"I gave them multiple multiple opportunities for a policy-limit settlement, which were continually ignored," Anthony said.

Anthony's client, Darrell Phillips, sued Hani Enterprises Inc. and A1A Grocery Inc.

A1A Grocery leased space from Hani, which was the owner of the property in Palm Beach County. Both defendants are Florida-registered companies.

Berkshire Hathaway GUARD Insurance Companies is the primary insurer, and Arizona-based Nautilus Insurance Company Arizona is the excess insurer, Anthony said. Both write policies in Florida.

"The challenge was just the stress of recovering for this client, who just so badly needed to prevail, just because he's in such bad shape," Anthony said. "The defense that denied everything and held us to our burden of proof on every detail, objected to most everything and just were very skilled defense lawyers with a very aggressive defense. That was the biggest hurdle."

The attorneys for the defendant were Kenneth William, who appeared pro hoc from Michigan, and Valerie Jackson of Miami. They did not return calls for comment by publication time.

'They Just Refused to Negotiate'

Phillips was a worker hired to repair a cooler at a business at 9377 Alternate A1A, West Palm Beach.

His attorney said Phillips was carrying out his duties when he tripped and fell. The cause of the fall was identified as loose wire, which had been concealed in the overgrown grass due to a lack of maintenance, the complaint read.

"The wire mesh was hidden in the grass. He couldn't see it. He had cleaned up the work area he had thrown like debris out of the way before he started," Anthony said. "He was safe that night. He didn't do anything that was negligent or careless. So I didn't even see that as a hurdle. I saw that as just common sense, actually."

Phillips hired the West Palm Beach attorney after the fall allegedly rendered the use of his dominant hand useless, the complaint said.

"They just refused to negotiate unless I came off those policy limits. And my client said 'no.' He had a faith and belief in his case," Anthony said. "They demanded, like, 'We're never gonna pay limits. You have to come under limits'. And we said, 'No. We'll settle with you for the limits—not more, but for the [underlying policy] limits.'"

The litigation might be over, the attorney suggested, in light of no word of appeal.

"There's always a chance, but there was there was zero objections in closing arguments," Anthony said in response to his optimism that the case is now closed.

Click Here to Read the Full Complaint

After the four-day trial which began on June 5th, the jury deliberated 2 hours and found the landlord was 25% negligent.

Jurors found the tenant, which was the convenience store that hired the worker to do the repairs, to be 75% negligent.

The jury also found no comparative negligence on the part of Phillips, the plaintiff.

Read the Jury Verdict Form Here