Boyer, Tanzler & Sussman traces its roots back to 1954, when Tyrie A. Boyer Sr. was working with John Crawford and Philip May. At that time, Crawford, May & Boyer was the oldest firm in Jacksonville whose original members were still alive. Daily Record staff writer Sean McManus sat down recently with former Appellate Judge Tyrie A. Boyer Sr. to discuss the firm. Herb Sussman was in court at the time.
IS HANS TANZLER HERE?
“No. Hans is what’s known as of counsel. That means mostly he plays golf and goes fishing. We call him if we have to.”
TELL ME ABOUT
THE OLD DAYS?
“Back in the 1950s Crawford, May & Boyer represented Marjorie Rawlings, the author of “Cross Creek,” “South Moon Under” and “The Yearling.” Philip May handled a major case where she was sued for what she said in “The Yearling” about her neighbors, a seminal case in Florida relative to privacy. Philip and I also represented her regarding a suit about the money she left to the University of Florida. We also represented Mrs. Jessie Mills DuPont Ball in her divorce proceeds between her and Ed Ball, the sole stockholder in Florida National Bank and Florida East Coast Railway.”
WHEN DID YOU
BECOME A JUDGE?
“In 1960 I was appointed judge of the Civil Court of Record. That was before Article 5 abolished all the specialty courts in favor of two, circuit and county. In 1963, because of Article 5, I became Circuit Court judge. I left the bench in 1967 to practice privately for a while.”
HOW DID YOU LIKE BEING A JUDGE BACK THEN?
“What a time! If you want the juicy details, read Walter Arnold’s autobiography about being a lawyer in Jacksonville in the 1960s. Let’s just say it was colorful.”
THEN WHAT?
“I was appointed to the Court of Appeals in Tallahassee in 1973 and did that for six years. I’ve served in one capacity or another at every level of the judiciary, from the old municipal courts to the courts of Jacksonville to — by special assignment — the Florida Supreme Court.”
SO WHY DID YOU LEAVE THE BENCH?
“In 1979, Hans Tanzler had served as mayor for as long as any charter could possibly ever allow and he was out of a job. At the same time, my son Tyrie W. was working with Ray Ehrlich, who was appointed [Florida Supreme Court] Justice Ehrlich. So, the timing being right, we all got together. We started in Boyer, Tanzler, Blackburn & Boyer. Then A.B. Blackburn Jr. left to start a firm with his son and so we added different lawyers at different times.”
WHAT KIND OF LAW?
“We are litigators. We don’t do federal taxation. Other than that, we’ll go to court for anything from real estate to workers compensation. I get a lot of appeal work considering my time in Tallahassee. We like to say that we don’t represent little clients with little problems, we represent little clients with big problems.”
NOTABLE CASES
“We handled the famous case where a large corporation was exposing employees to dangerous toxins. We proved under a negligence theory that the company injured people beyond what workers compensation covers. We won the appeal and I still get calls from lawyers who want me to fax them the argument.”
WHAT ABOUT MR. SUSSMAN?
“Herb’s been here 18 years. He’s one of the best lawyers in the state.”
WHAT’S NEXT FOR THE FIRM?
“We just keep getting new cases and plugging along. We don’t really do criminal work or family law anymore. I still go to Tallahassee all the time.”
WHAT DO YOU LIKE TO DO WHEN YOU’RE NOT BEING A LAWYER?
“I’m a big game hunter. I’ve been on five African safaris and probably to every western state and British Columbia.”
THE HUNTER OR THE HUNTED?
“The worse thing that ever happened was on my land near Gainesville in 1990 when I was attacked by a deer and had to kill him with a pocket knife. But not before he messed me up pretty good. But I survived.”