One of the most common questions Courtroom View Network gets from judges and attorneys after submitting a request to film a civil trial gavel-to-gavel is, “Why are you here?”
It’s a fair question given that most judges and attorneys only see gavel-to-gavel filming requests associated with high-profile, salacious criminal trials. However that limitation on courtroom video coverage is the result of years of shrinking newsroom budgets, not because the civil cases going to trial week after week throughout the country aren’t of real news value to the legal, educational and professional communities that CVN primarily serves.
The guidelines that allow the news media to film criminal trials also apply to civil trials, and CVN is the only news media organization in the country dedicated to making those civil trials available for a wider audience. Many of the cases CVN covers the rest of the news media are completely unaware of until a verdict comes in (and even then the trial outcome may get little-to-no mainstream media coverage), but that doesn’t mean civil trials aren’t real news events for the legal community.
CVN covers plenty of high-profile civil matters like bellwether trials, or lengthy complex product liability trials involving products like cosmetic talc or automotive components, but we also focus heavily on “real-world” trials - the types of civil cases that regularly go to trial in courtrooms around the country and make up the bulk of cases that actual juries decide. These include premises liability cases, auto-negligence cases, employment cases, medical malpractice cases and more.
Through docket monitoring and news tips CVN independently sources many of the trials we cover, but since we cater specifically to the legal community we also depend on attorneys to help us learn about trials that without CVN would only be seen firsthand gavel-to-gavel by a small handful of attorneys, bailiffs, judges and court reporters. If you have a civil trial coming up you think would be of interest please contact us and help CVN in our mission to shine the spotlight of transparency on civil trials that too-often are ignored by other news media organizations that don't have the resources to make them an editorial priority.
Below are 10 examples of “real world” civil trials (five plaintiff and five defense verdicts) in CVN’s online video archive, among the hundreds of other trials available as part of a CVN video library subscription. Besides highlighting these cases, CVN also hopes to enlist the help of more attorneys, both plaintiff and defense, to bring more of these trials to the professional community’s attention.
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PLAINTIFF VERDICTS
1.) Bartholomew v. Ralphs Grocery Co. (San Diego County, CA)
Nurse awarded $1.4 million in grocery store slip-and-fall
CVN screenshot of plaintiff attorney Dave Fox of Fox Law APC delivering his closing argument
Link to gavel-to-gavel video with full attorney and witness information:
https://cvn.com/proceedings/vicki-bartholomew-v-the-kroger-co-trial-2018-10-29
Why you should watch: ”Jurors in 2018 awarded a California nurse more than $1.4 million for the severe shoulder injury she suffered in a 2015 fall at a Ralphs grocery store.
The award, following a four-day trial limited to damages, includes more than $270,000 in Vicki Bartholomew’s medical expenses and $1.1 million in pain and suffering.”
2.) Tillotson v. Home Depot (Los Angeles County, CA)
Plaintiff verdict against retail giant Home Depot in wrongful termination case
CVN screenshot of plaintiff attorney Maryann Gallagher delivering her closing argument
Link to gavel-to-gavel video with full attorney and witness information:
https://cvn.com/proceedings/patricia-tillotson-v-home-depot-trial-2018-11-06
Why you should watch: A California state court jury awarded $175,500 to a former Home Depot employee in 2018, finding that the retail giant failed to provide reasonable accommodations for her disability from breast cancer surgery and varicose veins, and did not protect her from retaliation after she reported improper sales practices in the store.
More via the CVN News Blog: https://blog.cvn.com/jury-sides-with-fired-home-depot-employee-in-wrongful-termination-lawsuit
3.) Hall v. Loomis Armored US, et al. (Fulton County, GA)
Plaintiff’s verdict in auto-negligence case against armored truck company
CVN screenshot of Joseph Wilson of Joseph Wilson Injury Lawyers delivering his closing
Link to gavel-to-gavel video with full attorney and witness information:
https://cvn.com/proceedings/hall-v-loomis-armoured-us-et-al-trial-2020-02-19
Why you should watch: Jurors in 2020 awarded a Georgia woman $584,000 for the armored truck crash that shattered her arm. The Fulton County State Court jury deliberated about five hours before handing down the verdict for Kirche Hall, whose car was struck by a Loomis Armored-owned truck. The truck’s driver, Jabari Hollis, had failed to stop for a traffic signal when turning at an Atlanta intersection.
More via the CVN News Blog: https://blog.cvn.com/jury-awards-584k-for-georgia-womans-injuries-in-armored-truck-crash
4.) Stevens v. J.R.K. Trucking, et al, (Clayton County, GA)
Plaintiff’s verdict for motorcycle driver who struck a construction barrel
CVN screenshot of attorney Micheal Goldberg delivering his opening statement
Link to gavel-to-gavel video with full attorney and witness information:
https://cvn.com/proceedings/stevens-v-jrk-trucking-et-al-trial-2019-11-11
Why you should watch: Jurors in 2018 handed down an $8 million verdict against a trucking firm after finding one of its drivers responsible for the 2015 crash that injured a Georgia motorcyclist. The jury deliberated about two hours before finding J.R.K. Trucking’s Donald Parks caused the I-75 crash that injured Ronnie Stevens. Stevens contends he crashed his motorcycle when a dump truck driven by Parks struck an orange construction barrel, sending it into Stevens’s path.
