Avera & Smith Earns Top 3 Ranking for the Highest Verdict in Florida
$ 34.7-million R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Verdict Ranks Among Florida’s Largest Fraud Case of 2024
GAINESVILLE, Fla. (April 8, 2025) — A $34.7 million jury verdict secured by Avera & Smith in Alachua County Circuit Court has been named one of the top three fraud verdicts in the state of Florida for 2024, according to legal research and reporting firm VerdictSearch.
The award was issued in Estate of Dixon v. R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co., a case involving claims that the cigarette manufacturer knowingly concealed the dangers and addictive nature of smoking. The jury found in favor of the estate of Tyrone Dixon, a Gainesville resident who died of lung cancer in 1994 after decades of tobacco use.
Attorneys Rod Smith and Dawn Vallejos-Nichols of the Gainesville-based law firm Avera & Smith, along with attorneys Joshua A. Whitman and Eric Leach of the Jacksonville-based law firm Milton, Leach, Whitman, D’Andrea & Eslinger, P.A. represented the Dixon family in their lawsuit against R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company. This case is part of Florida’s Engle progeny litigation, which allows individual plaintiffs to pursue claims against tobacco companies based on findings from a 2006 class-action ruling.
The Dixon case was initially tried in 2018 and 2019, resulting in a verdict that was later reversed on appeal. A retrial concluded with an Alachua County jury awarding the Dixon family $34,723,176 in total damages.
VerdictSearch, a trusted legal industry resource, confirmed the Dixon case as one of the three largest fraud verdicts in Florida for the 2024 calendar year. VerdictSearch has tracked and analyzed litigation outcomes for over 50 years, providing comprehensive verdict and settlement reports from courts across the U.S. Their rankings are based on verified trial data, including case type, award amounts, and legal outcomes—making them a widely respected authority in litigation analytics.
About Avera & Smith
Established in the early 1950s, Avera & Smith is a full-service litigation firm based in Gainesville, Fla., representing clients in serious personal injury, wrongful death, and workers’ compensation cases across the state. The firm includes multiple Board-Certified civil trial attorneys and has served Floridians for more than 70 years. Avera & Smith is recognized for its courtroom experience and commitment to securing justice for individuals and families impacted by negligence or corporate misconduct.