Mega-Verdicts Decline as National Law Journal Profiles the Top Jury Verdicts of 2001

Business Wire, Feb 7, 2002

Business Editors & Legal Writers

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 7, 2002

Nursing Home Operators, Asbestos Cases and Medical Companies Emerge

as Liability Targets; Texas Juries Continue to Reward

Plaintiffs With Big Verdicts

This week, The National Law Journal(R) (NLJ) reports the 100 largest jury verdicts and 20 top defense wins of 2001, a year characterized by a sizeable drop in "mega-verdicts" of $100 million or more.

The year's largest award of $3 billion by a California jury to an ex-smoker in a case against Philip Morris failed to approach the $145 billion award against the tobacco industry that topped the NLJ's 2000 list. Despite the decline in the largest verdicts, juries awarded plaintiffs $10 million or more in nearly 200 trials over the course of the year. The complete survey, the most comprehensive listing of its kind, as well as profiles of major cases, is available in the current issue of the NLJ and on the Web at www.nlj.com.

Nationwide, juries appear increasingly disgruntled with the owners and operators of nursing homes. In the past year, juries handed down five verdicts of $20 million or more against this group, including one award of $312 million in Texas. After a short hiatus, asbestos litigation appears to be re-emerging, with 13 awards of $10 million or more across multiple states. Drug makers and manufacturers of medical devices were also targets, with decisions this year in cases related to the diet-drug fen-phen, the diabetic medication Rezulin and a manufacturer of hip replacement devices. Literally thousands of additional cases are pending against these defendants and are likely to produce substantial verdicts in the years ahead.

Geographically, Texas remains the most generous plaintiffs' state in the country, contributing 24 of the year's 100 largest jury awards. Mississippi, however, is rapidly becoming a preferred venue for actions, as juries in four trials in that state awarded verdicts of $70 million or more.

Defense wins, although not marked by multi-million dollar awards, can be equally significant. The NLJ's list for 2001 includes the successful defense by the NFL against claims by the Oakland Raiders that the team had been prevented from moving their franchise to Los Angeles; Broadcom's "bet the company" win against claims by Intel of patent infringement; and a significant win by Ford in a rollover case in Texas, where the jury found no defects or negligence by Ford related to the design and manufacture of the Explorer.

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