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Biographical Information

O. John Alpizar has been involved in civil trial litigation locally in Brevard County and Palm Bay since 1978. Growing up he wanted to be an FBI Agent. To be eligible for the FBI, John pursued a law degree in college. While clerking in Ohio he experienced what a career as a personal injury attorney was like and he was hooked. He liked helping people, righting wrongs and leveling the playing field.

John has been helping Palm Bay victims seek justice for more than 35 years. He has obtained numerous million dollar verdicts and settlements on behalf of his clients. He has litigated and tried to verdict virtually every type of Personal Injury, Wrongful Death case including cases involving Automobile Accidents, Insurance Company Bad Faith and Premises Liability.

John is a member and past President of the Brevard County Bar Association, an Eagle Member of the Florida Justice Association and a member of the American Association for Justice, The Florida Bar, and the Million Dollar Advocates Forum.

John is very active in the local community and strongly believes in giving back. He and his firm have been a major sponsor of Drive Alive which is an entertaining and informative public service program focused on promoting safe driving among Brevard County teens, he also sponsors many local non-profits including Candlelighters of Brevard, The Brianna Marie Foundation and The Grant Seafood Festival. John is also active in the Brevard Art Center and museum, the Palm Bay Chamber of Commerce and the Space Coast for Marine Conservation.

Admission Dates & Jurisdictions

  • Florida Bar, 1978
  • U.S. District Court for Middle District of Florida
  • U.S. Court of Appeals for Eleventh Circuit

Education

  • Bethany College (Cum Laude), B.A., 1975
  • Capital University, J.D. degree, 1978

Professional Experience

  • 5th District Court of Appeals Judicial Nominating Commission, current-2011
  • Former Member: 18th Judicial Circuit, Judicial Nominating Committee, 1987-1991.
  • Former Board of Directors, 1982-1989; Treasurer, 1987-1988; Secretary, 1988-1989; President-Elect, 1989-1990; President, 1990-1991): Brevard County Bar Association
  • Former Executive Committee, Worker’s Compensation Section, 1986-1989: The Florida Bar
  • Former Legislative Committee, 1984-1985; Chairman-Elect, Worker’s Compensation Section, 1985-1986; Chairman, Worker’s Compensation Section, 1986-1987; Board of Directors, 1986-1987: Florida Justice Association
  • Former Member: Florida Bar Grievance Committee, Brevard County, 1984-1987
  • Former Member: Capital University Law Review Staff, 1977-1978.

 

Honors & Awards

  • 2015 Community Leader of the Year – The Brevard Bar Foundation
  • Awarded the Distinguished Service Award 2014, by the Seminole County Bar Association
  • Awarded 2014 EAGLE Legend Lawyer to Legacy
  • Eagle Lifetime Award- FJA
  • Martindale Hubbell – AV Rating
  • Florida Super Lawyers – Top 5% of Attorneys in Florida
  • Florida Trend Magazine’s – Legal Elite
  • Awarded 2012 Professionalism Award Brevard County Bar Association
  • Awarded 2012 Lawyer of the Year by the Florida Puerto Rican Hispanic Chamber of Commerce
  • Selected to the National Trial Lawyers: Top 100 Trial Attorneys in Florida

Professional Associations

Civil Mediator, Certified by the Supreme Court of the State of Florida

18th Judicial Circuit Court Appointed Arbitrator

Rated AV by Martindale-Hubbell

Member of Florida Bar Association

Member of American Bar Association

Member of Brevard County Bar Association

Member of Academy of Florida Trial Lawyers

Member of Association of Trial Lawyers of America

Member of Trial Bar of United States District Court, Middle   District of Florida

Member of Appellate Bar of United States Court of Appeals, 11th    Circuit

Member of The Vassar B. Carlton American Inn of Courts, Master

Florida Super Lawyers 2010 through the present

Member of the Melvin M. Belli Society

Member of the Association of Plaintiff Interstate Trucking     Lawyers of America

Brevard County Bar Association, President, 1990-91

Brevard County Bar Association, President-Elect, 1989-90

Brevard County Bar Association, Secretary, 1988-89

Brevard County Bar Association, Treasurer, 1987-88

Brevard County Bar Association, Board of Directors, 1982-89

Academy of Florida Trial Lawyers, Board of Directors, 1986-87

Academy of Florida Trial Lawyers, Chairman, Workers’ Compensation  Section 1986-87

Academy of Florida Trial Lawyers, Chairman-Elect Workers’ Compensation Section 1985-86

