Taft lawyers secured a defense verdict for a client following an eight-day jury trial in Palm Beach County, resolving a defamation claim brought by a real estate agent against a prominent developer.

The jury’s deliberations ended when they found, as to question 1, the statements in a mailer distributed by Taft’s client, Arnie Galman, were not proven to be false and defamatory, resulting in a complete defense victory. The plaintiff, Marcy F. Javor, sought at trial $8 million in harm to reputation and  $2 million for mental anguish, plus punitive damages.  Pre-trial, Javor also sought $4 million to $8 million in lost profits, but her damages expert was stricken and not allowed to testify.

This case arose from a commission dispute involving Galman’s $12 million purchase of a teardown home along Florida’s Intracoastal Waterway, in the Royal Palm Yacht & Country Club community in Boca Raton. Galman asserted Javor agreed to waive her commission on the purchase in exchange for an exclusive future listing of a newly constructed, $30 million-plus mansion on the property.  Javor’s broker called that agreement “worthless”, and filed suit to recover the 3% commission.

Galman distributed a mailer to roughly 800 residents of the community warning against this agent’s practices, and was sued for defamation.  Notably, as the case progressed, the plaintiff was granted leave to add a punitive damages claim, which the trial judge found was reasonable under Florida statutory law. That ruling was affirmed on appeal [Galman v. Javor, 423 So. 3d 398 (Fla. 4th DCA 2025)].

Taft was engaged to try the case just three months before jury selection was to begin.

The Taft trial team was led by partners Alan Rose, Taft’s Florida chairman (Board Certified – Business Litigation and Appellate Practice) and Gregory Weiss, a member of Taft’s executive committee (Board Certified – Civil Trial Law and Business Litigation and a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers), and associates Filiz Akkaya and Steven Grotch with support from a team of paralegals and professionals.

“This complete defense victory shows the jury understood our client’s statements were not false,” said Taft’s Weiss. “Our client is grateful to have his name cleared, and we are proud of the role that our Taft trial team played in successfully trying this case involving one of Palm Beach County’s most affluent communities.”