Five defendants banded together to defeat a $14.5 million lawsuit by a motorcyclist who hit a Key Largo valve box cover, fell and hit his head.

The Florida Department of Transportation and four companies responsible for the utility box in a median on Overseas Highway decided not to raise arguments against each other during the four-week trial in Monroe Circuit Court.

“If we were to point fingers at one another, it could be interpreted by the jury as an admission of fault,” said David Salazar, a Cole Scott & Kissane partner in Miami, who represented the box builder, Garney Cos. Inc. “We all really believed in our heart of hearts that there was nothing wrong with the concrete box and that the sole cause of the injury was the plaintiff himself.”