Jury Verdicts & Settlements

Latest jury verdicts, settlements, and legal outcome analysis

Florida Jury Awards Designer Unpaid Condo Renovation Fees

A Florida design and staging firm took a real estate investor and his trust to federal Court after a luxury condominium project soured over unpaid bills. The firm, owned by a licensed broker, had been hired to remodel, decorate, and stage a Miami penthouse that the trust bought for $1.9 million and planned to flip. The firm said the owners kept ordering upgrades far beyond the original $138,000 budget, accepted the finished work, and then refused to pay in full once the unit sold for nearly $3 million. The Defendants countered that the firm itself broke the contract and that they had already paid everything they owed. After trial, the jury sided with the firm on most of its claims, including breach of contract and unjust enrichment, and awarded $81,492.87. It rejected the firm's civil theft and conversion claims, declined to hold the Defendants liable on the larger renovation invoice, but found them liable for $14,433.79 in unpaid apartment rent.

Breach of Contract

Real Estate Broker Wins Massive Commissions & Fraud Lawsuit

The Plaintiff argued that Goldstein served as the procuring cause for the real estate transaction. Goldstein’s legal counsel emphasized that the agent identified the property, educated the buyers on its investment value, drafted the initial paperwork, and extracted the vital target price from the listing broker. The Plaintiff asserted that Ezekiel fabricated an excuse to pull out of the deal solely to cut Goldstein out of the transaction. By routing the purchase through a nonexistent entity and using a family member as a sham broker, the Defendants pocketed the commission as a credit to lower their overall purchase costs.

Breach of Contract

Home Investment Ends in $398,000 Breach of Contract Verdict

What began as an agreement to merge households for multi-generational care ended in a federal Courtroom when a daughter refused to place her aging parents on a property title. Susan and Michael Murman sold their longtime home in Eureka, California, to provide a $300,000 down payment for a replacement property in Hawaii, relying on their daughter Patricia's status as a military service member to secure a VA loan and medical benefits. After the closing, Patricia repeatedly delayed adding her parents to the deed and ultimately decided to sell the home when the military reassigned her to South Korea. Displaced and financially drained, the parents relocated to Idaho and filed suit. A federal jury in the Northern District of California ruled in favor of the mother, finding that a valid contract existed and that the daughter had been unjustly enriched, resulting in a total final judgment of $398,000.

Breach of Contract

Jury Sides With Insurer in $213M Post-Judgment Interest Fight

Federal Express Corporation sued three excess insurers — National Union, Great American, and Liberty Mutual — over their refusal to cover more than $213 million in pre-judgment and post-judgment interest that piled up during a seven-year appeal of a massive personal injury verdict in New Mexico. FedEx argued the insurers actively participated in and benefited from the appeals while interest compounded at 15% per year, then walked away from the bill. The jury found National Union did not breach its duty of good faith and fair dealing.

Breach of Contract

Jury Awards $110,000 in Law Firm Insurance Payment Dispute

A Miami-based law firm and its lead attorney, George Lambert, successfully sued National Union Fire Insurance Company after the insurer stopped paying for the legal defense of a high-profile corporate executive. Despite the insurer’s claim that the $5 million policy limit had been reached, a federal jury found that an implied contract existed and ordered the carrier to pay $110,000 in outstanding fees.

Breach of Contract

Jury Rules on Mentor Loan Dispute and Race Car Profits

What began as a supportive mentorship in a semi-professional football program ended in a high-stakes legal battle over a 1993 Mustang race car. Charles Johnson, acting as a mentor, provided $14,000 to Bryson Baker to purchase the vehicle, expecting repayment in monthly installments. However, Baker later claimed the money was a gift from the football program intended to sponsor his racing career. The dispute intensified when Baker traded the car for a profit without repaying Johnson. After reviewing conflicting testimonies regarding cash repayments and the nature of the funds, a Jackson County jury determined that a contract existed and had been breached, ordering Baker to pay $12,000 in economic damages.

Personal Injury

Marble Floor Acid Damage & Wrist Injury Lawsuit Settled

A Laguna Niguel homeowner filed suit in the Superior Court of California, County of Orange, against a cleaning and restoration company after a routine natural stone cleaning service allegedly caused extensive property damage and serious personal injury. Under a written agreement that included a 100% satisfaction guarantee, the company was hired to clean and polish the homeowner's marble flooring, counters, walls, and carpets in July 2020. According to the complaint, the assigned workman applied excessive amounts of an undiluted acidic solution to marble surfaces, including walls, vanities, glass shower doors, and fixtures, and left it on for three days. Senior company representatives who later inspected the property were reportedly alarmed, stating the acid had permanently damaged the marble and should have been neutralized immediately. The workman then attempted to remove the residue using steel wool, leaving deep holes, scratches, discolored grout, and steel wool fragments scattered throughout the home. The defense denied all allegations and raised affirmative defenses including comparative fault, intervening causes, lack of privity, expired warranties, failure to provide notice and an opportunity to cure, and failure to mitigate damages. After pre-trial proceedings, the parties reached a settlement, resolving the matter before a jury verdict.

Breach of Contract

Executive Wins $598K Severance Lawsuit Over Carbone Dinner

When cannabis giant Curaleaf terminated executive Mitchell Hara, they pointed to a dinner at Miami’s high-end Carbone restaurant as the reason. By labeling the firing "for cause" based on an expense voucher dispute, the company avoided paying out a million-dollar severance package. Hara sued, alleging the investigation was a pretext to cut costs during corporate downsizing. In a significant victory for executive rights, a federal jury found that Curaleaf’s investigation was inadequate and that denying the severance violated the "reasonable expectations" of the employment contract, resulting in a judgment of nearly $598,026 for the plaintiff.

Breach of Contract

Church Wins Verdict Against Architect Over Botched Plans

A twelve-member San Francisco jury ruled in favor of a nonprofit church that paid over $530,000 in architectural fees but never received a usable set of building plans. The jury found the architecture firm and its principal architect liable for breach of contract, professional negligence, and breach of fiduciary duty, awarding damages across multiple categories including recovery of all fees paid, engineering costs, and future construction losses.