Miami Partners George Hooker and Robert Guinn recently secured a complete defense verdict in a contested property damage claim arising from Tropical Storm Eta, which impacted South Florida in November 2020.
The plaintiffs alleged that their home sustained storm-related damage as a result of the storm. Our client denied the claim, maintaining that there was no evidence of wind damage and that the observed conditions were the result of wear and tear rather than a covered loss.
Following three days of trial, the case was submitted to the jury. During deliberations, the jury requested a playback of testimony from the defense expert, underscoring the significance of the expert’s analysis regarding causation.
The jury later indicated it was deadlocked, and the Court issued an Allen charge — a supplemental instruction given to encourage jurors to continue deliberating and attempt to reach a unanimous verdict without compromising their individual convictions. After a subsequent readback of testimony, the jury deliberated for approximately fifteen additional minutes before returning a complete defense verdict in favor of our client.
This result reflects the strength of the defense strategy, the effective presentation of expert testimony at trial, and the firm’s continued commitment to achieving successful outcomes for its clients.
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