Member Firm Trial Successes

BM&S Partner Lisa J. Black and Senior Counsel Mark E. Jordan-Poinsette secure dismissal in construction accident case Black Marjieh & Sanford LLP (BM&S) Partner Lisa J. Black and Senior Counsel Mark E. Jordan-Poinsette successfully secured the dismissal of all claims against their client, a subcontractor named in a construction accident lawsuit. The court ruled in favor of the firm’s client, agreeing that they were not a proper Labor Law defendant. BM&S presented clear evidence demonstrating… Continue Reading

Wicker Smith (South Florida) Trio of Wicker Smith attorneys obtain a defense verdict in a trucking negligence case Wicker Smith Miami Partners Erik Crep and T. Michael Kennedy and Associate Trenton Wasser obtained a defense verdict in a trucking negligence case in late February in Broward County, Florida. This case involved a low-hanging power line that was hit by their client’s semi-trailer, causing a utility pole to break and hit the plaintiff’s car. Both the… Continue Reading

Wicker Smith (Central Florida) Wicker Smith Naples Partners Ashley Withers, Lindsey Grossman, and Kevin Crews recently obtained a defense verdict in a wrongful death case in Collier County, Florida. They represented the hospital and a cardiothoracic surgeon in this case, in which the decedent underwent a coronary artery bypass graft (CABG). The CABG was successful, but the patient subsequently had a stroke and died. Plaintiff’s counsel alleged that the client's doctor breached the standard of care by not… Continue Reading

Rivkin Radler LLP (Uniondale & Albany, NY) Wilck & Wisher Achieve Dismissal of Legal Malpractice Case Rivkin Radler’s Uniondale Partner David Wilck and Albany Associate Ben Wisher teamed up to defend an attorney against a legal malpractice action brought by the attorney’s former client. The plaintiff alleged that, in August 2017, the attorney prepared a deed for the plaintiff and her since-deceased brother. The intention was for the title to the properties conveyed to be… Continue Reading

Rivkin Radler Partner Jonathan Bruno and Associate Jason Biegel were granted summary judgment by Judge Paul Oetken of the Southern District of New York in an action against a Catholic school located in Riverdale, New York. The plaintiffs, a recent graduate of the school and her father, alleged that the school inadequately addressed the bullying the student experienced from kindergarten through the eighth grade in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Rehabilitation Act,… Continue Reading

D.C. Court of Appeals affirms summary judgment to One Parking in slip and fall case A three-judge panel of the District of Columbia Court of Appeals affirmed the Superior Court of the District of Columbia’s grant of summary judgment to One Parking 555, LLC (“One Parking”). One Parking was sued by a patron who allegedly tripped and fell on a single-step riser in a parking garage operated by One Parking. The patron contended that the… Continue Reading

Sweeny, Wingate & Barrow, P.A. attorneys Mark Barrow, Richard McLawhorn, and Adam Crain recently obtained a defense verdict for a large national trucking company. It was alleged that a truck driver’s striking of a guy wire connected to a power pole was the proximate cause of catastrophic injuries suffered by a man who volunteered to help the responding fire department direct traffic to alternate routes and who was then struck by an oncoming pick-up truck.… Continue Reading

Hanson Bridgett LLP sealed its victory for Australian artist Illma Gore against controversial rock musician Marilyn Manson in connection with his defamation and emotional distress suit against Gore and co-defendant Evan Rachel Wood Hanson Bridgett LLP sealed its victory for Australian artist Illma Gore against controversial rock musician Marilyn Manson in connection with his defamation and emotional distress suit against Gore and co-defendant Evan Rachel Wood. Manson dropped his appeal of Gore’s May 2023 anti-SLAPP victory… Continue Reading

