Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier has asked a federal appeals court to reverse a $243 million verdict against Tesla in a fatal Autopilot crash case. Alabama and Georgia attorneys general joined the request. The move targets both the full judgment and the punitive damages portion.
Uthmeier filed the brief with the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals on July 9. The filing asks the court to throw out the judgment or reduce the $200 million punitive award to three times the compensatory damages. Alabama and Georgia attorneys general signed on to the brief.
The underlying verdict came in August 2025 from a Miami federal jury. It found Tesla 33 percent liable for a 2019 crash in Key Largo that killed Naibel Benavides Leon and injured her boyfriend. The jury awarded about $43 million in compensatory damages against Tesla and $200 million in punitive damages.
U.S. District Judge Beth Bloom upheld the verdict in February. Tesla has appealed the case, docketed as No. 26-10858. The brief argues that the trial court failed to apply Florida’s statutory cap on punitive damages.
