BRIAN R. DENNEY is a Shareholder at Searcy Denney Scarola Barnhart & Shipley, P.A. in West Palm Beach, Florida, where he currently serves on the firm’s Executive Committee. He has earned Florida Bar Board Certification in Civil Trial Law, the highest level of recognition for the competency and experience of a civil trial lawyer. Mr. Denney routinely works with individuals and families throughout Florida whose lives have been devastated due to the negligence of others. He takes pride in developing positive relationships with his clients in order to help them navigate through the legal process and better serve as their advocate at trial.
Mr. Denney has extensive experience litigating personal injury, wrongful death, automobile negligence, medical malpractice and products liability cases and has tried cases to verdict in each category. Recent results include a verdict in excess of $21 million against two tobacco companies in Escambia County; a verdict in excess of $1 million in Palm Beach County in a high-profile automobile negligence case on behalf of a college basketball player; a verdict of $720,000 in Palm Beach County in a challenging automobile negligence case involving aggravation of a pre-existing condition; a $3.5 million verdict in a wrongful death action on behalf of a 92-year-old surviving spouse in the first tobacco case tried in Highlands County; and a verdict in excess of $3 million on behalf of a victim of automobile negligence in Palm Beach County. Mr. Denney has also achieved settlement recoveries totaling hundreds of millions of dollars on behalf of his clients for catastrophic injuries and wrongful death cases, some of which include airbag shrapnel injuries and theme park wrongful death cases.
In recognition of his skill and expertise, Mr. Denney has been listed in Best Lawyers in America since 2016 and Florida Super Lawyers since 2013. He has also been named as a Top Lawyer by South Florida Legal Guide, Nation’s Top One Percent by the National Association of Distinguished Counsel, a Top 10 Attorney by the National Academy of Personal Injury Attorneys and in the Top 40 Under 40 by the National Trial Lawyers. He is a member of the American Board of Trial Advocates, the Florida Justice Association, the Palm Beach County Bar Association, and the Palm Beach County Justice Association. Mr. Denney has also lectured on trial advocacy to lawyers and law students.
A native of West Palm Beach, Mr. Denney earned his undergraduate degree from Stetson University prior to receiving his Juris Doctor degree, with honors, from Stetson University College of Law, where he was the recipient of the Victor O. Wehle Trial Advocacy Award. He began his legal career in the general trial division of a well-known statewide law firm at its primary office in Tampa, Florida, where he gained experience in civil litigation and successfully tried cases to verdict.
