Top 100 Verdicts of 2004

THE NATIONAL LAW JOURNAL/WWW.NLJ.COM
S8
Monday, February 21, 2005
THE
TOP
100
NLJ VERDICTS
CLIENT LIST—WHO
OF 100
2003
DEFENDSOF
CORPORATE
AMERICA
VERDICTSEARCH
TOP
VERDICTS
2004
Rank
Case
Lawyers
Amount
Status
Type
Description
Name
Court, Docket, Date
Plaintiff’s attorney(s)
Firm
Defense attorney(s)
Firm
1
$1,620,000,000
Case settled for
an undisclosed
amount.
Fraud
Insurance agent continued to
collect premiums on lapsed
policy.
Whittaker v. Southwestern Life Insurance Co.
Macon Co., Ala., Cir. Ct. CV-02-41 2/4/2004
Jock M. Smith and Brian P. Strength, Cochran,
Cherry, Givens & Smith, Tuskegee, Ala.
Bruce F. Rogers, Bainbridge, Mims, Rogers & Smith,
Birmingham, Ala.; George W. Walker III, Copeland,
Franco, Screws & Gill, Montgomery, Ala.
2
$1,281,690,000
Verdict overturned.
JMOL granted.
Appeal pending.
Antitrust
Cattle producers claimed Tyson
manipulated prices through
contract buying.
Pickett v. Tyson Fresh Meats Inc.
M.D. Ala. A96 1103N 2/22/2004
David Domina, Omaha, Neb.; Joe R. Whately Jr.,
Whatley Drake, Birmingham, Ala.
Thomas Green, Mark Hopson and William
Baumgartner, Sidley Austin Brown & Wood,
Washington and Chicago
3
$1,013,353,000
Appeal pending.
Products Liability
Woman who took diet drug
cominbation fen-phen died of
lung disease.
Coffey v. Wyeth
Jefferson Co., Texas, Dist. Ct. E-167334 5/14/2004
John M. O’Quinn, Richard N. Laminack and Thomas William D. Sims Jr., Vinson & Elkins, Dallas;
W. Pirtle, O’Quinn, Laminack & Pirtle, Houston
Timothy Atkeson and Peter K. Bleakley, Arnold &
Porter, Denver and Washington
4
$776,136,398
Appeal dismissed.
Wrongful Death
Brown v. Dorsey
Sheriff and deputies conspired to Gwinnett Co., Ga., Super. Ct. 02A-12722-7 11/19/2004
assassinate sheriff-elect.
Steven K. Leibel, Casey Gilson Leibel, Atlanta
5
$591,000,000
Appeal pending.
Tobacco
Scott v. The American Tobacco Company Inc.
Jury ordered tobacco industry to Orleans Parish, La., Dist. Ct. 96-8461 5/21/2004
fund smoker-cessation programs.
Russ M. Herman, Herman, Herman, Katz & Cotlar, New Charles F. Gay, Adams and Reese, New Orleans;
Orleans
Gary R. Long, Shook, Hardy & Bacon, Kansas City,
Mo.
6
$582,000,000
Award is on
Michelson’s
counterclaim.
Intellectual Property
Medtronic Sofamor Danek Inc. v. Michelson
Inventor of spinal fusion implant W.D. Tenn. 01CV2373 10/12/2004
claimed plaintiff breached license
agreements.
Leo Bearman, Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell &
Berkowitz, Memphis, Tenn. (for Medtronic)
Robert Krupka, Kirkland & Ellis, Los Angeles; Marc
Marmaro and Stan Gibson, Jeffer, Mangels, Butler
& Marmaro, Los Angeles (for Michelson)
7
$452,000,000
Net is $97.6 million.
Judge reduced
award to $190,876.
Products Liability
Kansas City Power & Light Co. v. Allen-Bradley
Controller sent improper signals, Corp.
causing gas to enter boiler, reJackson Co., Mo., Cir. Ct. 01-CV-207987 3/5/2004
sulting in explosion.
Randall E. Hendricks and Kirk T. May, Rouse
Hendricks German May, Kansas City, Mo.
Steven P. Sanders, Lisa A. Larkin and Lucy T.
Unger, Williams Venker & Sanders, St. Louis
8
$369,000,000
Reduced to $150
million. Appeal
pending.
Products Liability
Buell-Wilson v. Ford Motor Co.
Driver, now paraplegic, claimed San Diego Co., Calif., Super. Ct. GIC 800836 6/3/2004
Ford Explorer rollover-prone and
roof not crashworthy.
Dennis A. Schoville and Louis G. Arnell, Schoville &
Arnell, San Diego
Ronald E. Cabaniss, Cabaniss, Smith, Toole &
Wiggins, Maitland, Fla.; Anthony E. Sonnett,
Yukevich & Sonnett, Los Angeles
9
$366,211,159
Contracts
Court-ordered
Cardiologist claimed suspension
mediation pending. of privileges was malicious.
Charla Aldous, Aldous & McDougal, Dallas; Michael
Logan and Karin Zaner, Kane, Russell, Coleman &
Logan, Dallas
Lea Courington and Sheree McCall, Gwinn &
Roby, Dallas
10
$167,001,583
Various claims
thrown out. Net is
$40,573,957.
Shareholder Derivative Suit Kollman v. Cell Tech International Inc.
Founder claimed transaction with Lane Co., Ore., Cir. Ct. 02-03774-CV 8/23/2004
investor resulted in substantial
losses and dilution of his interest.
Bruce Cully Moore, Moore & Associates, Eugene, Ore. James H. Gidley and Erick J. Haynie, Perkins
Coie, Portland, Ore.; Jeffrey J. Matthews, Moore
& Associates, Eugene, Ore.
11
$161,000,000
Appeal expected.
Banking
Architect of fraudulent securitization program caused bank to
close.
Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. v. Bakkebo
S.D. W.Va. 102-1087 12/8/2004
John G. Turner III and Robert B. Bell, Mullin Hoard & Jeffrey Dorrell, Houston
Brown, Amarillo, Texas
12
$156,000,000
$52 million verdict
was trebled by
statute.
Anti-Terrorism Act
Family of teen shot in Israeli
settlement sued U.S. charities
supporting Hamas.
Boim v. Quranic Literacy Institute
N.D. Ill. 00 C 2905 12/8/2004
Stephen J. Landes, Wildman, Harrold, Allen & Dixon,
Chicago
John M. Beal, Chicago
13
$134,528,960
Judgment for
$164,159,400.
Appeal pending.
Intellectual Property
Patents for blood-oxygen
monitor infringed upon.
Masimo Corp. v. Nellcor Puritan Bennett Inc.
C.D. Calif. 00-CV-06506 MRP 3/26/2004
Joseph R. Re, Knobbe Martens Olson & Bear, Irvine,
Calif.
