Crime Victim/Jury Verdict Nullification Heads for Appeal

Our client expected justice – instead he got judicial error. We’re working to fix that. Back in 2001, the plaintiff, a 24-year-old man, suffered a partial hearing loss and a mild brain injury after he was beaten with a beer bottle in the parking lot of an International Drive apartment community in Orange Country. The unidentified assailant had followed him from his job at a nearby Publix and was able to enter the 360-unit complex through a malfunctioning electronic access gate.


At the invitation of Orlando lawyer Tye Van Buren, we served as lead counsel in the subsequent security negligence trial, and argued that the property owner and manager – a Cincinnati, Ohio insurance company – had touted the security gates in its advertisements, but took no measures to secure the facility when frequent gate malfunctions occurred. The jury, agreeing with our negligence theory, returned a $700,000 award for our client – which the judge then nullified, entering judgment, instead, for the defendants. Citing judicial errors on the part of the judge, we have appealed her decision, and are confident of obtaining a reversal, re-instating our verdict or granting a new trial where we will be allowed to present a cache of incriminating evidence the trial judge had disallowed erroneously. We will see it through to the end to get justice for our injured client.

Gerson & Schwartz PA is an AV rated personal injury law firm located in South Florida. For more than 37 years our firm has assisted crime victims throughout the State of Florida and helped get them the compensation they deserve. If you or a loved one have been the victim of a crime contact one of our South Florida lawyers at 305-371-6000, or email us at info@gslawusa.com

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