Four Florida Law Firm Shareholders Killed in Small Plane Crash
The Peterson Bernard lawyers were killed after their small plane was diverted and crashed in a South Florida lake.
March 10, 2019 at 03:15 PM
3 minute read
Four of the five people killed in a small plane crash in Florida's Lake Okeechobee were attorneys from a South Florida law firm.
The four passengers were attorneys at the 20-attorney Peterson Bernard defense law firm. The firm's website was updated to place black ribbons on the profiles of the attorneys killed in Friday's crash and say “in loving memory.”
The Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office on Saturday identified the dead as pilot Eduardo Mulet of West Palm Beach and attorneys Eric Peterson of Lighthouse Point, Edwin Mortell of Stuart, Heather Bridwell of Jupiter and Matthew Fiorello of Palm Beach Gardens.
The sheriff's office said the bodies were recovered from the plane's fuselage by divers from the sheriff's office and the fire department.
The twin-engine Piper aircraft went down Friday about 400 yards from the lake's southeast shore, just north of the Palm Beach County Glades Airport in Pahokee, according to the sheriff's office.
Records show the plane took off from Tampa International Airport on a flight to North Palm Beach County Airport west of Palm Beach Gardens.
The plane was diverted to the Pahokee airport because there was “an issue” with the aircraft, Fiorello's wife told the Palm Beach Post, citing a text message sent shortly before the crash.
The Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board were investigating the crash, and a contractor was hired to recover the wreckage.
Relatives told the Post that the lawyers were returning from a meeting with a prospective client.
Peterson, 73, was a co-founder of the firm that opened in 1981; managing partner of its West Palm Beach office; and a personal injury, malpractice and employment litigator.
Mortell, 54, was managing partner of the firm's Stuart office, a personal injury and malpractice litigator, former president of the Martin County Bar Association and a Pine School board member.
Bridwell, 43, was a shareholder in the firm's Stuart office, practiced insurance defense since 2000, served two terms as president of the Martin County chapter of the Florida Association for Women Lawyers and was a member of the Florida Bar's law related education committee.
Fiorello, 36, was a West Palm Beach shareholder, defense litigator and former Broward assistant public defender.
The law firm has offices in Fort Lauderdale, Stuart and West Palm Beach.
This content has been archived. It is available through our partners, LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law.
To view this content, please continue to their sites.
Not a Lexis Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
Not a Bloomberg Law Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
NOT FOR REPRINT
© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
You Might Like
View All
Cleary Creates Nonequity Partner Tier, Calling for 'Innovation and Adaptation'
5 minute read
GCs Face Peril as Foreign Bribery Probes Second-Guess 'Routine' Advice
Sullivan & Cromwell Dismissed as Defendant in Lawsuit from FTX Investors
Court Advisory Committee Inches Forward on Transparency in Litigation Financing
Trending Stories
Who Got The Work
Clark Hill members Vincent Roskovensky and Kevin B. Watson have entered appearances for Architectural Steel and Associated Products in a pending environmental lawsuit. The complaint, filed Aug. 27 in Pennsylvania Eastern District Court by Brodsky & Smith on behalf of Hung Trinh, accuses the defendant of discharging polluted stormwater from its steel facility without a permit in violation of the Clean Water Act. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Gerald J. Pappert, is 2:24-cv-04490, Trinh v. Architectural Steel And Associated Products, Inc.
Who Got The Work
Michael R. Yellin of Cole Schotz has entered an appearance for S2 d/b/a the Shoe Surgeon, Dominic Chambrone a/k/a Dominic Ciambrone and other defendants in a pending trademark infringement lawsuit. The case, filed July 15 in New York Southern District Court by DLA Piper on behalf of Nike, seeks to enjoin Ciambrone and the other defendants in their attempts to build an 'entire multifaceted' retail empire through their unauthorized use of Nike’s trademark rights. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Naomi Reice Buchwald, is 1:24-cv-05307, Nike Inc. v. S2, Inc. et al.
Who Got The Work
Sullivan & Cromwell partner Adam S. Paris has entered an appearance for Orthofix Medical in a pending securities class action arising from a proposed acquisition of SeaSpine by Orthofix. The suit, filed Sept. 6 in California Southern District Court, by Girard Sharp and the Hall Firm, contends that the offering materials and related oral communications contained untrue statements of material fact. According to the complaint, the defendants made a series of misrepresentations about Orthofix’s disclosure controls and internal controls over financial reporting and ethical compliance. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Linda Lopez, is 3:24-cv-01593, O'Hara v. Orthofix Medical Inc. et al.
Who Got The Work
Attorneys from Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft and Pryor Cashman have entered appearances for Diageo Americas Supply d/b/a Ciroc Distilling Co. and Sony Songs, a division of Sony Music Publishing, respectively, in a pending lawsuit. The case was filed Sept. 10 in New York Southern District Court by the Bloom Firm and IP Legal Studio on behalf of Dawn Angelique Richard. The plaintiff, who performed as a member of producer Sean 'Diddy' Combs girl group Danity Kane and later his band, Diddy - Dirty Money, claims that she was financially exploited by Combs and subjected to inhumane working conditions. Among other violations, Richard claims that Combs required group members to remain at his residences and studios, deprived them of adequate food and sleep and forced them to rehearse for 36 to 48 hours without breaks. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Katherine Polk Failla, is 1:24-cv-06848, Richard v. Combs et al.
Who Got The Work
Mathilda McGee-Tubb and Kevin M. McGinty of Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky and Popeo, as well as Jesse W. Belcher-Timme of Doherty, Wallace, Pillsbury & Murphy, have stepped in to defend Peter Pan Bus Lines in a pending consumer class action. The suit, filed Sept. 4 in Massachusetts District Court by Hackett Feinberg PC and KalielGold PLLC, accuses the defendant of charging undisclosed 'junk fees' on top of ticket prices during checkout. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Mark G. Mastroianni, is 3:24-cv-12277, Mulani et al v. Peter Pan Bus Lines, Inc.
Featured Firms
Law Offices of Gary Martin Hays & Associates, P.C.
(470) 294-1674
Law Offices of Mark E. Salomone
(857) 444-6468
Smith & Hassler
(713) 739-1250