Stephen P. Swinton, Cooley Godward, San Diego
14
$111,700,000
Case settled for
$6 million.
Medical Malpractice
Reden v. Wagner
Failure to induce birth resulted in Suffolk Co., N.Y., Sup. Ct. 16543/99 1/26/2004
quadriparesis.
Steven E. Pegalis, Pegalis & Erickson, Lake Success,
N.Y.
Clifford A. Bartlett Jr., Bartlett McDonough
Bastone & Monaghan, Mineola, N.Y.
15
$111,000,000
Appeal pending.
Fraud
Chevron defrauded state of
Louisiana on oil royalties.
Spencer Hosie, Hosie Frost Large & McArthur, San
Francisco
G. William Jarman, Kean Miller Hawthorne
D’Armond McCowan & Jarman, Baton Rouge, La.
16
$106,133,537
Judgment for
$123,690,060.
Fraud
Intertainment Licensing GmbH v. Franchise
Film-license fee structure based Pictures Inc.
on inflated production costs.
C.D. Calif. SACV 01-1025 AHS c/w SACV 01-1026 AHS
6/18/2004
Scott A. Edelman and Michael S. Adler, Gibson, Dunn William C. Price and Jon C. Cederberg, Quinn
& Crutcher, Los Angeles
Emanuel Urquhart Oliver & Hedges, Los Angeles
17
$105,500,000
Appeal expected.
Products Liability
Eight-month-old killed by collapsing seatback in Dodge Caravan.
James Edward Butler Jr. and George W. Fryhofer Larry Sutter and Joy Burns, Sutter, O’Connell,
III, Butler, Wooten, Fryhofer, Daughtery & Crawford,
Mannion & Farchione, Cleveland and Franklin, Tenn.
Columbus, Ga., and Atlanta
18
$105,000,000
Judge reduced
award to
$26,989,000.
Excessive Force
Estate of Little v. Price
Police officer shot and killed man Baltimore city, Md., Cir. Ct. 24-C-0200997 1/9/2004
he thought was armed.
19
$103,930,000
Contracts
Schettino v. Modanlo
Awarded to Ahan on Partners in satellite business had Montgomery Co., Md., Cir. Ct. 220156 10/22/2004
counterclaim
falling out after restructuring.
against Modanlo.
Creighton R. Magid, Dorsey & Whitney, Washington (for Rodney H. Glover, Wiley Rein & Fielding, Washington
Ahan)
(for Modanlo)
20
$86,735,134
Judge reduced
award to
$25,030,134.
Steven L. Hess, Simonson, Hess & Leibowitz, New York Kevin G. McMorrow, Ahmuty, Demers & McManus,
Albertson, N.Y. (for Lane & Sons)
Construction
Laborer impaled on rebar when
plank spanning trench collapsed
from under him.
Poliner v. Texas Health Systems
N.D. Texas 3-00-CV-1007-D 8/27/2004
State of Louisiana v. ChevronTexaco Corp.
Lafourche Parish, La., Dist. Ct. 93658 3/18/2004
Flax v. DaimlerChrysler Corp.
Davidson Co., Tenn., Cir. Ct. O2C-1288 11/23/2004
Miraglia v. Lane & Sons Construction Corp.
Bronx Co., N.Y., Sup. Ct. 25228/00 2/13/2004
A. Dwight Pettit, Dwight Pettit P.A., Baltimore;
Domenic R. Iamele, Baltimore
Source: VerdictSearch. For more details, go to www.verdictsearch.com. Direct queries to: (800) 832-1900.
Not defended
Troy A. Priest, Baltimore
THE NATIONAL LAW JOURNAL/WWW.NLJ.COM
Monday, February 21, 2005
S9
THE
TOP
100
NLJ VERDICTS
CLIENT LIST—WHO
OF 100
2003
DEFENDSOF
CORPORATE
AMERICA
VERDICTSEARCH
TOP
VERDICTS
2004
Rank
Case
Lawyers
Amount
Status
Type
Description
Name
Court, Docket, Date
Plaintiff’s attorney(s)
Firm
Defense attorney(s)
Firm
Immersion Corp. v. Sony Computer Entertainment
America Inc.
N.D. Calif. C02-00710 9/21/2004
Morgan Chu, Irell & Manella, Los Angeles
Matthew D. Powers, Weil, Gotshal & Manges,
Redwood Shores, Calif.
21
$82,000,000
Appeal expected.
Intellectual Property
Sony infringed vibrotactile
technologies for use in its video
game systems.
22
$78,500,000
Judgment of
$108,848,598.
Appeal expected.
Contracts
Microtherm Inc. v. Puget Plastics Corp.
Denham H. Heard, Heard, Robins, Cloud, Lubel &
William D. Wood, Fulbright & Jaworski, Houston;
Critical components in electroni- Cameron Co., Texas, Dist. Ct. 2002-03-000933-E 12/17/2004 Greenwood, Houston; Steve A. Bryant, Steve A. Bryant Peter M. Blute, Houston; Scott R. Hoyt, Gibson,
cally controlled water heater
& Associates, Houston
Dunn & Crutcher, Dallas
were poorly made.
23
$75,967,140
Medical Malpractice
Post-trial motions Endotracheal tube became
pending.
dislodged, depriving infant of
oxygen.
Pellicer v. St. Barnabas Medical Center
Essex Co., N.J., Super. Ct. ESX-L-3571-00 11/15/2004
Craig M. Rothenberg and Dean Pashaian, Rothenberg & Pashaian, Union, N.J.
24
$75,684,000
Reduced to
$37,840,000.
Appeals pending.
Dram Shop
Bar liable for employee who got
drunk on the job, then ran over
construction flagger.
Tuski v. Ivyland Café
Philadelphia Co., Pa., Ct. C.P. Feb. Term 2002 No. 4436
1/13/2004
Robert J. Mongeluzzi and Michael J. Hopkins, Saltz John Monaghan, Monaghan Ferrante & Fortin,
Mongeluzzi Barrett & Bendesky, Philadelphia
Elkins Park, Pa.; Christine Boyle, Marks, O’Neill,
O’Brien & Courtney, Philadelphia
25
$75,077,836, plus
$1,000 to each
class member who
proves harm.*
Banking
Bank invaded directly deposited
government benefits to satisfy
overdrafts and fees.
Miller v. Bank of America
San Francisco Co., Calif., Super. Ct.
CGC-99-301917 2/25/2004
James C. Sturdevant, The Sturdevant Law Firm, San Joseph S. Genshlea, Weintraub Genshlea Chediak
Francisco; Thomas J. Brandi, Law Offices of Thomas J. Sproul, Sacramento, Calif.; Arturo J. González,
Brandi, San Francisco
Morrison & Foerster, San Francisco
26
$70,918,798
Negligent Hiring
Post-trial motions Bus driver for church youth
pending.
group had drugs in his system
when he crashed.
