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Top 10 Verdicts
Top 10 Verdicts 2005
| Award | Case name and court | Plaintiff attorney(s) | Defense attorney(s) | Description | Status | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $700,000,000 | Quackenbush v. Altus Finance U.S. District Court, Central District CV 99-02829-AHM, 7/25/2005 | Gary Fontana, Thelen, Reid & Priest, San Francisco | Robert Weigel and James P. Clark, Gibson Dunn & Crutcher, New York | Fraudulent Concealment Executive Life Ins. Co. buyer concealed its ties to Credit Lyonnais | Court set aside punitives; judgment for $241 M on unjust enrichment claim. |
| 2 | $465,400,000 | Lexar Media v. Toshiba Corp. Santa Clara County Superior Court 1-02-CV-812458, 3/24/2005 | Matthew D. Powers, Weil Gotshal & Manges, Redwood Shores | Michael A. Jacobs, Morrison & Foerster, San Francisco | Intellectual Property Memory-card maker accused electronics company of theft | Request for emergency appeal denied. |
| 3 | $420,000,000 | Masimo Corp v. Tyco Health Care Group LP U.S. District Court, Central District CV 02-4770 MRP (AJWx), 3/21/2005 | Stephen D. Susman, Susman Godfrey, Houston, Texas | Stephen C. Neal, Cooley Godward, Palo Alto | Antitrust Manufacturer claimed rival monopolized pulse-oximetry market | Post-trial motions pending. |
| 4 | $172,000,000 | Savaglio v. Wal-Mart Stores Inc. Alameda County Superior Court C-835687, 12/22/2005 | Frederick P. Furth and Jessica L. Grant, The Furth Firm, San Francisco | Neal S. Manne, Susan Godfrey, Houston, Texas | Employment Employer failed to provide employees with legally required meal breaks | Appeal expected. |
| 5 | $63,899,000 | Baker v. Privatair Inc. Los Angeles County Superior Court BC322198, 12/13/05 | Michael L. Kelly, Kirtland & Packard, El Segundo | Joseph C. Maya, Maya & Assoc., Westport, Conn. | DefamationPilots and flight attendant schemed to get pilot fired | |
| 6 | $40,803,113 | 1601 McCarthy Boulevard LLC v. GMAC Commercial Mortgage Corp. San Francisco Superior Court CGC-03-425848, 1/26/2005 | Jon B. Streeter and Matthew M. Werdegar, Keker & Van Nes LLP, San Francisco | Thomas Arthur and Thomas M. Robins III, Frandzel, Robins, Bloom & Csato, Los Angeles | Real Estate Loan servicer refused to release impounded lease-termination payment | Appeal pending. |
| 7 | $38,332,930.90 | Blanks v. Seyfarth Shaw LLP Los Angeles County Superior Court BC 308 355, 4/4/2005 | James R. Rosen, Law Offices of James R. Rosen PC, Beverly Hills | John M. Moscarino and Joseph Connolly, Moscarino & Connolly, Los Angeles | Legal Malpractice Tae Bo creator claimed lawyer botched suit against his agent by not filing in time | Remitted to $29,021,958 to avoid double recovery; atty fees of $2.1M added; defense motions denied. |
| 8 | $30,000,000 | Estate of Bakley v. Blake Los Angeles County Superior Court EC 034380, 11/18/2005 | Eric J. Dubin, Law Offices of Eric J. Dubin, Irvine | Gary S. Austin, Law Offices of Gary S. Austin, Beverly Hills; Peter G. Ezzell, Haight, Brown & Bonesteel, Santa Monica | Wrongful Death Robert Blake shot wife while she waited for him in car | Motion for JNOV expected. |
| 9 | $28,050,000 | State of California v. Underwriters at Lloyd's of London Riverside County Superior Court 239784 / RIC-381555, 5/16/2005 | Darryl L. Doke, Office of Attorney General, Sacramento; Robert M. Horkovich, Anderson, Kill & Olick, New York | John E. Peer, Woolls & Peer, Los Angeles | Environmental Insurers liable for cost of cleaning up Stringfellow Acid Pits | Recovery limited to single tower of coverage, resulting in $12M award. Bad faith issue still to be litigated. |
| 10 | $27,386,567 | Dominguez v. City and County of San Francisco San Francisco Superior Court. CGC 03-422963, 9/1/2005 | Brian J. Panish and Kevin R. Boyle, Panish Shea & Boyle, Los Angeles | John Aubrey and Karen E. Kirby, Office of City Attorney, San Francisco | Motor Vehicle Truck jumped curb, killing 4-year-old in full view of her mother | Motion for new trial denied. |
| Methodology Throughout the year, VerdictSearch, a Recorder affiliate, strives to report as many jury verdicts as possible from around the nation. In addition to accepting submissions from attorneys, we develop leads by scouring the courts, searching the Internet and other news sources, such as American Lawyer Media publications, and cultivating relationships with law firms. Our exhaustive efforts allow us to present this list with every confidence in its accuracy. However, if we left anyone out, we apologize.Verdicts are ranked by gross award and do not reflect reductions for comparative negligence; remittiturs, additurs and reversals; and attorney fees and costs (unless awarded by the jury). In situations where awards are automatically trebled by statute, the trebled amount is listed. In addition to what is on our chart, more details about these cases can be obtained by purchasing VerdictSearch's Top 100 book, which will contain full reports on each case, including judge, facts of the case, causes of action and defenses, a detailed account of injuries and damages, a breakdown of the award, expert witnesses, jury composition and other trial details. |
