Attorney Willie Gary along with his son Sekou Gary and Attorney Manuel Socias hold up a copy of the winning lottery ticket owned by Abraham Shakespeare after the ‘not guilty” verdict was announced at the Polk County Courthouse.

Willie Gary and team win fight on behalf of their client, Abraham Shakespeare

Prominent attorney Willie E. Gary of the Florida-based law firm of Gary, Williams, Finney, Lewis, Watson and Sperando P.L. along with his son Sekou Gary of the Gary Legal Group in Miami, Florida, received a jury verdict of “not guilty” in a week-long trial over a lottery ticket dispute. The jury decided that Gary’s client, Abraham Shakespeare, is innocent of the charges filed against him by his co-worker, Michael Ford. Shakespeare was called a “liar and thief” by the co-worker, who publicly accused him of stealing a $30 million winning lottery ticket. The jury deliberated for just over an hour before they returned a not-guilty verdict for Gary’s client.

The five-day trial took place this past week in the Polk County Courthouse after Michael Ford filed a lawsuit contending that Shakespeare stole a winning lottery ticket from his wallet while the two made a delivery in their work truck. However, Shakes-peare contended that Ford had previously admitted to purchasing two quick pick lotto tickets for him during a stop the two made at a convenience store.

“I am pleased that justice prevailed and that Mr. Shakespeare was found innocent,” commented Gary. “This lawsuit was about greed. The plaintiff manufactured a story and a plan to try to take advantage of my client,” said Gary.

Gary is no stranger to seeking justice. He is noted for winning a $240 million jury verdict in Orange County against the Walt Disney Corporation for his clients who alleged Disney stole their idea for a sports theme park. Also, Gary was awarded $18.28 million against the media conglomerate Gannett Company for the false portrayal of their client in a series of newspaper articles. In 2001, a jury awarded Gary a $139.6 million verdict for the Maris Distributing Company against Anheuser Busch. In addition, Gary was given a half-billion dollar verdict in Jackson, Mississippi against the Loewen Group, a large Canadian funeral home chain.

Last update: 11-08-2007 12:55

Published in : Business, News

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