Stout v. Rockmore
Dallas Co., Texas, Dist. Ct. 02-06189 9/16/2004
Mark Werbner, Sayles Werbner, Dallas
27
$64,318,698
Go Medical Industries PTY Ltd. v. InMed Corp.
N.D. Ga. 1:01-CV-313-TWT 2/12/2004
Patrick J. Flinn and Robin L. McGrath, Alston & Bird, Ron L. Quigley, Davis, Matthews & Quigley, Atlanta;
Atlanta
William S. Sutton, McLain & Merritt, Atlanta
28
$63,000,000
Medical Malpractice
Post-trial motions Forceps delivery left infant
pending.
brain-damaged.
Korzeniowski v. Bethesda Memorial Hospital
Palm Beach Co., Fla., Cir. Ct. 502000CA004828XXO NAO
2/26/2004
Christian D. Searcy and David J. White, Searcy Den- Paul Buschmann, Michaud, Buschmann, Mittelmark,
ney Scarola Barnhart & Shipley, West Palm Beach, Fla.
Millian, Blitz, Warren & Coel, Boca Raton, Fla.;
Barbara W. Sonneborn, Sonneborn Rutter Cooney
& Klingensmith, West Palm Beach, Fla.
29
$58,137,361
Case settled.
Products Liability
O-ring split caused tractor’s
hydraulic fluid to leak and ignite.
Griggs v. West-Pac Industries
Los Angeles Co., Calif., Super. Ct. BC216425 3/23/2004
Brian J. Panish and Christine D. Spagnoli, Greene,
Broillett, Panish & Wheeler, Santa Monica, Calif.
Steven J. Joffe, Wilson, Elser, Moskowitz, Edelman
& Dicker, Los Angeles; Tom Y.K. Mei, Murchison &
Cumming, Santa Ana, Calif.
30
$52,000,000
Judge reduced
award to
$41,497,821.
Products Liability
Ford knew F-350 parking brake
was prone to disengage.
White v. Ford Motor Co.
D. Nev. CV-N-95-279-DWH 3/19/2004
Shanin Specter, Kline & Specter, Philadelphia; Don
Nomura, Laxalt & Nomura, Reno, Nev.
Malcolm E. Wheeler, Wheeler Trigg Kennedy, Denver
31
$51,499,999
Judgment for
$63 million.
Contracts
Satellite TV company did not
fairly reimburse DirecTV under
joint marketing agreement.
DirecTV Inc. v. Pegasus Satellite Television Inc.
C.D. Calif. 01-CV-06220-LGB-CW 4/14/2004
Michael Baumann and Melissa D. Ingalls, Kirkland & Peter I. Ostroff and Michael C. Kelley, Sidley
Ellis, Los Angeles
Austin Brown & Wood, Los Angeles
32
$48,000,000
Defense motion to
elect remedies
pending.
Contracts
Public utility holding company
reneged on deal to sell propane
business.
Heritage Operating L.P. v. Scana Corp.
Richland Co., S.C., Ct. C.P. 01-CP-40-3262 10/14/2004
Kenneth Suggs and John Freeman, Janet, Jenner & W. Duval Spruill, Turner, Padget, Graham & Laney,
Suggs, Columbia, S.C.
Columbia, S.C.
33
$47,827,311
Post-trial motions
denied. Appeal
pending.
Products Liability
Young girl paralyzed from chest
down when seatback of 2000
Lincoln LS collapsed.
Sasser v. Ford Motor Co.
Fulton Co., Ga., Super. Ct. 2003-CV-68680 3/2/2004
Jeffrey R. Harris and Andrew M. Scherffius III,
Scherffius, Ballard, Still & Ayres, Savannah, Ga., and
Atlanta
34
$45,500,000
Nursing Homes
Estate of Solomon v. Developmental Systems Inc.
Motion for fees and Resident left unattended drowned Maricopa Co., Ariz., Super. Ct. PB2002-000496 12/1/2004
costs pending.
in bathtub.
Craig A. Knapp and John C. Breslo, Knapp & Roberts, Barry E. Lewin, Lewin & Schneider, Phoenix; James
Scottsdale, Ariz.
Bowen, Arizona Attorney General’s Office, Phoenix
35
$44,000,000
Case settled.
Bad-Faith Denial
MacKool v. Medical Savings Insurance Co.
Rescission of insurance policy left Tulsa Co., Okla., Dist. Ct. CJ-2002-2962 4/30/2004
man unable to get lung bypass.
Michael P. Atkinson and Walter D. Haskins,
Atkinson, Haskins, Nellis, Holeman, Brittingham, Gladd &
Carwile, Tulsa, Okla.
36
$43,600,000
Appeal expected.
Products Liability
Failed rudder control system
responsible for jet’s fatal crash.
Walter J. Lack, Engstrom, Lipscomb & Lack, Los Angeles William V. O’Connor, Kern and Wooley, Los Angeles
37
$43,500,000
Increased by judge
to $54.5 million.
Appeal pending.
Intellectual Property
Applied Medical Resources v. U.S. Surgical Corp.
Manufacturer of surgical instru- C.D. Calif. 99-CV-625 7/27/2004
ments infringed trocar seal technology.
Joseph R. Re, Knobbe Martens Olson & Bear, Irvine,
Calif.
38
$41,936,000
Award is for Pardee
Construction. Settled for $41 million.
Eminent Domain
Solana Beach School District v. Pardee ConstrucSchool district condemned parcel tion Co.
for construction of new elemen- San Diego Co., Calif., Super. Ct. GIC802090-1 6/14/2004
tary school.
Dennis W. Daley and Scott Noya, Daley & Heft, Solana Roscoe D. Keagy and Steven A. McKinley, Asaro,
Beach, Calif. (for school district)
Keagy, Freeland & McKinley, San Diego (for Pardee)
39
$41,117,500
Appeal pending.
Toxic Torts
Gasoline spill caused health
problems and decreased
property values.
Sunburst School District No. 2 v. Texaco Inc.
Cascade Co., Mont., Dist. Ct. CDV01179 8/18/2004
Tom L. Lewis, J. David Slovak and Mark M.
Kovacich, Lewis, Slovak & Kovacich, Great Falls, Mont.
Laurence Janssen, Steptoe & Johnson, Los Angeles;
Ronald F. Waterman, Gough, Shanahan, Johnson &
Waterman, Helena, Mont.
40
$40,775,665
Post-judgment
motions pending.
Appeal expected.
Intellectual Property
Digital blueprints detailing subassemblies for model trains
stolen and used by rival.
Mike’s Train House Inc. v. Lionel LLC
E.D. Mich. 2000-cv-71729 6/7/2004
Robert A. Swift, Kohn, Swift & Graf, Philadelphia
Joseph H. Hickey, Dykema Gossett, Detroit; C.