Academy of Florida Trial Lawyers, Legislative Committee 1984-85

American Board of Trial Advocates, Treasurer, 2011

American Board of Trial Advocates, Secretary, 2012

American Board of Trial Advocates, President Elect, 2013

American Board of Trial Advocates, President 2014

Florida Bar, Executive Committee, Florida Bar Workers’ Compensation Section, 1986-89

Florida Bar, 18th Judicial Circuit Grievance Committee, 1984-87

Florida Bar, 18th Judicial Circuit Judicial Nominating Committee, 1987-91

Fifth District Court of Appeals Nominating Commission, 2008

Brevard County Bar Association, Board of Governors Representative for the 18th Judicial Circuit Court, 2012-Present

Florida Justice Association – Eagle Member

Verdicts & Settlements

Hogrefe v. Outdoor Resorts of America

$920,000.00 settlement (November, 1984)

Goodwin v. Avis Rent-A-Car

$1,200,000.00 verdict (October 10, 1988)

Halsema v. Hertz Rent-A-Car

$800,000.00 verdict (January 22, 1990)

Twigg v. Ryder Truck Rental

$1,077,145.36 settlement (June, 1989)

Willard v. Brevard County School Board

$500,000.00 verdict (July, 1987)

  1. Borges v. Katz/Allstate Insurance Co.

$550,000.00 verdict (December 18, 1991)

  1. Borges v. Katz/Allstate Insurance Co.

$153,000.00 verdict on compensatory damages

$ 15,000.00 verdict on punitive damages

(December 21, 1992)

Boone v. Marie Reine-Lessard

$625,000.00 settlement (September, 1992)

Diehl v. Love

$798,275.00 settlement (March 1, 1994).

Bickford v. Hollis

$500,000.00 settlement (December, 1995)

Carter v. Waste Management, Inc. of Florida

$990,000.00 verdict (April 12, 1996)

Ricci v. Bauman

$600,000.00 settlement (December, 1996)

Charles Roth v. A-1 Rent-a-Car

$1,321,492.00 verdict (May, 1997)

Basel v. McFarland

$6,693,422.00 verdict (September, 1997)

Fay Johnson v. Enterprise Rent-A-Car

$1,000,000.00 settlement (February, 1998)

Sally Batts v. McGinley

$365,000.00 verdict (March, 1998)

David Levitt v. Mills

$700,000.00 settlement (September, 1998)

Amanda Bennett v. Stewart

$820,000.00 settlement (September, 1998)

George Jones v. USAA Property & Casualty Insurance

$850,000.00 verdict (December 1998)

Donna P. Moran as guardian of William Moran, Jr., v.

Certilawn Sod Service, Inc.

$8,990,000.00 settlement (August 1999)

Kimberly Ann Sharkey and Brian Lee Davis as

guardians of Spencer Brian Davis v. Sebastian River

Medical Center, Blaine Lake, MD, et al

$7,075,000.00 settlement (November 1999)

Barry W. and Debra L. Corzine for Heather L. Corzine, deceased, v. Bethel Bible Baptist Church

$1,805,000.00 settlement (March 2000)

Basel v. McFarland

$2,526,994.07 verdict (November 2000)

Vichita Briseno v. O=Steen Brother, Inc.

$2,086,666.67 settlement (March 2001)

Harold Hartrup v. Rodriguez

$591,500.00 settlement (August 2001)

David Prather v. Balfanz

$95,000.00 settlement (February, 2002)

David Prather v. Morton Roofing

$625,000.00 settlement (April, 2002)

Jody Prather v. Balfanz

$125,000.00 settlement (February, 2002)

Jody Prather v. Morton Roofing

$1,712,293.00 verdict (February, 2002)

Jill Dunne v. Allstate

$128,920.00 verdict (May, 2002)

Pedro Martinez v. Cape Canaveral Cruise Lines

$1,760,068.00 settlement (November, 2002)

Rhonda Strickland v. Allstate

$191,567.00 settlement (December, 2002)

John Kidd v. Florida Rock and Tank Lines

$900,000.00 settlement (September, 2003)

Brad Rowe v. Geico

$300,000.00 settlement (March, 2004)

Simone v. Cartelli

$475,000.00 settlement (April, 2005)

Young v. Brown

$1,000,117.85 verdict (April, 2005)

John Doe v. X,Y,Z Insurance Company

$5,000,000.00 settlement (September 2005)

Paula Sample v. State Farm Insurance Co.

