CALIFORNIA CASES
Disability Discrimination
Verdict: $1,178,341
Plaintiff alleged several
claims including retaliation after she requested an accommodation for her eye
disorder, central serous retinopathy (Salinda v. DIRECTV Inc., Los Angeles
County Superior Court, Plaintiff Attorney: Supreeta Samprath).
Stroke Suit
Verdict: Defense
Defendant contended that
plaintiff's stroke was a consequence of the surgery to address the underlying
subdural hematoma and was not a consequence of any delay in proceeding to that
surgery (Shin v. Song, Orange County Superior Court, Defense Attorney: Terrence
J. Schafer).
Asbestos Death
Verdict: $38,951,367
Plaintiffs alleged that
defendants' asbestos product caused mesothelioma, death. The jury assigned 35 percent
fault to defendant BorgWarner Morse TEC Inc., 65 percent to others (Soto v. A Best
Products Company, Los Angeles County Superior Court, Plaintiff Attorney: Simona
A. Farrise).
Elder Abuse
Verdict: $270,000
The jury found that
defendant violated decedent's right to complete and accurate health records
(468 violations at $500 per violation) and violated decedent's right to
meaningful and informative nurses' progress notes as often as the patient's
condition warranted (72 violations at $500 per violation) (Lemaire v. Covenant
Care California LLC, Ventura County Superior Court, Plaintiff Attorney: Gregory
L. Johnson).
Investment Fraud
Decision: $315,505
Investment manager accused
of fraud after losing investor's life savings (Dienstl v. Dehaven, San Diego
County Superior Court, Plaintiff Attorney: Joe Auerbach).
Centerline Crossover
Settlement: $1,800,000
Although liability was
ostensibly admitted by the defense, there was a contested issue of a punitive
damages claim brought against the defendant employer due to bald tires and an
untrained employee driver of the defendants' truck (Manriquez v. Heidrick, Yolo
County Superior Court, Plaintiff Attorney: Stewart P. Galbraith).
CO Poisoning
Verdict: Defense
Plaintiffs alleged that
defendant apartment owner was responsible for faulty natural gas wall furnace
but jury sided with defendant (Jenkins-Nunn v. Terry, Alameda County Superior
Court, Defense Attorney: Philip A. Segal).
Age Discrimination
Verdict: $325,223
Salesman alleged that
defendant demoted him and changed his compensation plan to 100 percent commission and
limited automobile reimbursement, which was unlike any other employee
compensation package (Silverman v. Stuart F. Cooper Inc., Los Angeles County
Superior court, Plaintiff Attorney: Paul M. Gleason).
Cliff Fall
Verdict: $317,510
A 19-year-old college
student alleged that defendant's police officers caused him to fall 30 feet
from a cliff on the UC Santa Cruz campus causing multiple major injuries (Dines
v. Regents of the University of California, Alameda County Superior Court,
Plaintiff Attorney: Andrew C. Schwartz).
Retrial of $6M Verdict
Verdict: Defense
Jury found for defense in
this retrial of a business dispute that originally went to trial in 2005 with
an award of over $6 million against defendant Minidis (Dousette v. Cafe
Concepts Inc., Los Angeles County Superior Court, Defense Attorney: Gerald A.
Klein).
Leg Amputation
Verdict: $17,120,662
An 84-year-old suffered leg
amputation after being struck by bus causing him to lose his independence and
self-sufficiency (Huayanca v. Southland Transit Inc., Los Angeles County
Superior Court, Plaintiff Attorney: Thomas Schultz).
NATIONAL CASES
FCRA Violations
Verdict: $18,580,000
Credit reporting agency allegedly
merged consumer's credit file with that of another person, failed to
investigate consumer's disputes of incorrect information in her credit report,
and sent incorrect credit reports to the consumer's creditors (Miller v. Equifax
Information Services LLC, Oregon - United States District Court, D. Or.,
Plaintiff Attorney: Justin M. Baxter).
Nursing Home Misconduct
Verdict: $1,110,000,000
A jury agreed that
defendant Trans Healthcare Inc. deserved to be punished for such severe
corporate greed that it caused plaintiffs' decedent to suffer for years in a
nursing home that was short-staffed and under-supplied; $110 million in
compensatory damages and $1 billion in punitive damages (Estate of Townsend v.
Trans Healthcare Inc., Florida - Polk County Circuit Court, Plaintiff Attorney:
Bennie Lazzara).
Editor’s Note: California Bar Journal publishes this abbreviated summary of important
trials in California and the nation provided by Trials Digest. To report your
case results, go to http://trialsdigest.com or call 415-344-3952.