Douglas Moran, Howard & Howard, Bloomfield Hills,
Mich.
Intellectual Property
Trademark for bacteria-free
catheter infringed by InMed
Corp. and Alpine Medical Inc.
Sun v. Parker Hannifin Corp.
Los Angeles Co., Calif., Super. Ct. BC 202587 7/6/2004
*Plaintiffs’ counsel believes total payout will exceed $1 billion.
Louis Ruprecht, Ruprecht, Hart & Weeks, Millburn,
N.J.
Robert Miller and Connie S. Squiers, Miller &
Brown, Dallas
Kathleen A. Clark and Donald H. Dawson Jr.,
Dawson & Clark, Detroit
Donald M. Bingham, Riggs, Abney, Neal, Turpen,
Orbison & Lewis, Tulsa, Okla.; James C. Hodges,
Eller and Detrich, Tulsa, Okla.
Fred H. Bartlit Jr., Bartlit Beck Herman Palenchar
& Scott, Denver
THE NATIONAL LAW JOURNAL/WWW.NLJ.COM
S10
Monday, February 21, 2005
THE
NLJ CLIENT LIST—WHO
DEFENDSOF
CORPORATE
AMERICA
VERDICTSEARCH
TOP 100 VERDICTS
2004
Rank
Case
Lawyers
Amount
Status
Type
Description
41
$39,753,120
Case settled.
42
$39,059,334
Assault and Battery
Post-trial motions Headlock used on man in cuffs
denied.
and leg irons resulted in quadriplegia.
43
$38,300,000
Four defendants
filed notices of
appeal.
44
Name
Court, Docket, Date
Contracts
Tesla Power Acquisition Corp. v. Tesla Power &
Company refused to close on sale Automation L.P.
of subsidiary to its president,
Harris Co., Texas, Dist. Ct. 2002-45348 9/30/2004
whom it then fired.
Plaintiff’s attorney(s)
Firm
Defense attorney(s)
Firm
Robin L. Harrison, Campbell Harrison & Dagley, Hous- Glenn A. Ballard Jr., Bracewell & Patterson,
ton; H. Bruce Golden, Golden & Owens, Houston
Houston
Philip C. Federico and Kerry D. Staton, Schochor,
Federico & Staton, Baltimore
Eric B. Myers and Troy Priest, Brown & Sheehan,
Baltimore
Motor Vehicle
Yoder v. Ferguson
Multi-vehicle accident left family Cook Co., Ill., Cir. Ct. 02-L-3002 3/26/2004
of four with one dead and three
seriously injured.
Kevin P. Durkin and John T. Karnezis, Clifford Law
Offices, Chicago
C. Barry Montgomery, Williams Montgomery,
Chicago; John Patton Jr., Patton & Ryan, Chicago;
Bill Porter, Chilton Yambert, Chicago; Terence
Selby, Prusik Selby, Chicago
$38,200,000
Award subject to
caps. Appeal
pending.
Motor Vehicle
Robley v. PennDOT
Crash victim’s suit included claim Delaware Co., Pa., Ct. C.P. 00-811 2/10/2004
that four-way stop sign created
hazard.
Andrew J. Stern, Kline & Specter, Philadelphia
John P. Capuzzi, Office of Attorney General,
Norristown, Pa.; Suzanne Fisher, Robert J. Casey
Jr. & Associates, Philadelphia; Mark F. DiGiovanni,
Devlin & Devine, Conshohocken, Pa.
45
$37,700,000
$34.7 million
against Canon; $3
million against Fuji.
Intellectual Property
Leading manufacturer of digital
cameras infringed multiple-file
format technology.
St. Clair Intellectual Property Consultants Inc. v.
Canon Inc.
D. Del. 03-241 10/8/2004
Ronald J. Schutz, Robins, Kaplan, Miller & Ciresi,
Minneapolis
John E. Daniel and Donald L. Rhoads, Kramer
Levin Naftalis & Frankel, New York (for Canon);
Steven J. Routh, Hogan & Hartson, Washington (for
Fuji)
46
$37,500,000
Motor Vehicle
Judge overturned Teenager killed while walking to
award, ordered new school on road with no sidewalk.
trial on damages.
Medina v. City of Fontana
San Bernardino Co., Calif., Super. Ct. SCVSS 094904
9/20/2004
Arash Homampour and Reza Mirroknian,
Homampour & Associates, Beverly Hills, Calif.
Dana A. Fox, Lynberg & Watkins, Los Angeles
47
$36,789,797
Clergy Sexual Abuse
Motion for new trial Church ordained pastor with
denied. Judgment pedophilic past.
entered.
Doe v. Trinity Lutheran Seminary
Harrison Co., Texas, Dist. Ct. 02-0157 4/22/2004
Edward L. Hohn, Nix, Patterson & Roach, Daingerfield, R. Brian Craft and Tracy Crawford, Ramey &
Texas; Jason B. Stephens, Stephens & Anderson, Fort Flock, Tyler, Texas
Worth, Texas
48
$36,688,496
Products Liability
Treggett v. Garlock Sealing Technologies
Net is $28,408,496. Exposure to asbestos-containing Los Angeles Co., Calif., Super. Ct. BC307058 10/20/2004
Appeal expected. gaskets and joint compound
caused mesothelioma.
Ron C. Eddins, Waters & Kraus, Dallas
David M. Glaspy, Glaspy & Glaspy, Walnut Creek,
Calif.; Peter B. Langbord, Foley & Mansfield, Walnut
Creek, Calif.
49
$35,000,000
Motor Vehicle
Woman struck by drunken
speeding driver and is now a
quadriplegic.
Schwartz v. English
Lee Co., Fla., Cir. Ct. 02-3039-CA 9/14/2004
Michael L. Beckman and Kelly K. Huang, Viles &
Beckman, Fort Myers, Fla.
Pro se
50
$34,361,253
Medical Malpractice
Failure to monitor blood flow
after surgery resulted in
permanent partial paralysis.
Miller v. Berg
Wayne Co., Mich., Cir. Ct. 02-214453NH 2/5/2004
Steven Schaefer, Sheldon L. Miller and Associates,
Southfield, Mich.
Anthony G. Arnone, Kitch Drutchas Wagner
DeNardis & Valitutti, Detroit
Alston v. Warble
Baltimore city, Md., Cir. Ct. 97322053CC7950 6/1/2004
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THE NATIONAL LAW JOURNAL/WWW.NLJ.COM
S11
THE
NLJ CLIENT LIST—WHO
DEFENDSOF
CORPORATE
AMERICA
VERDICTSEARCH
TOP 100 VERDICTS
2004
Rank
Case
Lawyers
Amount
Status
Type
Description
Name
Court, Docket, Date
Products Liability
Hiscock v. Griffin Inc.
Passenger in armored van injured Hillsborough Co., Fla., Cir. Ct. 01004080 4/27/2004
when coin boxes in cargo area
surged forward.
