John Richards Partner
Background
John H. Richards was born in Suffern, New York and raised in Trumbull, Connecticut. He moved to Fort Lauderdale, Florida as a teenager and has been in Fort Lauderdale ever since. John is a partner with the Firm and has extensive trial experience with over 200 trials in all types of civil litigation involving bodily injury, professional liability, wrongful death, property damage, insurance coverage disputes, homeowners and condominium associations, contract and others.
John handles on average ten (10) trials per year, throughout the State of Florida. John began his legal career clerking at two of the pre-eminent civil defense firms during law school and his first employment as an attorney was at the law firm of Conrad Scherer & James in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. Thereafter, he became a founding member and shareholder in the law firm of Cooney, Haliczer, Mattson, Lance Blackburn, Pettis & Richards, commencing in 1992. He remained at the law firm until its dissolution in December of 2009, joining Boyd Richards Parker & Colonnelli in January of 2010.
John’s practice areas involve all types of civil litigation, including premises liability, professional liability, negligent security, product liability, motor vehicle litigation of all types, representation of homeowners and condominium associations, insurance coverage disputes, first-party litigation, bad faith matters and general commercial litigation. He has participated and continues to regularly participate in alternate dispute resolution, including mediation and arbitration; handling on average thirty-plus mediations a year over the past five (5) years.
While maintaining an active practice and trial schedule, he has continued to serve in legal and bar organizations, including previously serving as a board member and president of the Florida Defense Lawyers Association. John is a member of the American Board of Trial Advocates and has served as an officer of the Fort Lauderdale Chapter of the American Board of Trial Advocates. He previously served as a member of the Florida Supreme Court Civil Jury Instruction Committee. John received his bachelor’s degree from the University of Florida and received his Juris Doctorate from Stetson College of Law. John was recently named as a 2017 Florida Legal Elite winner in the area of Civil Trials.
Admissions/Education
ADMISSIONS, PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATIONS AND MEMBERSHIPS
John has been licensed to practice law in the State of Florida since 1985. He is admitted to practice before the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida, and the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida. He is also a member of the Florida Bar, the Broward County Bar Association, the Florida Defense Lawyers Association, Defense Research Institute, and is both a current member of and past President of the American Bar Association and the Fort Lauderdale Chapter of the American Board of Trail Advocates.
He is AV-rated and was selected as a Top Lawyer in the South Florida Legal Guide from 2007-2015 as well as receiving the Exceptional Performance citation (2006-2007) John is also a fellow of the Litigation Counsel of America and Member of the Claims and Litigation Management (“CLM”) Alliance. John was named as a 2017 Florida Legal Elite winner in the area of Civil Trials.
EDUCATION
Stetson University College of Law, DeLand, Florida, Juris Doctor
Representative Cases
Obtained a defense verdict on causation in a motor vehicle case following a two-week trial in Palm Beach County, Florida. The insurer had significant potential extra-contractual exposure in a case of clear liability involving a plaintiff who underwent multiple surgical procedures. Obtained a defense verdict in a first-party boat-sinking case, as well as a judgment in favor of the insurer on a fraud counterclaim. Obtained a complete defense verdict following a two-week jury trial in a wrongful death matter brought against homeowners involving underage drinking at a keg party.
Obtained a low-six-figure verdict in an admitted liability wrongful death case involving the tragic and unfortunate death of a 13-year-old in a motor vehicle accident. Obtained favorable verdict for a cooperative association in a case involving significant injuries to a plaintiff who fell due to the failure of a balcony railing. The jury’s verdict, even before apportionment for comparative negligence and third-party negligence, was less than the seven-figure settlement demand prior to trial. Obtained a favorable verdict for a homeowner’s association in a case where a worker fell due to the failure of a balcony railing.
Obtained a defense verdict in favor of a homeowner’s association in a case involving claims of complex regional pain syndrome or reflex sympathetic dystrophy from an accident involving a fallen palm frond. Successfully defended a bicycle manufacturer in a lawsuit brought by a neurologist who was injured when the fork on the bicycle failed. Obtained a favorable verdict for a homeowner association sued for property damage due a claimed failure or negligent maintenance of a sea wall system. Obtained defense verdicts or favorable verdicts in multiple cases involving causation issues between spinal surgery and motor vehicle accidents. Obtained a verdict in a favorable wrongful death claim involving negligent design of forks on a garbage truck.
Obtained a defense verdict in a first-party boat-sinking case, as well as a judgment in favor of the insurer on a fraud counterclaim. Obtained a complete defense verdict following a two-week jury trial in a wrongful death matter brought against home owners involving underage drinking at a keg party, one of the first brought under the Florida Home Party Statute. Obtained a low-six-figure verdict in an admitted liability wrongful death case involving the tragic and unfortunate death of a 13-year-old in a motor vehicle accident.
Obtained favorable verdict for a cooperative association in a case involving significant injuries to a plaintiff who fell due to the failure of a balcony railing. The jury’s verdict, even before apportionment for comparative negligence and third-party negligence, was less than the seven-figure settlement demand prior to trial, and less than the low amount of a high-low agreement. Obtained a favorable verdict for a home owners association in a case where a worker fell due to the failure of a balcony railing. Obtained a defense verdict in favor of a home owners association in a case involving claims of complex regional pain syndrome or reflex sympathetic dystrophy from an accident involving a fallen palm frond.
Successfully defended a bicycle manufacturer in a lawsuit brought by a neurologist who was injured when the fork on the bicycle failed. Obtained a favorable verdict for a home owner association sued for property damage due to a claimed failure or negligent maintenance of a sea wall system. Obtained defense verdicts or favorable verdicts in multiple cases involving causation issues between spinal surgery and motor vehicle accidents. Obtained a verdict in a favorable wrongful death claim involving negligent design of forks on a garbage truck. Obtained a favorable verdict in a lawsuit involving a motor vehicle-scooter accident caused by an unlicensed minor driver involving catastrophic injuries where the plaintiff was seeking to recover in excess of $40,000. The jury awarded gross damages of $11,000 which was then reduced by a finding of comparative negligence of 67% due to the plaintiff’s failure to wear a helmet.
Obtained a defense verdict for the owner of a commercial truck and the driver in a wrongful death claim brought by the family of a 14-year-old boy who was involved in a bicycle-truck accident. Obtained a defense verdict in a lawsuit arising out of a multi-vehicle accident which occurred when the defendant ran out of gas at night in a rainstorm, brought by the operator of a following truck who underwent multi-level neck surgery post-accident. Obtained defense verdicts and favorable verdicts with findings of significant comparative negligence in cases involving slip and falls or trip and falls. Obtained a Final Judgment of zero damages in favor of a defendant sued for defamation and tortious interference with a business relationship when the jury awarded a significant amount of damages against the co-defendants and nominal damages against the defendant, with the trial court granting a Final Judgment notwithstanding the verdict, which was affirmed on appeal.