Defense Judgment: Orange County, Florida (Legal Malpractice)

Orlando Partners, Krista Cammack, Ray Watts, and Michael D’Lugo recently prevailed in a professional liability case in Orange County, Florida.

This was a dispute over attorney’s fee in which our client was a lawyer who represented the Plaintiff in an underlying employment dispute. Plaintiff asserted that our client breached their contractual obligations, breached their fiduciary duty, and committed legal malpractice in the course of their representation of the Plaintiff. Our client denied these allegations and asserted that the Plaintiff was appropriately charged pursuant to a valid contingency agreement. Plaintiff demanded $485,000 in compensation prior to trial.

Ms. Cammack and Mr. Watts tried the case in Orlando in early February. After several days of testimony, the jury found for the defense on one claim, and for the Plaintiff on two claims, and ultimately awarded $101,200. However, due to the application of a setoff provided by a pre-trial settlement with a co-defendant, this award prompted the defense to file a post-trial Motion for an Entry of Judgment Notwithstanding the Verdict.

Mr. D’Lugo wrote the motion and Ms. Cammack argued it. The Court granted the motion on July 9, 2025, resulting in a judgment in our client’s favor and negating the jury award. This ruling also triggers a Proposal for Settlement filed by the defense prior to trial, and our client now intends to seek fees and costs from the Plaintiff.

This was a complicated case with a difficult set of facts. Congratulations to Krista, Ray, and Michael on this great work on behalf of our client.