Plaintiff’s attorney(s)
Firm
Defense attorney(s)
Firm
C. Stephen Yerrid and Theresa L. Fiset, The Yerrid
Law Firm, Tampa, Fla.
Jack D. Luks and Anthony J. Petrillo, Luks,
Santaniello, Perez, Petrillo & Gold, Fort Lauderdale,
Fla., and Tampa, Fla.
Kevin G. Burke, Burke, Mahoney & Wise, Chicago
Brian T. Henry, Pretzel & Stouffer, Chicago; Susan
E. Conner, Cassiday, Schade & Gloor, Chicago
51
$33,890,000
52
$32,036,787
Medical Malpractice
Campbell v. Rush-Prudential HMO Inc.
High/lows resulted Choosing vaginal delivery over C- Cook Co., Ill., Cir. Ct. 99 L 8730 10/21/2004
in $34 million
section resulted in brain damage.
recovery.
53
$31,860,112
High/low resulted
in $4 million
recovery.
54
$31,100,000
Medical Malpractice
Manuka v. Ennin
Post-trial motions Brain damage blamed on delayed Kings Co., N.Y., Sup. Ct. 38396/95 3/16/2004
pending.
response to early labor emergency situation.
Thomas A. Moore, Kramer, Dillof, Livingston & Moore,
New York
Don D. Carlucci, Carlucci & Giardina, New York;
Andrew S. Garson, Garson, Gerspach, DeCorato &
Cohen, New York; Gerard J. Heubel, Bartlett,
McDonough, Bastone & Monaghan, White Plains, N.Y.
55
$30,009,186
Contracts
Take-nothing
Real estate finance company
judgment entered. reneged on loan commitment.
Appeal pending.
John A. Sopuch III and J. Robert Arnett II, Sopuch
Arnett Higgins & Gaubert, Dallas
Charles L. Perry, Andrews Kurth, Dallas
56
$30,000,000
Medical Malpractice
Estate of Shahid v. Home Care Home Health Agency Terrence Hegarty and Timothy Heath, Hegarty &
Post-trial motions Home health care agency’s
Cook Co., Ill., Cir. Ct. 00L-734 2/24/2004
Heath, Chicago
pending.
failure to timely test baby’s blood
resulted in death.
56
$30,000,000
Appeal pending.
Wrongful Death
Woman stabbed 26 times by
husband.
56
$30,000,000
Appeal pending.
56
60
Medical Malpractice
Hospital should’ve expedited Csection after drop in heart rate
and meconium detected.
Estrada v. New York Presbyterian Medical Center
New York Co., N.Y., Sup. Ct. 119989/01 11/19/2004
Basic Capital Management Inc. v. Dynex Commercial Inc.
Dallas Co., Texas, Dist. Ct. 03/00675 2/11/2004
Randy B. Nassau, Fitzgerald & Fitzgerald, Yonkers, N.Y. Bruce G. Habian, Martin, Clearwater & Bell, New
York, N.Y.
Mark T. Neil and Jeremy Eisenstein, Law Office of
Mark T. Neil, Chicago
John W. Kurtz, Hubbard & Kurtz, Kansas City, Mo.
Frederick A. Duchardt, Kearney, Mo.
Medical Malpractice
Hollins v. Mt. Sinai Medical Center
Three-hour delay before
Cuyahoga Co., Ohio, Ct. C.P. CV-02-484240 5/24/2004
C-section resulted in retardation
and cerebral palsy.
Geoffrey N. Fieger, Fieger, Fieger, Kenney & Johnson,
Southfield, Mich.
Joseph A. Farchione Jr., Sutter, O’Connell,
Mannion & Farchione, Cleveland; Marc W. Groedel,
Reminger & Reminger, Cleveland
$30,000,000
Reduced to $27.6
million for settling
party’s fault.
Medical Malpractice
Estate of Swilley v. Desai
Failure to monitor antibiotic pre- Orange Co., Fla., Cir. Ct. CI002-2410 7/29/2004
scribed for foot infection resulted
in child’s death.
Anthony Caggiano, Ward & Caggiano, Orlando, Fla.
Vance Dawson and Juan Ruiz, Rissman, Weisberg,
Barrett, Hurt, Donahue & McLain, Orlando, Fla.
$29,950,000
Judge granted
motion for new
trial.
Contracts
ZF Micro Solutions Inc. v. National Semiconductor
Chip maker National SemiconCorp.
ductor missed scheduled delivery Santa Clara Co., Calif., Super. Ct. 102CV807339 6/14/2004
date by 18 months.
Anthony J. Trepel and Sandra R. McIntosh, Trepel
Law Offices, San Jose, Calif.
Allon Stabinsky, Margaret Tough and Richard
Ulmer, Latham & Watkins, San Francisco and Menlo
Park, Calif.
Swope v. Johnson
Clay Co., Mo., Cir. Ct. CV101-8917 CC 5/21/2004
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THE NATIONAL LAW JOURNAL/WWW.NLJ.COM
S12
Monday, February 21, 2005
THE
NLJ CLIENT LIST—WHO
DEFENDSOF
CORPORATE
AMERICA
VERDICTSEARCH
TOP 100 VERDICTS
2004
Rank
Case
Lawyers
Amount
Status
Type
Description
Name
Court, Docket, Date
Plaintiff’s attorney(s)
Firm
Defense attorney(s)
Firm
61
$28,574,587
Post-trial motion
pending.
Railroad
Huang v. New York City Transit Authority
Subway rider hit by train after
New York Co., N.Y., Sup. Ct. 106258/02 9/22/2004
exiting sustained severe head and
leg injuries.
David J. Dean, Sullivan, Papain, Block, McGrath & Can- Robert G. Spevack, Jeffrey Samel & Partners, New
navo, New York
York
62
$28,405,505
Punitives reduced
from $18.4 million
to $10 million.
Bad-Faith Denial
Insured claimed carrier’s footdragging on his personal injury
claim affected his business.
Dale Golden, Golden & Walters, Lexington, Ky.
63
$28,000,000
Post-trial motion
pending.
Shareholder Derivative Suit Gibney v. Culver Jr.
Shareholder questioned actions San Patricio Co., Texas, Dist. Ct. S-00-5961CV-A 4/16/2004
and loyalty of CEO.
Joseph O. Onwuteaka, Law Office of Joseph Onwutea- Robert L. Joseph Jr., Sinton, Texas
ka, Houston
64
$27,599,000
Net was
$22,079,200. Case
settled.
Medical Malpractice
Sapp v. Baptist Healthcare Systems Inc.
Pitocin continued despite drop in Jefferson Co., Ky., Cir. Ct. 99-CI-07336 4/16/2004
fetus’s vital signs, then vacuum
extraction botched.