More via the CVN News Blog: https://blog.cvn.com/breaking-8m-verdict-hits-trucking-company-for-crash-that-injured-georgia-motorcyclist
5.) Vargas-Chavez v. Gonzalez-Garcia, et al. (Broward County, FL)
Plaintiff’s verdict in childbirth-related medical malpractice case
CVN screenshot of attorney Todd Michaels delivering his closing argument
Link to gavel-to-gavel video with full attorney and witness information:
https://cvn.com/proceedings/vargas-chavez-et-al-v-gonzalez-garcia-et-al-trial-2019-04-16
Why you should watch: Jurors in 2019 handed down a $24.5 million award against a team of doctors for the death of a Florida woman hours after childbirth. The jury, in Florida’s 17th Circuit Court, deliberated about two hours before reaching its verdict in the damages-only trial over the July 2015 death of Lilia Torres.
More via the CVN News Blog: https://blog.cvn.com/breaking-doctors-hit-with-24.5m-verdict-for-death-of-florida-mother-following-childbirth
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DEFENSE VERDICTS
1.) Powell v. BNSF Railway Co. et al. (San Diego County, CA)
BNSF, City of San Diego, dodge $4.5 million verdict over fatal motorcycle accident
CVN screenshot of BNSF attorney Anthony Sonnett delivering his closing argument.
Link to gavel-to-gavel video with full attorney and witness information:
https://cvn.com/proceedings/estate-of-jamie-scott-powell-et-al-v-bnsf-railway-co-trial-2017-04-28
Why you should watch: A California state court jury in 2017 rejected claims from the family of a deceased U.S. Navy sailor that potholes and allegedly unsafe railroad tracks caused him to fly off his motorcycle and into oncoming traffic.
More via the CVN News Blog: https://blog.cvn.com/bnsf-and-city-of-san-diego-dodge-5.4m-verdict-over-fatal-motorcycle-accident
2.) Spencer-Smith v. Cafe 290, et al. (Fulton County, GA)
Defense verdict in premises liability lawsuit filed against Atlanta jazz club
CVN screenshot of defense attorney Brantley Rowlen delivering his opening statement
Link to gavel-to-gavel video with full attorney and witness information:
https://cvn.com/proceedings/spencer-smith-v-cafe-290-et-al-trial-2019-08-12
Why you should watch: Jurors in 2019 cleared an Atlanta-area jazz club of fault for a fall that a patron claimed left her with serious back and hip injuries. A Fulton County State Court jury deliberated a little over 2 hours before finding Cafe 290, in Sandy Springs, was not liable for the April 2013 fall that Tina Spencer-Smith contends left her with a labral tear in her hip and damage to a disc in her back. Spencer-Smith contends she fell when she stumbled against steps as she was about to take her seat in the club.
More via the CVN News Blog: https://blog.cvn.com/breaking-metro-atlanta-jazz-club-prevails-in-2m-trip-and-fall-case
3.) Herrera, et al. v. Certainteed Corp. (Maricopa County, AZ)
Defense verdict in asbestos wrongful death case
CVN screenshot of defense attorney Todd Suddleson delivering his closing argument
Link to gavel-to-gavel video with full attorney and witness information:
https://cvn.com/proceedings/francisco-herrera-et-al-v-certainteed-corporation-et-al-trial-2018-01-08
Why you should watch: An Arizona state court jury in 2018 delivered a defense verdict in favor of CertainTeed Corp. in an asbestos lawsuit, finding that the building materials company is not responsible for the death of a pipefitter whose family claimed he developed cancer after years of inhaling dust generated by sawing asbestos cement pipes.
More via the CVN News Blog: https://blog.cvn.com/jury-clears-certainteed-corp.-in-5m-asbestos-wrongful-death-lawsuit
4.) Cox v. Fatemi, et al. (Fulton County, GA)
Defense verdict in medical malpractice trial stemming from fatal heart attack
CVN screenshot of defense attorney M. Scott Bailey delivering his closing argument
Link to gavel-to-gavel video with full attorney and witness information:
https://cvn.com/proceedings/cox-v-fatemi-et-al-trial-2017-08-07
Why you should watch: Jurors 2017 cleared a physician of responsibility for the heart attack-related death of a long-time Turner Broadcasting sports director.
More via the CVN News Blog: https://blog.cvn.com/doctor-prevails-in-med-mal-trial-over-turner-sports-directors-fatal-heart-attack
5.) Truong v. Waste Service of Florida (Orange County, FL)
Defense verdict in lawsuit filed by man struck by garbage truck
CVN screenshot of defense attorney Richard Womble delivering his closing argument
Link to gavel-to-gavel video with full attorney and witness information:
https://cvn.com/proceedings/truong-v-waste-services-of-florida-inc-trial-2016-07-25
Why you should watch: A Florida state court jury sided with a waste disposal company in 2016 in a lawsuit filed by a cyclist who was severely injured in a collision with a 15-ton garbage truck, rejecting his claims for up to $12 million in compensation for injuries that will likely require the amputation of his leg.
More via the CVN News Blog: https://blog.cvn.com/jury-clears-waste-company-at-12m-trial-over-garbage-trucks-collision-with-cyclist
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E-mail David Siegel at dsiegel@cvn.com