CurryPajcic
Curry Pajcic is an American lawyer in Jacksonville, Florida.
Education
Pajcic earned his Bachelor of Arts from the University of Virginia in 1991. He earned his Juris Doctor with honors from the University of Florida Levin College of Law in 1994.[1][2][3]
While at the University of Florida, he co-authored the Honor Code, was a founder of the Honor System, and was elected the first Chair of the Honor Committee in 1993.[2]
Pajcic is Board Certified in Civil Trial Law.[1]
Legal career
From 1994-97, Pajcic worked as a prosecutor in the 4th Judicial Circuit State Attorney’s Office. In 1997, he was awarded the Jury Trial Award for the highest number of jury trials to verdict.[2]
In 1998, he joined Pajcic & Pajcic, a personal injury law firm in Jacksonville co-founded by his father, Gary Pajcic and his uncle, Steve Pajcic.[2]
In 2013, he was a finalist for U.S. Attorney in the Middle District of Florida.[4]
In 2018, Pajcic was president of the Jacksonville chapter of the American Board of Trial Advocates and was also named its “Trial Lawyer of the Year.”[5]
In 2019, he was named “Trial Lawyer of the Year” by the Florida chapter of the American Board of Trial Advocates.[6] He has tried over 100 cases to verdict.
In 2021, Pajcic secured a $1 billion verdict against two trucking companies involved in related crashes that led to the death of an 18-year-old college freshman. On September 4, 2017, a truck crashed into the back of a car being trailered by an RV on Interstate 95 near Jacksonville, causing it to flip on its side and burst into flames. While 18-year-old Connor Dzion was stopped in backed-up traffic on the highway as the accident was being cleared, his car was rear-ended by a tractor-trailer going 70 mph, killing him. Pajcic noted that a background check had not been conducted on the driver in the first accident, who did not have a commercial driver’s license. Pajcic proved that the driver in the second accident could not read English as he drove past multiple signs warning of stopped traffic ahead. He was also distracted by cell phone use and never braked as he plowed into the stopped traffic.[7][8][9][10] In honor of Connor Dzion, a bipartisan bill known as “Connor’s Law” was introduced in the United States Congress that would strengthen federal requirements for English language proficiency among commercial truck drivers.[11][12]
In 2022, Pajcic secured an $8.97 million verdict against Starbucks for a client who was seriously injured after being hit by an SUV at a Fernandina Beach store location in 2019. He argued that a design flaw put walk-in customers at risk when leaving the store, leading to his client being struck by an SUV that was in the drive-thru.[13][14][15]
In 2024, Pajcic reached a $16 million settlement with four defendants in a lawsuit filed on behalf of the Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department. A confidential settlement was reached with another defendant. On June 4, 2020, 11 firefighters suffered injuries including burns while responding to a ship fire on Blount Island. An investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board found that the fire started because batteries on the cars onboard had not been disconnected and secured properly, and the ship’s fire detection system had not been reactivated after loading. It was a precedent setting case as the defense argued they were immune from liability under the old “fireman's rule.” However, Pajcic argued that the fireman's rule had no place in modern maritime law. In a nationally published opinion, the federal judge sided with the plaintiff.[16][17][18][19][20][21]
In 2024, Pajcic secured a $141.5 million verdict against the trucking company K&N Logging LLC in Nassau County. In March 2020, one of the company’s logging trucks crashed into the rear end of a line of cars stopped for traffic on Florida State Road 200. Three people were seriously injured in the collision, including a 5-year-old girl who suffered extensive brain damage. Pajcic argued that the company failed to conduct background checks on the driver that would have uncovered his criminal and traffic violation history.[22][23][24]
Pajcic was president of the Florida Justice Association from 2022-2023. As president, he spoke out against proposed tort reform legislation that would impact the state’s comparative negligence system, the recovery of attorney’s fees, the statute of limitations, and make it easier for insurers to avoid liability for bad faith claims. Despite opposition, the legislation was passed and signed into law by Governor Ron DeSantis.[25][26][27][28][29]
Personal life
Pajcic is married to Annie Pajcic and they have four children.[2][30]
He is a member of the board of directors for the nonprofit organization Dreams Come True.[31]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Find a Florida Bar Lawyer". The Florida Bar. Retrieved 2025-10-01.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 "Attorney Curry Pajcic | Jacksonville Lawyer". Pajcic & Pajcic. Retrieved 2025-10-01.
- ↑ Staff, Daily Record (2012-01-23). "Lawyer Snapshot: Curry Pajcic". Jax Daily Record. Retrieved 2025-10-01.
- ↑ Staffer, Patty RyanFormer Times. "Finalists for U.S. attorney submitted to Florida senators". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved 2025-10-01.
- ↑ "ABOTA celebrates 30th anniversary". Jax Daily Record. 2018-12-06. Retrieved 2025-10-01.
