Porter Wright secures $6.6m jury trial verdict in Florida for defamation and tortious interference with business relationships

A real estate industry team from Porter Wright’s Tampa office has secured a $6.6m jury trial verdict in Pasco County, Fla. The firm’s client, a prominent real estate developer, was the target of a years-long campaign to destroy his reputation and his business.

Litigator Matthew E. Linsky spearheaded the strategy and execution of the trial and was supported by attorney D. Matthew DePasquale and summer law associate Cameron Vis. Ultimately, the jury understood the seriousness of the defendant’s conduct and awarded our client more than $620,000 in economic damages, $2 million in reputational damages, and $4 million in damages for pain, suffering, and loss of enjoyment of life.

“Our litigation team did phenomenal work on behalf of our client, given such claims of defamation and tortious interference with business relationships can be notoriously complex and prolonged litigation matters,” said Larry Ingram, Porter Wright's partner-in-charge in Tampa. “It takes extreme diligence, aptitude, and dedication to successfully litigate such lawsuits, whether advising plaintiffs or defendants in state or federal courts across the United States.”