Florida’s state courts are the among the most accessible to the electronic news media anywhere in the country. The “Sunshine State” stayed true to its nickname by being a pioneer decades ago in granting news cameras largely unfettered access to public judicial proceedings.
Today there is a strong presumption of access to all public judicial proceedings in Florida for the electronic news media, so naturally it’s a state that Courtroom View Network covers extensively. Among the hundreds of gavel-to-gavel civil jury trials in CVN’s online video library, Florida is one of the most common jurisdictions.
Here are 10 “must watch” Florida trials in CVN’s video library that ended in impressive plaintiff verdicts. Become a CVN subscriber for just $99/month with no contract, and get unlimited access to gavel-to-gavel, professionally-filmed video of each of these complete trials - and hundreds more.
Stay tuned for 10 must-watch Florida trials in CVN’s archive ending in defense verdicts, which we’ll be posting shortly! Also make sure to watch the first-in-the-nation fully remote jury trial, being streamed by CVN.
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1.) Bollea (Hulk Hogan) v. Gawker Media (St. Petersburg, Florida)
$140 million invasion of privacy award bankrupts popular gossip website
CVN screenshot of plaintiff’s attorney Kenneth Turkel delivering his opening statement
Gavel-to-gavel video of the trial, with full attorney and witness information: https://cvn.com/proceedings/bollea-v-clem-trial-2015-07-06
Why you should watch: Jurors in 2016 imposed a $25.1 million punitive verdict on Gawker Media, its founder, and its former editor for the company’s publication of a sex video involving wrestler Hulk Hogan, driving the total award past $140 million in the blockbuster invasion of privacy case.
More via the CVN News Blog: https://blog.cvn.com/25m-punitive-verdict-pushes-award-to-140m-in-hulk-hogan-gawker-sex-tape-trial
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2.) Robinson v. R.J. Reynolds (Pensacola, Florida)
$23.6 billion award is the largest Engle tobacco verdict in history
CVN screenshot of plaintiff's attorney Willie Gary delivering his closing argument
Gavel-to-gavel video of the trial and full attorney/witness information: https://cvn.com/proceedings/cynthia-robinson-v-rj-reynolds-tobacco-company-et-al-trial-2014-03-03
Why you should watch: Legendary trial attorney Willie Gary lead the team that secured the largest plaintiff verdict ever returned in an “Engle progeny” tobacco trial, and one of the largest personal injury verdicts in United States history. However in a subsequent retrial, also covered by CVN, R.J. Reynolds obtained a defense verdict.
More via the CVN News Blog: https://blog.cvn.com/rjr-cleared-in-retrial-of-wrongful-death-case-that-produced-23b-verdict-in-1st-trial
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3.) Robinson v. Ford Motor Company (Tampa, Florida)
$53 million auto defect product liability verdict involving a Ford SUV
CVN screenshot of plaintiff's attorney Gene Odom delivering his closing argument
Gavel-to-gavel video of the trial and full attorney/witness information: https://cvn.com/proceedings/robinson-v-ford-motor-company-trial-2012-10-29
Why you should watch: Eileen Robinson suffered permanent brain injuries when the Ford SUV in which she was traveling skidded on a wet road and struck an embankment throwing her from the vehicle. Robinson and her husband Todd sued Ford, claiming the vehicle's faulty design led her seat and safety belt to fail. Ford argued that the angle at which the vehicle struck the embankment, not its design, caused Eileen Robinson's injuries.
More via the CVN News Blog: https://blog.cvn.com/watch-the-expert-testimony-that-yielded-a-53m-verdict-against-ford-florida-trial-video-vault
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4.) Taylor v. Georgia-Pacific (Miami, Florida)
$17 milllion asbestos verdict
CVN screenshot of plaintiff's attorney James Ferraro delivering his closing argument
Gavel-to-gavel video of the trial and full attorney/witness information: https://cvn.com/proceedings/taylor-v-georgia-pacific-trial-2015-08-03
Why you should watch: A Florida state court jury slammed Koch Industries Inc.-owned Georgia-Pacific LLC with a $17 million verdict in 2015 in an asbestos lawsuit, finding that a construction worker’s cancer was caused by exposure to the deadly mineral in the company’s joint compound.
More via the CVN News Blog: https://blog.cvn.com/breaking-jury-nails-georgia-pacific-with-17m-asbestos-cancer-verdict
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5.) Beber v. MDVIP (West Palm Beach, Florida)
$8.5 million medical malpractice verdict against high-end concierge medical service
CVN screenshot of plaintiff's attorney Jack Scarola delivering his closing argument
Gavel-to-gavel video of the trial and full attorney/witness information: https://cvn.com/proceedings/beber-v-metzger-et-al-trial-2015-01-12
Why you should watch: A Florida state court jury slammed private equity-backed medical concierge service MDVIP Inc. with an $8.5 million medical malpractice verdict in 2015, finding the company misrepresented its network of supposedly elite doctors and is responsible for the allegedly avoidable amputation of a patient’s leg.