- ↑ "Previous Award Recipients". www.flabota.org. Retrieved 2025-10-01.
- ↑ Garner-Bunch, Linda (2021-09-21). "Inside a nuclear verdict: Florida jury renders $1 billion ruling". TheTrucker.com. Retrieved 2025-10-01.
- ↑ "'Pure hell having to relive everything': Nassau County jury hands down $1 billion verdict in crash that killed teen". firstcoastnews.com. 2021-08-24. Retrieved 2025-10-01.
- ↑ Kingston, John (2021-08-28). "Billion-dollar lawyer speaks: Here's what happened in tragic Florida wreck". FreightWaves. Retrieved 2025-10-01.
- ↑ Lewin, Katherine. "Two trucking companies hit with $1 billion verdict in death of Jacksonville teenager Connor Dzion". The Florida Times-Union. Retrieved 2025-10-01.
- ↑ Rep. Taylor, David J. [R-OH-2 (2025-05-24). "Text - H.R.3608 - 119th Congress (2025-2026): Connor's Law". www.congress.gov. Retrieved 2025-10-01.
- ↑ Cleavenger, Alexus; Jax, Action News (2025-05-22). "St. Johns County mom pushing for law requiring semi drivers to speak, read English after son's death". Action News Jax. Retrieved 2025-10-01.
- ↑ "'It's a hell to pay:' Nassau County jury awards woman millions in Starbucks drive-thru lawsuit". WJAX via Yahoo News. 2022-04-12. Retrieved 2025-10-01.
- ↑ Micolucci, Vic (2022-04-12). "Jury awards Nassau County woman $9M for injuries in Starbucks parking lot". WJXT. Retrieved 2025-10-01.
- ↑ Patterson, Steve. "Jacksonville City Council member calls out Starbucks over Roosevelt Boulevard drive-thru". The Florida Times-Union. Retrieved 2025-10-01.
- ↑ MacDonald, Logan; Jax, Action News (2024-09-09). "Multimillion-dollar settlement announced for 2020 Jaxport explosion that injured 11 Jacksonville firefighters". Action News Jax. Retrieved 2025-10-01.
- ↑ Maxwell, Marcela Camargo, Anne (2024-09-09). "Jacksonville firefighters injured in ship fire at JAXPORT reach multimillion-dollar settlement with companies involved". WJXT. Retrieved 2025-10-01.
- ↑ "Law firm reaches $16M settlement in 2020 Blount Island ship fire that injured 11 firefighters". firstcoastnews.com. 2024-09-09. Retrieved 2025-10-01.
- ↑ "Failure to Properly Disconnect and Secure Vehicle Batteries Led to Fire Aboard Vehicle Carrier Höegh Xiamen". www.ntsb.gov. Retrieved 2025-10-01.
- ↑ Harvey, Malcolm. "Historic settlement reached in 2020 Blount Island ship fire that injured firefighters". The Florida Times-Union. Retrieved 2025-10-01.
- ↑ "Order". U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida. June 28, 2021. Retrieved October 1, 2025.
- ↑ Harding, Marcela Camargo, Ashley (2024-11-07). "A log truck company failed to do checks on driver who caused a multi-vehicle crash. Now, it must pay millions to victims". WJXT. Retrieved 2025-10-01.
- ↑ Kingston, John (2024-11-13). "Latest nuclear verdict in trucking: $141.5M against defunct Florida carrier". FreightWaves. Retrieved 2025-10-01.
- ↑ Patterson, Steve. "Nassau jury awards $141 million over log truck wreck where company calls driver 'unfit'". The Florida Times-Union. Retrieved 2025-10-01.
- ↑ "Past Presidents". FJA. Retrieved 2025-10-01.
- ↑ Ogles, Jacob (2023-03-07). "Legislative Session Preview: Florida Justice Association braces for tort reform battle". Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government. Retrieved 2025-10-01.
- ↑ Ash, Jim. "House Civil Justice Subcommittee moves tort measure". The Florida Bar. Retrieved 2025-10-01.
- ↑ McAndrew, Shavonne (2023-03-23). "Statement from Florida Justice Association (FJA) President Curry Pajcic Regarding the Passage of HB 837 by the Florida Senate". FJA. Retrieved 2025-10-01.
- ↑ President, Curry Pajcic | Immediate Past; Association, Florida Justice (2023-07-06). "Commentary: HB 837 historic for ripping away rights of Floridians". Jax Daily Record. Retrieved 2025-10-01.
- ↑ Staff, Daily Record (2012-01-23). "Lawyer Snapshot: Curry Pajcic". Jax Daily Record. Retrieved 2025-10-01.
- ↑ "Board of Directors | Dreams Comes True". dreamscometrue.org. 2023-08-18. Retrieved 2025-10-01.
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