Undue Influence

A Miami-Dade jury found in favour of the defendant in a high-stakes family property dispute. Bryant, a 72-year-old widow with significant health and vision issues, had accused her nephew of exploiting her vulnerability to wrongfully take her home through a Quit Claim Deed. She claimed he manipulated her into signing over the house, refinanced it without her knowledge, and later charged her rent. Whitehead argued he had rescued the home from foreclosure and that Bryant had voluntarily transferred ownership in return. After hearing both sides, the jury rejected all six of Bryant’s claims, including elder exploitation and unjust enrichment. The court upheld the deed and left ownership of the property with Whitehead, ruling that while he benefited from the transfer, it had not been unjust.