Larry B. Franklin and Ryan A. Lother, Franklin and
Hance, Louisville, Ky.
65
$27,000,000
Reduced for
comparative fault.
Motions pending.
Motor Vehicle
Coleman v. Auction Transport
Collision between tractor-trailer Jackson Co., Mo., Cir. Ct. 02CV201825 9/28/2004
and car left two dead and one
severely brain-damaged.
Brendan C. Buckley and James T. Thompson, Edel- Walter M. Brown and Lawrence Rouse, Rouse
man & Thompson, Kansas City, Mo.; John H. Norton,
Hendricks German May, Kansas City, Mo.; Richard F.
Norton, Norton & Noland, Kansas City, Mo.
Modin, Dougherty, Modin & Holloway, Kansas City,
Mo.
66
$26,500,000
Award on counterclaim. Punitives set
aside. Case settled.
Defamation
Health care service provider
falsely accused IT consultants of
stealing trade secrets.
Mark J. Patterson, Waddey & Patterson, Nashville,
Tenn. (for HCA)
67
$24,875,000
Motor Vehicle
Lacy v. Acadia Realty Trust
Lack of safe way out of plaza
Luzerne Co., Pa., Ct. C.P. 629-C of 2000 11/23/2004
parking lot contributed to crash.
Stewart L. Cohen, Kessler, Cohen & Roth, Philadelphia Michael P. Perry, O’Malley, Harris, Durkin & Perry,
Scranton; Timothy E. Foley, Foley, Cognetti,
Comerford, Cimini & Cummins, Scranton, Pa.
68
$24,750,000
Post-trial motion
pending.
Motor Vehicle
Enterprise rented to man with
two prior DWIs and suspended
license.
Joseph R. Alexander Jr. and Richard W. Mithoff,
Mithoff & Jacks, Houston
John M. Causey, Hope & Causey, Conroe, Texas;
Louis A. Fabrega and Kevin L. Hood, Fabrega,
Hood, Raynes & Fass, Houston
69
$24,000,000
Intellectual Property
Halliburton Energy Services Inc. v. Smith
$40.97 million judg- Halliburton’s method for “force- International Inc.
ment. Post-trial
balancing” its drill bits infringed. E.D. Texas 4:02-CV-00269-LED 6/25/2004
motions denied.
Eric W. Buether, Godwin Gruber, Dallas
William C. Slusser, Slusser, Wilson & Partridge,
Houston
70
$23,588,217
Appeal pending.
Derrick Boyd and Michael A. Simpson, Simpson,
Boyd & Powers, Decatur, Texas
Charles W. Hurd and Michael C. Steindorf,
Fulbright & Jaworski, Dallas
Motor Vehicle
Semi hit SUV, setting it on
collision course with pickup,
resulting in four deaths.
Hofmeister v. Cincinnati Insurance Co.
Scott Co., Ky., Cir. Ct. 00-CI-00030 6/4/2004
HCA Inc. v. Batsuk
Davidson Co., Tenn., Ch. Ct. 02-2715-I 4/1/2004
Nettles v. Enterprise Leasing Company of Houston
Harris Co., Texas, Dist. Ct. 2001-59368 8/11/2004
Hughes v. TXI Transportation Co.
Wise Co., Texas, Dist. Ct. 03-03-379 5/13/2004
Now Featuring
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Michael Risley, Stites & Harbison, Louisville, Ky.
W. Kennedy Simpson, Thompson Miller & Simpson,
Louisville, Ky.; Beth H. McMasters, O’Bryan, Brown
& Toner (formerly), Louisville
Thor Y. Urness and Julie M. Burnstein, Boult
Cummings Conners & Berry, Nashville, Tenn. (for
Batsuk and Howard, counterclaimants)
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THE NATIONAL LAW JOURNAL/WWW.NLJ.COM
Monday, February 21, 2005
S13
THE
NLJ CLIENT LIST—WHO
DEFENDSOF
CORPORATE
AMERICA
VERDICTSEARCH
TOP 100 VERDICTS
2004
Rank
Case
Lawyers
Amount
Status
Type
Description
Name
Court, Docket, Date
Plaintiff’s attorney(s)
Firm
Defense attorney(s)
Firm
71
$23,500,000
Reduced by fault
finding. Increased
by $10 million.
Motor Vehicle
Truck that did not maintain safe
braking distance slammed into
family of three.
Mejia v. Manheim Auctions Government Services
Miami-Dade Co., Fla., Cir. Ct. 01-18808-CA-21 4/5/2004
David Kleinberg, Alan Neufeld and Robert
Pinkiert, Neufeld, Kleinberg & Pinkiert, Aventura, Fla.
Joel D. Adler and Walter G. Latimer, Marlow,
Connell, Valerius, Abrams, Adler, Newman & Lewis,
Coral Gables, Fla.; Mark A. Rutledge, Boca Raton,
Fla.
72
$23,300,000
High/low resulted
in $12 million
recovery.
Medical Malpractice
Nurse failed to inform physician
of irregular fetal heart rate.
Jones v. Provena St. Therese Medical Center
Lake Co., Ill., Cir. Ct. 00 L 718 3/25/2004
Jay Paul Deratany and Terrence S. Carden, Deratany & Carden, Chicago
David C. Hall, Hall Prangle & Schoonveld, Chicago;
Marc F. Benjoya, Cassiday, Schade & Gloor,
Waukegan, Ill.
73
$22,541,846
Motion to set off
granted in part and
denied in part.
Contracts
Logix Development Corp. v. Faherty
Buyer of adult TV network didn’t Los Angeles Co., Calif., Super. Ct. BC250732 6/18/2004
pay service and revenue participation fees as per contract.
Anthony J. Ellrod and L. Trevor Grimm, Manning &
Marder, Kass, Ellrod, Ramirez, Los Angeles
Patrick J. Monaghan Jr. and Jeffrey C.
Primiano, Monaghan, Monaghan, Lamb & Marchisio,
Montvale, N.J.
74
$22,500,000
Motion for new trial
denied. Appeal
pending.
Contracts
Resin maker altered formula
without glass manufacturer’s
knowledge.
Louis L. Williams, Williams & Heffling, West Palm Beach, Frederick J. Lotterhos III, Holland & Knight,
Fla.
Jacksonville, Fla.
74
$22,500,000
Discrimination
McClure v. City of Long Beach
Post-trial motions City used building codes to stop C.D. Calif. CV-02776-E 8/5/2004
pending.
couple from converting homes to
Alzheimer’s facilities.
Barrett S. Litt, Litt, Estuar, Harrison, Miller & Kitson,
Los Angeles
Richard R. Terzian, Bannan, Green, Frank & Terzian,
Los Angeles
76
$22,000,000
Asbestos
Mayer v. John Crane Inc.
