In January 2022, after 5 years of hotly contested litigation, James Durstein and J.D. Morgan, partners at the firm, won a full defense verdict in Saint Johns County. The Plaintiff sought damages after a one-car accident at a private facility, after his sports car lost control on the 1.6 mile road track and crashed into a tree off the paved road surface. The primary issue involved whether a coverage exclusion applied. The litigation process involved numerous complex legal and evidentiary issues.
Any unfavorable verdict would have resulted in extensive damages as well as a large award of attorneys’ fees and costs for the Plaintiff against our client. The Plaintiff presented testimony from an engineering expert and multiple witnesses to support his claim that his brakes failed and he was not racing or driving at a high-speed. We presented testimony from our own expert (who inspected the facility within a few weeks of the accident), testimony from the chief instructor at the track, videos posted on YouTube of the Plaintiff’s group driving earlier the same day, and previous statements made by the Plaintiff about his speed at the time of the accident.
The Jury found that the coverage exclusion applied and no exceptions to the exclusion applied, resulting in a full defense verdict.