Florida Supreme Court to Review Wrongful Death Award

The Florida Supreme Court has agreed to hear an appeal of the reduction of the monetary award in the wrongful death lawsuit brought by the family of a University of Central Florida football player who died following conditioning drills in 2008.

Documents accepting the case were filed by the court on Wednesday. No date for the court to hear the case has been set.

In August, a three-judge appeals court panel reduced a jury’s original $10 million civil trial damage judgment awarded to the parents of Ereck Plancher in 2011 to $200,000.

The court ruled UCF’s power of control over its athletics association was sufficient for sovereign immunity afforded to state agencies in civil judgments. The ruling also overturned attorney’s fees the Plancher family attorneys were awarded.