Post-trial motions Plaintiffs’ mesothelioma resulted New York Co., N.Y., Sup. Ct. 106231/03 and 119369/02
denied.
from asbestos exposure on ships 8/3/2004
and in navy yard.
Jerome Block and Adam Cooper, Levy, Phillips &
Konigsberg, New York
Thomas J. Burns, O’Connell & Associates, Elgin, Ill.;
Suzanne Halbardier, Barry, McTiernan & Moore,
New York
77
$21,591,576
Modified judgment
entered. Appeal
pending.
Fraud
Abbott v. Yeckel
Top officers of charitable founda- Travis Co., Texas, Prob. Ct. 77,995-A 6/14/2004
tion bilked it for millions in salary
and perks.
Jan Soifer, Brim, Arnett, Soifer, Robinett, Hanner &
Conners, Austin, Texas; John W. Vinson, Attorney
General’s Office, Consumer Protection Division, Austin
John C. Carsey and Roy Q. Minton, Minton,
Burton, Foster & Collins, Austin, Texas
78
$21,347,519
Award is on counterclaim. Judgment
for $22,693,289.
Contracts
Commercial lessee breached
lease by failing to pay rent, raze
structures and clean site.
TDY Industries v. San Diego Unified Port District
San Diego Co., Calif., Super. Ct. GIC 779490 3/10/2004
Jerome E. Eggers, Law Offices of Jerome E. Eggers,
San Diego (for TDY)
Douglas M. Butz and Lee S. Kaminetz, Butz,
Dunn, DeSantis & Bingham, San Diego (for San Diego
Unified)
79
$21,059,000
Pharmacy Negligence
Misfilled prescription for antiseizure medication left child a
spastic quadriplegic.
Gehrke v. Walgreen Co.
Cook Co., Ill., Cir. Ct. 99 L 10106 8/10/2004
Gilbert Ross, Sussman, Selig & Ross, Chicago
William Johnson, Johnson & Bell, Chicago
80
$20,709,000
Real Property
Carbon dust escaped from plant
and contaminated land.
Action Marine Inc. v. Continental Carbon Inc.
M.D. Ala. 3:2001 CV 00994 8/25/2004
David B. Byrne III, Beasley, Allen, Crow, Methvin, Portis H. Thomas Wells Jr., Maynard, Cooper & Gale,
& Miles, Montgomery, Ala.; Jeffrey E. Friedman,
Birmingham, Ala.
Friedman, Leak & Bloom, Birmingham, Ala.; Edward R.
Jackson, Jackson, Fikes, Hood & Brakefield, Jasper, Ala.
Nebula Glass International v. Reichhold Inc.
S.D. Fla. 02-CV-60703 5/21/2004
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THE NATIONAL LAW JOURNAL/WWW.NLJ.COM
S14
Monday, February 21, 2005
THE
NLJ CLIENT LIST—WHO
DEFENDSOF
CORPORATE
AMERICA
VERDICTSEARCH
TOP 100 VERDICTS
2004
Rank
Case
Lawyers
Amount
Status
Type
Description
Medical Malpractice
Doctor cut one duct too many
during gallbladder removal.
Name
Court, Docket, Date
Plaintiff’s attorney(s)
Firm
Defense attorney(s)
Firm
Santiago v. Curcillo
Philadelphia Co., Pa., Ct. C.P. March Term 2001 No. 103
1/30/2004
Philip L. Blackman and Stacey L. Schwartz,
Schwartz & Blackman, Philadelphia
Richard A. Kolb, White and Williams, Philadelphia
Frankson v. Brown & Williamson Tobacco Corp.
Kings Co., N.Y., Sup. Ct. 24915/00 1/9/2004
Gary J. Douglas, Bauman & Kunkis, New York; Michael Bruce G. Sheffler and Thomas E. Riley,
A. London, New York
Chadbourne & Parke, New York
81
$20,500,000
Appeal pending.
82
$20,350,000
Tobacco
Reduced to
Lucky Strike smoker claimed
$20,175,000. Appeal fraudulent concealment.
pending.
83
$20,000,000
Appeal expected.
Peoples v. International Flavors and Fragrances
Products Liability
Popcorn’s artificial butter flavor- Inc.
ing caused lung disease in plant Jasper Co., Mo., Cir. Ct. 01 CV 683025 3/15/2004
worker.
Kenneth B. McClain and Steven E. Crick, Humphrey, Michael J. Patton, Turner, Reid, Duncan, Loomer &
Farrington & McClain, Independence, Mo.
Patton, Springfield, Mo.; Bert L. Wolff, Skadden,
Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, New York; Frank C.
Woodside III, Dinsmore & Shohl, Cincinnati
83
$20,000,000
Reduced to $12
million for comparative negligence.
Railroad
Family of motorist struck and
killed by train claimed crossing
was dangerous.
Louis C. Accurso, The Accurso Law Firm, Kansas City,
Mo.
Craig M. Leff and James M. Yeretsky, Yeretsky &
Maher, Overland Park, Kan.
83
$20,000,000
Dram Shop
Estate of Fry v. High Note Lounge Inc.
Post-trial motions Failure of bar to eject knifeJefferson Co., Ala., Cir. Ct. CV 02-6865 5/20/2004
pending.
wielding patron resulted in teen’s
death.
John David Lawrence and James S. Roberts Jr.,
Townes, Woods & Roberts, Gardendale, Ala.
John Norris, Montgomery, Ala.
83
$20,000,000
Case settled for
$15 million.
Wrongful Death
Ranch employee shot and killed
immigrant he mistook for hog.
Rene R. Barrientos, Law Offices of Rene R. Barrientos, Ron Mendoza, Davis, Cedillo & Mendoza, San
San Antonio; Carlos R. Soltero and Stephanie E.
Antonio; Victor Viciniaz, Roerig, Oliviera & Fisher,
Kaiser, McGinnis, Lochridge & Kilgore, Austin, Texas
McAllen, Texas
87
$19,932,000
Reduced to $17.9
million. Post-trial
motions pending.
Motor Vehicle
Companioni v. City of Tampa
Motorcyclist severely injured in Hillsborough Co., Fla., Cir. Ct. 97-06881 3/26/2004
collision with city of Tampa water
department truck.
Russell Stahl, Tampa, Fla.
88
$19,200,000
Appeal pending.
Motor Vehicle
Rear-ender by truck sent car
careening into path of oncoming
semi.
Tom Leahy and Peter D. Hoste, Leahy & Hoste, Chica- Patrick C. Dowd, Dowd & Dowd, Chicago
go
89
$19,142,000
Transit Authority is
responsible for
half.
Transportation
Gil v. New York City Transit Authority
Door closed on subway rider, who Queens Co., N.Y., Sup. Ct. 8079/01 4/14/2004
was dragged until he fell on
tracks and was run over.
