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| 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.
