Insurance defense lawyers Austin Flickstein, Donnie Winningham, and Hope Zelinger help Olympus Insurance Company secure complete defense verdict win.
Kissimmee, FL (Sep. 21, 2026) – Bressler, Amery & Ross, P.C. trial attorneys Austin L. Flickstein, Donald F. Winningham III, and Hope C. Zelinger represented Olympus Insurance Company (Olympus/Defendant) in a lawsuit brought by James Mansius (Plaintiff), a licensed insurance adjuster, who sought coverage for roof and interior damage he attributed to Hurricane Ian. Following a jury trial in Osceola County Circuit Court, the jury returned a complete defense verdict in favor of Olympus, which entitles the company to recover its attorneys’ fees and costs. The Honorable Christine E. Arendas of Osceola County Circuit Court presided.
The plaintiff, James Mansius, claimed that his roof was damaged during Hurricane Ian in September 2022 while the property was insured by Olympus. However, the claim was not reported for nearly a year and a half after the storm (495 days), and only after the plaintiff had voluntarily cancelled his Olympus policy, obtained new coverage with Citizens Property Insurance Corporation by representing to Citizens that the property had no existing roof damage, and reporting a claim for the same damage to Citizens before reporting the claim to Olympus. Trying the case in a jury pool widely regarded as challenging for defendants, Flickstein and Winningham built their case around a straightforward theory: the facts did not support the claim.
The defense team’s cross-examinations proved decisive. The plaintiff, himself a licensed insurance adjuster, was repeatedly unable to give direct answers about basic facts, including how many properties he owned, and confirmed under questioning that no leaks or damage were observed at the property at any point while Olympus insured it.
Austin Flickstein’s cross-examination of the plaintiff’s causation expert, a forensic engineer, further decimated the plaintiff’s case. Confronted point by point with his own inspection findings, the expert conceded that many of the tiles he had identified as wind-damaged likely were not the result of wind, and acknowledged a significant, unexplained discrepancy between the number of damaged tiles cited in his written report and the number he testified to at trial. The cross-examination substantially undermined the credibility of the plaintiff’s central damages theory.
Winningham also successfully excluded the bulk of the plaintiff’s damages expert testimony on evidentiary grounds, repeatedly objecting that the expert’s testimony amounted to improper bolstering under Florida law. The objections were sustained on each occasion, preventing the witness from offering the jury any opinion on the roof or interior repair costs that made up the bulk of the plaintiff’s claim.
Following a four-day trial, defense counsel Austin Flickstein delivered a brilliant closing argument built around the gaps and inconsistencies exposed throughout trial. After deliberating for less than two hours, the jury found that Plaintiff failed to prove by the greater weight of the evidence that the claimed damages resulted from Hurricane Ian.
Case citation: James Mansius v. Olympus Insurance Company, 2024-CA-001628-CI, Ninth Judicial Circuit Court for Osceola County Florida.
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