Mississippi Litigation Review & Commentary : Mississippi Personal Injury Lawyer & Attorney : Phillip W. Thomas Law Firm : MS Litigation Review & Commentary

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks

A federal jury in New Orleans yesterday returned a defense verdict in the first trial involving claims that FEMA trailers exposed the plaintiffs to dangerous fumes. Here is the AP story on the verdict.

Mississippi residents will remember the steady migration of the trailers heading south on I-55 in the Fall of 2005 after Katrina. Tens of thousands of Coast and South Louisiana residents who lost their homes in Katrina moved into the trailers. There are now hundreds of lawsuits involving allegations that the trailers contained unsafe levels of formaldehyde, which caused health problems. A juror in the case told the press that the plaintiffs never had the "smoking gun" that proved their case.

Although the verdict was only in one case, the verdict was huge for the defendants. With hundreds of similar cases pending, neither side can afford the costs of trying every case. The results in the first few trials dictate whether the inevitable settlement will be on terms favorable to the plaintiffs or defense. Some plaintiff lawyers walk away from mass litigation after only one trial defeat. Others may hang in longer and take another case or two to trial, but at some point there is a limit to the amount of time and money that a plaintiff attorney can put into a losing case. A case like this probably had over $100,000 in expenses that the plaintiff's attorneys had to pay out of pocket and has now loss. Not to mention all the time that they had invested in the case. That puts a lot of pressure on the plaintiff's lawyers in a bell whether trial like this. 

Plaintiff lawyers are simply under more pressure than the defense lawyers in a big trial. That's just a fact.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks

A Hinds County jury awarded a total of $4 million to a Jackson couple who were assaulted and beaten in 2008 in their room at the In Town Suites on I-55 in North Jackson. The case was tried before Judge Tommie Green. Plaintiff's counsel was Ashley Ogden of Jackson. Defense counsel was Wade Manor and another attorney with Scott, Sullivan Streetman and Fox of Ridgeland. The jury awarded $2 million to each of the two plaintiffs.

I watched a good portion of this trial and there really was no defense. Someone severely beat the two Plaintiffs in their room at the hotel. The former hotel manager testified that he quit because he feared for his life after having a gun put to his head in an earlier robbery. The manager testified that he begged for security. The corporation that owned the hotel would not grant the manager's requests for armed security, stating that it was not in the hotel's budget. The manager testified that the hotel netted $700,000 in profit in 2007, which was the year before the assault. 

Several police officers testified that there was a major crime problem at the hotel that hotel ownership did not address. The defendant argued that lighting and peep holes in doors was security and that there were inconsistencies in the two plaintiffs' accounts of what happened. Defense counsel seemed to be suggesting that the plaintiffs knew their attackers and were doing something wrong. But the defendant put on no evidence to support this theory. Defendants can occasionally win cases with suspicion and innuendo rather than hard evidence, but it did not happen this week in Hinds County.   

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks

Here is the jury's verdict form in the near $16 million verdict against Kia Motors in federal court in Greenville on Friday. The verdict included $5,570,000 in economic damages and $10 million in non-economic damages. The non-economic award will presumably be reduced to $1 million due to Mississippi's statutory cap on non-economic damages.

From the form of the verdict it appears that the defect at issue in the trial was a faulty seat belt in a 2001 Kia Sportage. The injuries were to a minor named Jaleesa Willis and her mother Martha Willis was the plaintiff in the case on Jaleesa's behalf. The jury apportioned Kia 100% of the fault. The trial judge was Judge Allen Pepper.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks

I have a report of a $16 million jury verdict today in federal court in Greenville against Kia Motors. The case is presumably a products case involving a defective auto. Defense counsel was David Ayers and Robert Ireland of Watkins & Eager in Jackson.  Plaintiff's counsel was Ralph Chapman from Clarskdale. I am trying to get more information.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks

The $3.3 million verdict in Rankin County last week is confirmed. It was an 18-wheeler case where a drunk truck driver ran a red light on highway 49 in Florence. The truck driver pleaded guilty to DUI homicide. The case was a wrongful death suit on behalf of the family of a nineteen-year-old passenger. It was a pre-tort reform case, so the $1 million cap on non-economic damages does not apply. The jury was eleven whites and one African-American. There were ten women on the jury and two police officers. The average age of the jury was approximately 34. The trial judge was Judge Samac Richardson.

John Toney represented the plaintiffs. The defense lawyers were Jack Price of Wise Carter, Ed Taylor of Daniel Coker and Walter Dukes from Gulfport.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks

Someone forwarded me an email from Friday that stated that a Rankin County jury returned a $3.3 million verdict in a wrongful death case on Thursday. Plaintiff's attorney was reported to be John Toney. I do not have any other details at this time.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks

Ya'll Politics and the Commercial Appeal have the story of a DeSoto County jury awarding $30 million to a teenager who spent eight months in a coma and suffered a severe traumatic brain injury after his vehicle was hit by an over-weight gravel truck driven by an inexperienced driver. The passenger in the vehicle was killed. The truck driver pleaded guilty to manslaughter and aggravated assault and was sentenced to fifteen years probation. The defendant in the trial was APAC Tennessee, Inc., a road paving company. The jury apportioned APAC 70% of the fault. Paul Scott represented the Plaintiff and Bill Luckett represented the Defendant. Luckett tries a lot of cases and wins his share. Although the article is not clear on this point, APAC may be liable for only $21 million (70% of $30 million).  

