Not Much New Information to Report on the $103 Million Baker & McKenzie Verdict
I did not get much new information today on the $103 million Evans v. Baker McKenzie verdict.
The lead defense lawyer has been identified as James Brown of Liskow & Lewis in New Orleans. Here is his firm bio page. I am not sure who local defense counsel was or whether they had local defense counsel.
I hear that David Dunbar of Jackson was involved in the trial, but I am not sure of his role.
There was a punitive damages component of the verdict of $150,000. Although miniscule compared to the total verdict, it opens the door to the judge awarding attorney's fees to plaintiff's counsel. Plaintiff's counsel could ask for a percentage of the verdict in attorney's fees—like 1/3. So the miniscule punitive verdict could end up adding a lot to the judgment.
The trial judge was Judge Billy Joe Landrum. Judge Landrum also presided in the August trial that resulted in a $132.5 million verdict in a case involving the death of New York Mets prospect Brian Cole. Here are prior posts on that case.
Judge Landrum has a reputation as being grouchy to defense counsel and I hear that this case was no exception.
First mainstream report on the verdict in the Chicago Tribune:
http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ct-biz-1026-baker-mckenzie--20101026,0,5276111.story
To say that judge Landrum is "grouchy to defense counsel" is like saying that Hurricane Katrina "brought some wind to the gulf coast". More accurately, he is "grouchy" to PLAINTIFF'S counsel and everyone else in the courtroom. To defense counsel, he is overtly hostile.