights for... View Article
On January 26, 2001, DCF removed sixteen minor children and two developmentally disabled adults from the Gainesville, Florida home of Nellie Johnson due to allegations of egregious abuse and neglect. The children, who had all been adopted, reported that they were subjected to horrific abuse: Nellie Johnson repeatedly and without... View Article
Disclaimer: Most cases result in a lower recovery. Results may not be typical and reflect awards before deduction for attorneys’ fees and expenses. It should not be assumed that your case will have as beneficial a result. In 1998, Howard Talenfeld instituted a class action with the Youth Law Center... View Article
Disclaimer: Most cases result in a lower recovery. Results may not be typical and reflect awards before deduction for attorneys’ fees and expenses. It should not be assumed that your case will have as beneficial a result. The 2012 settlement for an undisclosed sum against the Florida Department of Children... View Article