Jacksonville, FL – September 24, 2025 – Renowned national insurance defense firm Tyson & Mendes announced another trial victory in Duval County, Florida, where a jury awarded just $39,959.60 to the plaintiff in an admitted-liability automobile collision case. The defense team was led by Board Certified Civil Trial Attorney E. Holland “Holly” Howanitz, Tyson & Mendes’ Southeast Regional Managing Parter, alongside Robert O’Malley, Ft. Lauderdale Branch Office Managing Partner, and Ashley L. Hollingsworth, Partner in the firm’s Jacksonville office. The plaintiff had asked the jury for $1.58 million.

Following a May 23, 2017 T-bone collision, the plaintiff filed suit alleging permanent injuries to her cervical spine, lumbar spine, and sacroiliac (SI) joint. The plaintiff had undergone numerous injections and radiofrequency ablation. The plaintiff further claimed she required a future SI joint fusion procedure. Despite these allegations, the jury determined the plaintiff did not sustain a permanent injury and therefore, did not award any amount for future medical costs nor any amount for pain and suffering, and returned a verdict far below plaintiff’s demand.

Because the plaintiff rejected the defense’s $100,000 proposal for settlement, the verdict triggers Florida’s fee-shifting statute, requiring the plaintiff to pay the defense’s attorneys’ fees.

The defense team employed The Apex, Tyson & Mendes’ proven defense method to combat Nuclear Verdicts®. “This was a challenging case. The case was very well litigated by the other side, and the judge was very professional,” said Howanitz. “We faced skilled plaintiff’s counsel with a track record of large verdicts, and we represented an estate, which always makes it more difficult to personalize the defendant. However, we stayed focused on reasonableness and common sense and gave a defense number of $50,000 or less. The jury responded by awarding a number even less than the defense proposed,” added O’Malley.

The Apex is a data-driven and trial-backed blueprint for the defense, detailed in the forthcoming book, Nuclear Verdicts®: The Apex – Break the Pattern, authored by Founding Partner and National Managing Partner Cayce Lynch, which is available for preorder on Amazon.

For more information and to view career opportunities, visit www.tysonmendes.com. 

About Tyson & Mendes LLP 

Tyson & Mendes LLP is a nationwide, AV-rated litigation and trial firm specializing in insurance defense and protecting its clients from Nuclear Verdicts®. Founded in 2002 by Robert Tyson and Patrick Mendes, the firm has experienced tremendous growth, with offices across the United States. Tyson & Mendes is known for its expertise in defending corporations, insurance companies, and their clients against Nuclear Verdicts®.

Serving 21 states nationwide, Tyson & Mendes is one of the fastest-growing civil defense firms in the U.S. and is proud to offer one of the fastest and clearest paths to partnership for its attorneys of any mid-sized law firm in the U.S. The firm is honored to be recognized as a 2024 Best Law Firm by Best Lawyers, named a 2024 Best Company to Work For: Law Firms edition by U.S. News & World Report, awarded the 2023 Liberty Mutual Insurance External Law Firm Partner of the Year Award, awarded the No. 1 “Ceiling Smasher” in Law360’s 2022 Glass Ceiling Report for female equity partnership, and shortlisted for Financial Times’ 2022 Innovative Lawyers North America Award.

For more information, visit www.tysonmendes.com.

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