I suspect that the defendant's insurance carrier was counting on a conservative DeSoto County jury going easy on the defendant. DeSoto County is 76% white and very conservative. Some insurance companies read too much into statistics like that and try cases that should be settled. While many times the tactic works, when it does not it can result in a big verdict. That is especially true in a case like this where there was surely a staggering amount of economic damages.    

• Email This
• Print
• Comments (2)
• Trackbacks

The Law and More Blog has an interview with Chuck Moellenberg, Jr., the Jones Day partner who led the defense in the recent Jefferson County $7 million lead paint verdict. Here is the story. The story contains an "on the record" quote, which suggests there was an "off the record" excerpt that was deleted. Moellenberg characterizes the verdict as an "aberration" in a county where no manufacturer has ever won.

On another note related to the trial, I am hearing a lot of rumors that trial observers did not think much of the defense experts.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks

An A.P. article reported in the Clarion-Ledger stated that Sherwin-Williams plans to appeal the $7 million lead paint verdict in Jefferson County last week:

An attorney for Sherwin-Williams said the company will appeal the verdict. Attorney John Corlew said Sherwin-Williams hasn’t used lead in residential paint since 1972.

Before an appeal Sherwin-Williams will file post-trial motions asking Judge Lamar Pickard to issue a judgment in its favor notwithstanding the verdict or a new trial. Sherwin-Williams will probably also ask the judge to reduce the amount of the verdict. Those types of motions are usually denied by trial judges, but they must be filed an ruled on before a filing a notice of appeal. That means that an appeal will not be filed for weeks. A ruling on an appeal is probably two years away. The case could also settle before an appeal is filed or during the appeals process.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments (1)
• Trackbacks

There are reports of a $7 million plus jury verdict this week in a Jefferson County lead paint trial. The case was Pollard vs. Sherwin-Williams Company. It's my understanding that Plaintiff's counsel included Tim Porter and Dennis Sweet of Jackson and Michael Casano of Gulfport. Defense counsel were John Corlew and Kathy Smith of Jackson.

The trial was of a case where Circuit Court Judge Lamar Pickard granted summary judgment for the Defendant and the Court of Appeals affirmed. On appeal, the Mississippi Supreme Court reversed and remanded the case for a trial on the merits. Here is the Supreme Court's opinion. Barring a settlement, look for this verdict to be appealed.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments (2)
• Trackbacks

On June 2, 2009 a Warren County Circuit Court jury returned a $2.83 million verdict in an automobile accident case. Here is the verdict form, which listed twelve categories of damages. I suspect that the defendants would have been better off with a general verdict form with one line for the total damages. Plaintiff's counsel was Gale Walker and John Walker.

There are also reports of a defense verdict last week in Scott County in a medical malpractice wrongful death case. Plaintiff's counsel was Shane Langston and defense counsel was Mildred Morris at Watkins and Eager.

There was also a large verdict in Warren County in April as discussed in this earlier post. Warren County is considered a conservative venue. The string of large verdicts this year in conservative venues suggest two things. First, that large verdicts can be obtained in conservative venues with the right facts. Second, that insurance companies and defense lawyers became overly emboldened by the fact that the Mississippi Supreme Court  went years without affirming a jury verdict and are trying cases that should be settled. But the Mississippi Supreme Court and Court of Appeals have affirmed jury verdicts lately and defense lawyers can no longer confidently tell plaintiff lawyers that we're going to try it, and if you win, we'll get it reversed on appeal. 

It took a while for the legal community to recognize how conservative juries and the appellate court were in the early to mid- 2000's. Now with a swing back to the middle, it may again take a while for everyone to recognize the change.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks

I was able to obtain more information on the recent $4.6 million jury verdict in Hinds County Circuit Court. It is my understanding that the defendant was Baptist Hospital and one or more physicians, but that the verdict was only against the hospital. It was a wrongful death case where the plaintiff's records disclosed that she was allergic to latex, but the hospital used latex gloves in her surgery, causing her to die. The decedent was a young attorney employed by the Department of Human Services and the case was a pre-tort reform cap case. Since the decedent was and attorney, the plaintiff would have been able to prove substantial economic damages.  

The Plaintiffs did not ask that the case proceed to a punitive damages phase. Plaintiff's attorneys at trial were Joey Diaz and Dennis Sweet of Jackson. Judge Kidd was the trial judge.