More via the CVN News Blog: https://blog.cvn.com/top-medical-concierge-co.-hit-with-8.5m-malpractice-and-false-advertising-verdict
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6.) Faircloth v. Cantina Tallahassee LLC, et al. (Tallahassee, Florida)
$30.8 million awarded to plaintiff struck by drunk driver
CVN screenshot of plaintiff's attorney Mark Avera delivering his closing argument
Gavel-to-gavel video of the trial and full attorney/witness information: https://cvn.com/proceedings/faircloth-v-cantina-tallahassee-llc-et-al-trial-2019-08-19
Why you should watch: Following an initial mistrial, a Leon County jury in 2019 smacked two Florida bars with a $30.8 million verdict for the devastating brain damage a woman suffered in a hit-and-run that followed a night of underage drinking
More via the CVN News Blog: https://blog.cvn.com/breaking-30.8m-verdict-smacks-florida-bars-over-hit-and-run-that-left-woman-with-brain-damage
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7.) Caprio v. Philip Morris, R.J. Reynolds (Ft. Lauderdale, Florida)
$157 million Engle tobacco verdict and first Engle award to same-sex surviving spouse
CVN screenshot of plaintiff's attorney Scott Schlesinger delivering his closing argument
Gavel-to-gavel video of the trial and full attorney/witness information: https://cvn.com/proceedings/caprio-v-philip-morris-trial-2019-10-15
Why you should watch: The nation’s two largest tobacco companies were hit with a $148 million punitive verdict in 2019, capping a $157 million total award for the death of a Florida smoker. The award is the largest in years in Florida's Engle progeny class of tobacco cases.
More via the CVN News Blog: https://blog.cvn.com/breaking-157m-verdict-including-148m-in-punitives-slams-rjr-and-philip-morris-in-same-sex-spouses-wrongful-death-tobacco-trial
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8.) Johnson v. Drakulich, et al. (Bradenton, Florida)
$26 million awarded to sanitation worker struck by Jeep
CVN screenshot of plaintiff's attorney John Romano delivering his closing argument
Gavel-to-gavel video of the trial and full attorney/witness information: https://cvn.com/proceedings/johnson-v-drakulich-et-al-trial-2014-12-08
Why you should watch: Jerry Johnson and his wife Sabrina sued Paul Drakulich, who was 19 when he struck Johnson in December 2011 as Johnson waited by his disabled Waste Management truck. The collision crushed Johnson’s legs and pelvis, among other injuries.
More via the CVN News Blog: https://blog.cvn.com/26-million-award-in-florida-dismemberment-suit
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9.) Vargas-Chavez, et al. v. Gonzalez-Garcia, et al. (Ft. Lauderdale, Florida)
$24.5 million verdict in wrongful death/childbirth malpractice case
CVN screenshot of plaintiff attorney Todd Michaels delivering his closing argument
Gavel-to-gavel video of the trial and full attorney/witness information: https://cvn.com/proceedings/vargas-chavez-et-al-v-gonzalez-garcia-et-al-trial-2019-04-16
Why you should watch: Jurors in 2019 handed down a $24.5 million award against a team of doctors for the death of a Florida woman hours after childbirth. The jury, in Florida’s 17th Circuit Court, deliberated about two hours before reaching its verdict in the damages-only trial over the July 2015 death of Lilia Torres. Wednesday’s award includes $3.675 million to Torres’s husband, Rodolfo Vargas Chavez; $4.9 million each to three of Torres’s children; and $6.125 million to Lilian Daleyza Vargas, who was born shortly before her mother’s death.
Via the CVN News Blog: https://blog.cvn.com/breaking-doctors-hit-with-24.5m-verdict-for-death-of-florida-mother-following-childbirth
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10.) Wiederhold v. Domino’s Pizza (Orlando, Florida)
$8.97 million awarded to quadriplegic plaintiff struck by Domino’s driver
CVN screenshot of plaintiff's attorney Mark Avera delivering his closing argument
Gavel-to-gavel video of the trial and full attorney/witness information: https://cvn.com/proceedings/wiederhold-v-dominos-pizza-trial-2019-05-27
Why you should watch: Jurors in 2016 handed down a $10.1 million verdict against Domino’s Pizza for the wreck that paralyzed and ultimately killed a former Brevard County fire chief.
More via the CVN News Blog: https://blog.cvn.com/10.1m-verdict-hammers-dominos-pizza-in-trial-over-wreck-that-led-to-firefighters-death
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E-mail David Siegel at dsiegel@cvn.com