The Georgia Court of Appeals recently upheld a $10.1 million Cobb County medical-malpractice verdict won by Jay Sadd and Daniel Epstein of Slappey & Sadd and D. Chad Nuce of Pasley Nuce Mallory & Davis.

Defense counsel David Hanson and Zach Fuller asked the court to declare a mistrial because the plaintiff’s counsel told the jury “to award a nuclear verdict” and that the trial court made a mistake in upholding an excessive award. They contended that the plaintiff’s closing argument asking the jury to make the defendants “take responsibility for their actions” was punitive and that “[Plaintiff's] counsel repeatedly and improperly implored the jury to “send a message,” according to their oral argument brief.