In a separate case, I understand that there was an 11-1 defense verdict in Hinds County last week in a nursing home case. Sharon Bridges with Brunini was on the defense side and plaintiff's attorneys included John Hawkins and Precious Martin.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks

Tuesday night it was reported on the MAJ list service that Jackson plaintiff attorney Joey Diaz obtained a $4.6 million verdict Tuesday in a medical malpractice case, with the trial proceeding to the punitive damages phase. The email that was forwarded to me contained no other details.  I will post more information if it becomes available.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks

Today's Clarion-Ledger contains an article on the defense verdict last week in a silica trial in Claiborne County. Here is the story. I originally mentioned the verdict last week. The article confirms that Fred Krutz with Foreman Perry led the defense team. The plaintiff was 73-year old Eugene Westrope of Hazlehurst. The defendants were Clemco (air-powered blast equipment), Precision Packaging (concrete producer) and Lone Star Industries Inc. (cement manufacturer). Judge Lamar Pickard was the trial judge.

The plaintiff asked for $4.5 million in damages. The jury returned a defense verdict in a 9-3 vote. In state court in Mississippi at least nine jurors must agree on the verdict. In the article, Krutz largely credited the win to the defendants ability to screen potential jurors who were involved or had family members involved in similar litigation. While I do not doubt the significance of the defendants' ability to assure a level playing field, they still had to try a good case to get the defense verdict once the jury was in the box.  

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks (1)

There was a defense verdict late Thursday in a Claiborne County silica trial that lasted for at least two weeks. The details that I have are sketchy. I do not know the number of defendants, but I believe that they were sand companies. It appears that plaintiff's counsel included Tim Porter and Allen Smith and defense counsel was led by attorneys from Forman Perry. 

A decade ago Claiborne County was one of the state's notorious plaintiff venues with some huge verdicts. A defense verdict in a mass tort type case in Claiborne County is evidence that civil defendants can receive a fair trial in any Mississippi state court and confirms that the "jackpot justice" era is over in Mississippi.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments (1)
• Trackbacks

A Hinds County Circuit Court jury awarded $2.5 million on Friday to David Marble, a thirty-nine year old cable repairman. Here is the Clarion-Ledger story, which is light on the details. The case was tried before Judge Tommie Green. Ashley Ogden represented the plaintiff and Hugh Gillon from Upshaw Williams represented the defendant, Deviney Construction. Plaintiff alleged that Deviney cut a live electrical wire and left without warning anyone about the hazardous condition. Plaintiff later came into contact with the wire, causing severe injuries.  

It's my understanding that the plaintiff suffered a back injury and that there was expert testimony that he was permanently disabled. I'm not sure how an electrical contact causes a back injury.

I believe that this is Ogden's fourth seven figure verdict in Hinds County this year. There was also an announcement in the paper on Sunday that former Chief Justice Jim Smith is now of counsel with Ogden's firm, which is very ironic. I'll post more on this verdict if I obtain additional information about the case.  

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks

Week before last there were two civil trial going on in Warren County Circuit Court at the same time. In Bougois v. Magnolia Marine Transport the jury returned a plaintiff's verdict of $1,697,000. The plaintiff injured his back on a barge in 2001 when he was 42 years old. He had two surgeries and was permanently disabled. he alleged that Magnolia Marine failed to provide him with a dolly that he needed to safely perform his job, leading to his injury. The plaintiff's attorney was Kelly Loyacono of Vicksburg. Defense counsel was Ernie Lane of Oxford.

The other trial was a med-mal case with a lawyer as the named plaintiff. The jury returned a defense verdict for the doctor.

These two verdicts illustrate the fact that it is easier to obtain information about plaintiff verdicts than it is for defense verdicts. Defendants win as many trial as plaintiffs, perhaps more. But the cases that make it into the newspaper are the ones involving large awards to the plaintiff.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks

More facts emerged this week from the Kroger beating case. The Plaintiff presented the following evidence against Kroger at trial:

1. The assailant told his two accomplices that he had "hit" the Kroger twice previously in the past few months.
2. Kroger had two incident reports for parking lot muggings where the assailant's description matched the assailant in this case.
3. Kroger paid to have off-duty JPD and Hinds S.D. deputies patrol the store to guard against shop lifters. There had been no violent crimes in the store.
4. Kroger had an unarmed security guard in the parking lot who had no power to arrest individuals. The parking lot security cost half ($10.00 per hr.) what the in store security cost. ($17.00-20.00 per hr.).
5. Kroger could have had armed off-duty law enforcement officers in the parking lot at no extra cost by stationing the security guard in the store and the police officer or deputy in the parking lot.
6. Kroger gave its customers no warning of the recent history of violent crimes in the parking lot.
7. At trial Kroger blamed the victim for attempting to defend herself and keep the assailant from taking her purse.

It's amazing to me that anyone can criticize this verdict.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks

A Madison County jury awarded a plaintiff $1.9 million today in a car accident case. The verdict may be the largest verdict in the history of the county. The trial judge was Judge William Chapman.

The plaintiff's medical bills were approximately $200,000 and there were over $1 million additional economic damages. The plaintiff's attorney was John Davidson of Jackson.