$500,000.00 verdict (April, 2006)

Kevin Sallette v. Hoskins

$3,000,000.00 settlement (April, 2006)

Brenda Russell v. Hulett

$475,000.00 settlement (September, 2006)

Roberta Nemeth v. Siebert

$400,000.00 settlement (December, 2006)

Rae Boyd v. Terminix

$472,520.18 verdict (February, 2007)

Patricia Thompson-Vasquez v. State Farm Insurance Co.

$1,420,382.00 verdict (February, 2007)

Estate of Carole Howard, Decd. v. Melbourne Airport Shuttle

$1,100,000.00 settlement (March, 2007)

Donald Dowling v. Progressive Express Insurance Co.

$1,000,000.00 settlement (October, 2007)

Roger Van Kramer v. Christopher Eddlemon

$393,279.91 verdict (January, 2008)

George Andrews v. Thomas and Sandra McPartland

$825,235.74 verdict including punitive damages (February, 2008)

John Doe v. X,Y,Z Medical Center

$1,450,000.00 settlement (April, 2008)

Raul Arroyave v. State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company

$310,000.00 settlement (December, 2008)

James Robinson v. GEICO

$347,500.00 settlement (January, 2009)

Robin Curran v. State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company

$4,650,589.00 verdict (January, 2009)

Rosemary Franceschi v. Estate of Raul J. Perez

$985,466.42 verdict (February, 2009)

Blyth Halsema v. Red Simpson Inc. & Bryan Blackburn

$600,000.00 settlement (February 2009)

John Franck v. State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company

$611,710.31 verdict (March, 2009)

Gregory Rafferty v. Orkin, Inc. & William Tatalovich

$175,000.00 settlement (June 2009)

Phyllis Holman v. Delores Pettigrew

$310,000.00 settlement (July 2009)

Latty Truitt v. Delores Pettigrew

$228,950.00 settlement (July 2009)

Jamie O=Donnell v. A‑1 Door Repair Service

$212,500.00 settlement (September 2009)

Donald Halsema v. Bryan Blackburn & Red Simpson Inc

$100,000.00 settlement (November 2009)

Mary Greene Macaluso v. R.E.S. Land Clearance, Inc.

$840,000.00 settlement (November 2009)

Cheryl Cataldo v. Health First, Inc. and David Ori

$2,052,434.14 verdict (February, 2010)

Steve Spilger v. PAVCO

$935,000.00 settlement (March 2010)

Donna Batchelor v. GEICO

$1,792,674.84 (April 2011)

Confidential parties

$8,000,000.00 settlement (December 2012)

Confidential parties

$8,950,000.00 settlement (December 2012)

Linda Slaughter v. CEMEX & David Green

$420,000.00 settlement (March 2013)

Sandra Alvarez v. Julianna Rivera Caraballo

$620,650.68 verdict (November 2013)

Donald Leinthall, Jr. v. Mallory Friends & Kristopher Moffitt

$100,000.00 settlement (November 2013)

Cami Carlson v. Mario Castagna

$100,000.00 settlement (November 2013)

Daisy Santos-Collazo v. Gregory & Zachory Harris

$100,000.00 settlement (December 2013)

Shirley Smith v. Raymond Bruce Martin

$585,500.00 settlement (March 2014)

Jon Garrett v. USAA

$2,000,752.27 verdict (May 2014)

Paula Miller v. Iryna Levine

$400,000.00 settlement (July 2014)

Shawn Riggan v Karen Wilson

$200,000.00 settlement (November 2014)

Nilda Scantlebury v Barnes Transportation Services, Inc.

$800,000.00 settlement (December 2014)

Holly Rucker v Joshua King

$100,000.00 settlement (February 2015)

 

 

 

Publications

  • Author: “Sovereign Rights and Sunken Treasure: Treasure Salvers, Inc. v. Unidentified and Abandoned Sailing Vessel,” 7 Capital University Law Review, 1977.
  • Recent Lectures/Presentations:
  • Speaker, Florida Justice Association Convention, West Palm Beach – “Bad Faith Litigation and Trial Practice”

Service Activities

Member of Board of Trustees, Bethany College, Bethany, West   Virginia (elected 1994); Trustee Emeritus since 2006

Holy Name of Jesus Catholic Church, Educational Endowment Advisory Board

Member of Brevard Art Center and Museum (BACAM)

Member of Space Coast Science Center

Member of Center for Marine Conservation

Member of Palm Bay Chamber of Commerce