Rivkin Radler LLP (Albany, NY) John Queenan and Jeff Ehrhardt win motion for summary judgment in civil rights, Fourth Amendment case Rivkin Radler represented two New York State Troopers, who were individually sued via 42 U.S.C. 1983, in the Southern District of New York, for alleged violations of the plaintiff’s Fourth Amendment rights, including alleged wrongful seizure/excessive force, wrongful death, failure to intervene, and related state claims as a result of a fatal encounter. The… Continue Reading

The trial attorneys at Hanson Bridgett LLP have secured a major victory in a significant win for contractor client, Smith-Hyder, Inc. The complex dispute was against the owner and representative of a synagogue (Owner) in Palo Alto, California, over its $20 million construction and development. Following a two-week evidentiary arbitration hearing, Hanson Bridgett obtained a complete defense of the Owner's $4.9 million delay and defect claim and went on to achieve a $5.2 million award for Smith-Hyder… Continue Reading

Keely Duke and Marissa Brakes of Duke Evett PLLC prevailed on a Motion for Summary Judgment involving a claim for medical malpractice, where they argued that Plaintiff’s standard of care expert did not meet the statutory foundational requirements of Idaho Code §§ 6-1012 and 6-1013. The District Court agreed that Plaintiff’s expert witness testimony was inadmissible and dismissed Plaintiff’s action, with prejudice. Continue Reading

Christina Hesse and Chesney Arend of Duke Evett in Idaho prevailed on a Motion for Summary Judgment involving a 42 U.S.C. § 1983 civil rights claim alleging a medical provider acted with deliberate indifference to Plaintiff’s medical needs, in violation of the Eighth Amendment. Hesse and Arend argued the defendant medical provider did not violate Plaintiff’s Eighth Amendment right to adequate medical treatment because Plaintiff was, in fact, offered medical care that he declined, “to… Continue Reading

Pierce Couch partners Rusty Hendrickson (pictured right) and Jeffrey Hendrickson recently defended a local hospitalist team, including an internal medicine physician and nurse practitioner, in a medical-negligence jury trial in Oklahoma County District Court before Judge Aletia Haynes Timmons. Plaintiff alleged that the hospitalist team prematurely discharged a patient from the hospital, leading to the patient’s death several days later. During the seven-day jury trial, the defendants obtained directed verdicts on punitive damages, informed consent,… Continue Reading

Williams Kastner Seattle attorneys Kenna Duckworth and Eddy Silverman recently obtained a full defense arbitration ruling on a Lemon Law arbitration wherein a motor home was alleged to have eight defects and to have been out-of-service more than the statutory 60-day time period. Duckworth argued that the defects were not covered under the pro-consumer Lemon Laws because the defects pertained to the dwelling portion of the motor home. Duckworth and Silverman obtain this victory on… Continue Reading

[caption id="" align="alignleft" width="100"] Rod Umberger[/caption] [caption id="attachment_4669730" align="alignleft" width="108"] Ryan Vollans[/caption] Williams Kastner attorneys Rodney Umberger and Ryan Vollans recently obtained a defense verdict in a jury trial that lasted nearly four weeks. The case was one of admitted liability following a rear-end collision involving a commercial vehicle owned and operated by Williams Kastner’s client, a Fortune 200 company. The plaintiff, who was seeking millions of dollars, alleged that he sustained a life-altering traumatic… Continue Reading

Dan L. Longo and Kelsey L. Maxwell of Murchison & Cumming LLP successfully defended a Physician's Assistant in a case where the plaintiff claimed medical negligence and medical battery following a gym injury. The jury found in favor of the defense, determining that the Physician's Assistant was not negligent and had acted within the standard of care. The case began when the plaintiff tripped while walking up a flight of stairs at a gym, causing… Continue Reading

Dysart Taylor directors John Wilcox and Meghan Litecky obtained summary judgment in favor of a motor carrier and its driver in a negligence action in which Plaintiff claimed damages of $20M. In 2020, Plaintiff was a passenger in a vehicle driven by her roommate (“Driver”). The two were traveling on I-70 from Colorado to their apartment in Wichita. Near Hays, Kansas, their vehicle was pulled over by a highway patrolman for suspected traffic violations. During… Continue Reading

