SARASOTA COUNTY, Fla. — The District Court of Appeal of Florida, Second District, overturned the previous decision in the “Take Care of Maya” civil trial.
In November of 2023, a Sarasota County jury found Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital liable for all civil claims in the “Take Care of Maya” trial and preliminarily awarded the Kowalski family $211,451,174.
The Kowalski family’s legal fight gained national attention due to the Netflix documentary “Take Care of Maya.”
Johns Hopkins filed a motion to reverse the final judgment on claims that the trial court misinterpreted Florida Statute 39.203(1)(a) (immunity for good-faith reporting) and allowed evidence that should have been excluded from court arguments since it was protected from immunity. The court dismissed all counts and remanded for a new trial on a limited set of claims.
Johns Hopkins' legal representation forwarded this statement to Tampa Bay 28.
“After careful, rigorous review of the case and the law, the Second District Court of Appeals delivered a resounding opinion in support of Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital, vacating the full $213 million judgment. This opinion sends a clear and vital message to mandatory reporters in Florida and across the country that their duty to report suspicions of child abuse and, critically, their good faith participation in child protection activities remain protected. The facts and the law have always prioritized protecting children, the most vulnerable among us. We look forward to vigorously defending our doctors, nurses, and staff in a fair trial on the few remaining claims after rigorous and proper application of immunity. We thank the judges for their time and attention to this matter, and we appreciate that they understood what many did not: that a one-sided movie is no substitute for a fair judicial process.”
Tampa Bay 28 has contacted the attorney of Maya and Jack Kowalski during the civil trial. They provided this statement:
My partner and wife, Jennifer, and I are disappointed in the ruling obviously, and have many questions. As the clients unexpectedly dismissed the AndersonGlenn law firm on December 19, 2024 in a brief email sent from their new council, Nick Whitney (former junior partner at our firm) and the Childers law firm, we were not permitted to make decisions or suggestions over the past 10 months regarding the appeal and presentation of the case, either in the briefing or during the oral argument.
Frankly, from our perspective, the outcome was unexpected and incorrect from a purely legal standpoint. However, when you take the trial team that took in, developed, supported, paid for, litigated, and ultimately tried the case out of the decision-making process, we cannot say that we were surprised from the practical standpoint. We believe that the trial judge, Hunter Carroll, did an outstanding job in an extremely complicated case. We wish nothing but the best for the Kowalski family and truly hope that their new counsel can rectify this current outcome.
Tampa Bay 28 has contacted the attorney for the appeals trial, Nick Whitney, for a statement.
Read full appeal
Opinion - Disposition by Tampa Bay 28
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