David J. Dean, Sullivan Papain Block McGrath & Canna- Alan M. Kramer, Kramer Martynetz & Verbesey,
vo, New York
New York, trial counsel to Wallace D. Gossett, New York
90
$19,098,341
Appeal pending.
Motor Vehicle
Van struck construction flagger
in reflective vest, causing
catastrophic brain injury.
Shanin Specter and Matthew A. Casey, Kline &
Specter, Philadelphia
Sturdevant v. Kansas City Southern Railway Co.
Jackson Co., Mo., Cir. Ct. 02-CV-232842 7/22/2004
Olmos v. Mendoza
Webb Co., Texas, Dist. Ct. 2003-CVQ-00995-D3 8/23/2004
Estate of Tengler v. Preferred Unlimited Inc.
Cook Co., Ill., Cir. Ct. 99 L 11861 2/18/2004
McManamon v. Washko
Luzerne Co., Pa., Ct. C.P. 7479-C-2001 1/21/2004
William Terry, Assistant Tampa City Attorney, Tampa
Lucille Marsh, Kreder Brooks Hailstone, Scranton,
Pa.
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Monday, February 21, 2005
THE NATIONAL LAW JOURNAL/WWW.NLJ.COM
S15
THE
NLJ CLIENT LIST—WHO
DEFENDSOF
CORPORATE
AMERICA
VERDICTSEARCH
TOP 100 VERDICTS
2004
Rank
Case
Lawyers
Amount
Status
Type
Description
Name
Court, Docket, Date
Plaintiff’s attorney(s)
Firm
Defense attorney(s)
Firm
91
$19,098,263
Appeal expected.
Products Liability
Estate of Gunderson v. Sandoz Pharmaceuticals
Drug to prevent lactation caused Corp.
woman to suffer fatal seizure.
Jefferson Co., Ky., Cir. Ct. 94-CI-04680 (Sec. 1) 3/1/2004
Larry B. Franklin and Michael R. Hance, Franklin and Bruce J. Berger, Spriggs & Hollingsworth, WashingHance, Louisville, Ky.
ton; Edward H. Stopher, Boehl Stopher & Graves,
Louisville, Ky.
92
$19,014,000
$700,000 reduction
stipulated. Fees of
$728,668 awarded.
Employment
Woman terminated for excessive
absences caused by panic
disorder claimed discrimination.
Christopher H. Whelan, Law Offices of Christopher H. Philip Drysdale, Baum & Weems, Dublin, Calif.;
Whelan, Gold River, Calif.; David M. deRubertis, The
Sarah Robertson, Fitzgerald Abbott & Beardsley,
deRubertis Law Firm, Woodland Hills, Calif.
Oakland, Calif.
93
$18,503,300
Court set aside
punitives, reducing
award by $1 million.
Products Liability
Labar v. Lakewood Engineering & Manufacturing
Faulty switch and switch housing Co.
assembly in box fan caused
Starr Co., Texas, Dist. Ct. DC-03-25 1/21/2004
deadly fire.
94
$18,220,000
Tortious Interference
Award is on coun- Insurer encouraged doctors to
terclaim. Post-trial work for hospital’s rivals.
motions pending.
95
$18,204,244
Motor Vehicle
Reduced by 25% as High vegetation at crossing
per fault. Post-trial obscured oncoming train.
motion pending.
96
$18,145,831
97
Roby v. McKesson HBOC
Yolo Co., Calif., Super. Ct. CV 01-573 4/30/2004
Roberto L. Ramirez and Raymond L. Thomas, Kittleman, Thomas, Ramirez & Gonzales, McAllen, Texas
Jose E. Garcia and Francisco R. Villarreal,
Garcia & Villarreal, McAllen, Texas
NCRIC Inc. v. Columbia Hospital for Women Medical
Center Inc.
D.C. Super Ct. 00-0007308 2/17/2004
Rodney F. Page, Bryan Cave, Washington (for NCRIC)
Neil M. Gorsuch, Kellogg, Huber, Hansen, Todd &
Evans, Washington (for the hospital)
Slater v. Union Pacific Railroad Co.
Brazoria Co., Texas, Dist. Ct. 19896JG02 6/24/2004
Robert S. Kwok, Robert Kwok & Associates, Houston;
Theresa Dean, Law Offices of Theresa Dean, Bay City,
Texas
David Lee Crawford, Phelps Dunbar, Houston;
Harding J. Rome, Union Pacific Railroad Legal
Department, Houston
Contracts
Estate of McDaniel v. Cox Communications Inc.
Cox induced firm it was buying to Galveston Co., Texas, Prob. Ct. 60,943-A 10/15/2004
renegotiate deal to purchase
plaintiffs’ companies.
Jack C. Brock and Maureen Kuzik McCutchen,
Mills Shirley, Galveston, Texas
A. Craig Eiland, Galveston, Texas; Wayne Fisher,
Fisher, Boyd, Brown, Boudreaux & Huguenard, Houston
$17,890,000
Price, only defendant at trial, 15%
at fault; settled.
Motor Vehicle
Highway builder blamed for dust
cloud that led to pileup.
George W. Mauzé II, Mauzé Law Firm, San Antonio;
Charles M. Noteboom, Noteboom – The Law Firm,
Hurst, Texas
Grant E. Adami III, Adami, Goldman & Shuffield, San
Antonio; Jose E. Garcia, Garcia & Villarreal, McAllen,
Texas
98
$17,490,000
Reduced to
$14,866,500 for
comparative fault.
Public Utilities
Viersta v. Idaho Power Co.
Electrical current escaping from Twin Falls Co., Idaho, Dist. Ct. cv-00-3408 2/10/2004
old power lines posed health risk
to cows.
Ken Peterson, Morris, Laing, Evans, Brock & Kennedy,
Wichita, Kan.
David Brenner, Riddell Williams, Seattle; Lance
Salladay, Boise, Idaho
99
$17,200,000
Verdict overturned
by judge. Appeal
pending.
Legal Malpractice
Telecom executive claimed
Gardner Carton & Douglas
devised plan to force him out.
Creighton Magid, Dorsey & Whitney, Washington
Charles Wayne and Robert Salerno, Piper
Rudnick, Washington
100
$17,146,413
Creditor and Debtor
GBM Logistic Services Inc. v. Y-USA Inc.
Company was never paid for DVD Los Angeles Co., Calif., Super. Ct. BC 292 719 4/19/2004
players sold and delivered.
Nicholas W. Hornberger, Hornberger & Brewer, Los
Angeles; H.G. Robert Fong, Ku & Fong, Los Angeles
Christoper J. Nance, Law Offices of Christopher J.
Nance, Van Nuys, Calif.
Garcia v. Price Construction Inc.
Webb Co., Texas, Dist. Ct. 2001-CVE-000095D3 2/20/2004
Ahan v. Grammas
Prince George’s Co., Md., Cir. Ct. CA L02-09937 8/5/2004