Wickers Smith (South Florida) Two summary judgments in one day in Lee County, Florida (Premises Liability) Wicker Smith partner Drew Vogt argued Motions for Summary Judgment in two separate matters on the same day in Lee County, Florida, and won them both. In the first case, a slip and fall case on behalf of Publix Supermarkets, evidence showed that the plaintiff walked over the incident area three times in a matter of moments before slipping… Continue Reading

Wicker Smith (Central Florida) Rick Ramsey and Kyle Schmitt secure defense verdict in medical malpractice case Wicker Smith partner Rick Ramsey and associate Kyle Schmitt secured defense verdicts on behalf of three doctors in a medical malpractice trial in Flagler County, Florida. The plaintiff sued the firm's clients, alleging failure to diagnose and treat an aspirated iron pill. The plaintiff allegedly aspirated the pill, spent 11 days in the hospital under the firm's client's care,… Continue Reading

Roetzel & Andress, LPA (Ohio) Lidia Ebersole and Chris Cotter of Roetzel & Andress, LPA obtain unanimous defense verdict Lidia Ebersole and Chris Cotter of Roetzel & Andress, LPA obtained a unanimous defense verdict following a jury trial in the Lucas County Court of Common Pleas (Toledo, Ohio) on behalf of a regional transit authority in a case involving two events related to bus operations during the COVID-19 pandemic. In the first incident, Plaintiff alleged… Continue Reading

Rivkin Radler LLP (Uniondale, NY) Jeremy Honig and Henry Mascia victorious at Appellate Division, Second Department; Glenn Egor and Chris Mango secure favorable order for insurance carrier Jeremy Honig and Henry Mascia represented a commercial tenant in a landlord-tenant dispute. The landlord tried to terminate the client's long-term lease with below-market rent when the client exercised its right to extend the term until 2033. The landlord claimed the client, an LLC, had no rights under… Continue Reading

Quattlebaum, Grooms & Tull PLLC (Little Rock, AR) Firm wins reversal of $34 million ruling and was successful in regulatory matter Quattlebaum, Grooms & Tull PLLC attorneys E. B. (Chip) Chiles IV, Steven W. Quattlebaum, R. Ryan Younger, and S. Katie Calvert represented a group of online travel companies appealing from a $34 million judgment for state and local gross receipts and tourism taxes. Two weeks after oral argument, the Arkansas Supreme Court unanimously held… Continue Reading

Murchison & Cumming LLP (Los Angeles, CA) Jury awards $1.6 million verdict after $37 million demand After a 17-day trial, a Los Angeles County jury reached a verdict in a case involving a self-employed compound pharmacist who was injured during a yoga class when a stretch band detached from the wall and some metal pieces of the band struck the base of her skull. Scott L. Hengesbach of Murchison & Cumming represented the yoga studio.… Continue Reading

Copeland, Cook, Taylor and Bush, P.A.  (Ridgeland, MS) Jim Moore, Rebecca Blunden, and Jason Marsh of Copeland, Cook, Taylor & Bush obtained a defense verdict in an employment case on behalf of one of Mississippi’s most prominent insurers. The case was brought in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Mississippi and involved numerous state and federal employment law claims.  Specifically, a former insurance agent for the company brought Title VII sex discrimination and whistleblower… Continue Reading

Carr Allison (Northwest Florida) Carr Allison shareholders Kyle Weaver and Chris Barkas in Tallahassee, Florida, obtained a favorable verdict after a four-day jury trial in an automobile liability case. The issues of fault for the accident and permanency of the plaintiff's injuries were hotly contested. In closing, the plaintiff asked for roughly $2,000,000, but the jury returned a verdict of $37,000, which was reduced to slightly more than $2,000 by the Court after the trial.… Continue Reading