Plaintiffs Continue to Get their Clocks Cleaned in Mississippi Trials
The latest edition of the Mississippi Jury Verdict Reporter hit newsstands this week, and it confirms something that I've talked about on this blog for a while. Defense verdicts and small plaintiff verdicts do not get publicity.
The April edition reports on 19 recent verdicts. 9 of the 19 were outright defense verdicts. Of the rest, consider some of these jackpot justice plaintiff verdicts and their venues:
- $80,000 (Madison County)
- $5,740 (Harrison County)
- $25,000 (Pearl River County)
- $20,000 (Jackson County)
- $61,833 (Lamar County)
- $5,500 (Pike County).
So 15 of 19 verdicts were defense verdicts or verdicts under six figures. Here are the amounts and venues of the other 4 plaintiff verdicts:
- $3,603,712 (Hinds County/ I lost my Battleship board game blueprints case)
- $874,502 (federal court Jackson/ sexual discrimination)
- $2,011,702 (federal court Gulfport/ bad faith breach of contract)
- $200,000 (federal court Oxford/ contract type case).
Admittedly, Hinds County is a venue where a plaintiff can get a large verdict. But three of these verdicts were in federal court.
Federal court in Mississippi does not have a reputation as being plaintiff friendly. Most reports that I am getting from lawyers trying cases in federal court are that the juries look conservative and the judges are fair.
No one ever talks about all the venues where if the plaintiff can get any verdict at all, then it will be for a small amount. And there are a lot more of those type venues in Mississippi than venues where plaintiffs can get a large verdict.
But we need caps in Mississippi? Seriously?
I tell people all the time there were no "run away verdicts" in Mississippi, there were run away verdict in approximately 5 counties of Mississippi's 82 counties, yet so called tort reform affected all 82 counties. There were really on two rules that needed changing. 1. Savings clause (allowing claimants from other states to sue in Miss when SOL had run in their state) 2. Venue or joinder where venue as to one party allowed everyone to join in with a case (with venue) in one of those 5 counties, where venue was otherwise not there. Of course, the real problem was abuse of the rules as written and judges that let them. Caps were and are still not the answer and verdicts shown are consistent with the past and not the result of tort reform itself.
The best "tort reform" would be appointed judges.
... Re: the $3.6M verdict Philip lists, I have some details here, gleaned from the excellent MJVR.
Useful tho it is, it's hard to say how scientific the MJVR is; it seems to rely in part on word-of-mouth. I am wondering whether ECF statewide will make it possible for the AOC to produce comprehensive stats on verdicts.
Of course, jury verdicts are only the tip of the iceberg. Most cases settle.
Federal court is comprehensive. We communicate regularly with courts in virtually every county. Harrison Cty excepted although we try there.
We write about every verdict we know about. And we endeavor to find them all.
Let me know if you tried anything lately.
Finally AOC data depends on data being correctly reported and it doesn't include federal court.
I'll add. Just hearing this AM, a 250k slip and fall verdict in Tunica County two weeks ago.
No slur intended on MJVR, which is a very useful guide (and to which my firm subscribes).
AOC data isn't much now, but I think when ECF goes statewide it will offer the potential, if anyone in that office cares, of comprehensive data. As well as making it much easier for private parties to consult.
Keep us posted on the strange doings in Harrison County!
Damage caps, cousins to mandatory sentencing, and "zero tolerance policies" would, like them, no doubt have unjust unintended consequences by removing discretion from the very people who are in the best position to properly utilize it.
Anderson, I agree with you as long as I get to appoint the judges!
App't isn't "nonpolitical" of course, but it would at least remove the necessity of campaigning & $$ donations. The 6-year terms that failed to get enacted a few years back would also help.