Fort Lauderdale, Fla. (October 1, 2025) - Fort Lauderdale Managing Partner Cheryl Wilke and Partner Alexander Harne secured an appellate victory from the Fifth District Court of Appeal affirming a complete defense verdict for their clients, civil engineering firm Gulfstream Design Group and its owner, Matthew Lahti, in a high-stakes professional negligence case in which the plaintiff had sought more than $20 million.

The case involved a 100-acre tract of land in St. Johns County, Florida, owned by the plaintiff. The land was zoned for rural farming, and she wished to sell the property for development. She entered into a contract with Southeast Georgia Acquisitions (“SGA”) to sell the property with the goal of creating a 200-home subdivision. SGA hired Doug Burnett as land use counsel and our client, Gulfstream Design Group, as the civil engineer to design the project.