Courtroom View Network began 2023 by showcasing the top 10 most impressive plaintiff verdicts in trials CVN filmed gavel-to-gavel last year, and we’re now equally excited to present the top 10 most impressive defense verdicts.
In an era of shrinking newsroom budgets trials ending in defense verdicts are too frequently ignored by the news media. While multi-million dollar plaintiff verdicts draw lots of attention, CVN feels strongly that the public interest is equally served by coverage of trials ending with verdicts for the defense. Rather than have these outcomes sometimes disappear into the void, the public deserves to know when a jury determines that allegations in a lawsuit are unfounded.
Outcomes like a jury determining a product didn’t cause any harm, or that a doctor’s actions met the standard of care, or that an individual or company didn’t behave negligently are every bit as newsworthy for the professional community that CVN primarily serves as when a jury decides to award damages. Because of CVN’s unique position as the only news media organization in the country dedicated to gavel-to-gavel video coverage of civil trials, we are often the first (or only) news outlet to report these important defense wins.
CVN’s cameras saw some of the best defense attorneys in the country secure numerous victories for their clients in 2022 at trials ranging from national bellwethers to more “everyday” trials that still had the potential for significant damages. Among those many trials, these are our picks for the top 10 most impressive defense verdicts based on the facts of the case, the potential for significant damages, impact on related litigation and the parties/attorneys involved.
Subscribers to CVN’s online trial video library get unlimited access to all of these proceedings and hundreds more. Sign up for a monthly or annual no-contract subscription and see firsthand how top defense attorneys fight for their clients in front of real juries in high-stakes cases.
Also make sure to check out our top 10 defense picks from previous years, which are all also included with a video library subscription. Now onto the trials!
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#1 - Gee v. NCAA (Los Angeles, CA)
Jury clears NCAA at first trial over football-related ‘CTE' brain damage to reach a verdict
Defense attorneys: Will Stute (pictured), William Molinski, David Fuad, Marc Shapiro, Anne Malik, Natalie Nahabet, Deena Bulgarian, John Badalich, Justin Washington, Alexis Golling-Sledge (Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP)
Link to video of the full trial:
https://cvn.com/proceedings/gee-v-ncaa-trial-2022-10-10
Why it made the list:
LA County Superior Court Judge Terry Green told jurors they “made history” after they delivered a defense verdict last November for the NCAA in a highly scrutinized trial over the athletic association’s alleged responsibility for a deceased UCLA football player’s brain damage.
The Los Angeles County jury considered evidence in the lawsuit filed by plaintiff Alana Gee on behalf of her deceased husband, Matthew Gee, who played as a linebacker for USC in the the early 1990’s. She sought $55 million in damages from the NCAA, claiming that repeated blows to his head caused Matthew to develop a degenerative brain disease called chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE.
However the NCAA, represented by a team from Orrick lead by the head of the firm’s Sports practice, Will Stute, successfully argued throughout the trial that Matthew’s death in 2018 was the result of alcohol and cocaine use and other medical conditions like high blood pressure and obesity.
In addition to maintaining that Matthew’s medical problems and drug and alcohol use made it impossible to definitively say his death resulted from CTE, the NCAA also emphasized that college football players voluntarily engage in a high-impact sport they know carries inherent health risks.
Prior to this trial only one other CTE case against the NCAA had gone before a jury. CVN covered those proceedings in Texas state court, although the parties reached a settlement shortly after opening statements took place. Thousands of similar lawsuits against the NCAA and other defendants are pending nationwide, and the key role this critical bellwether defense verdict could play in the eventual disposition of those other cases earned this trial the top spot on CVN's 2022 list.
Read more via the CVN News Blog
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#2 - Alesi v. Monsanto (St. Louis County, MO)
Bayer/Monsanto notches win at first ‘Roundup’ herbicide trial to take place in the St. Louis area
Defense attorneys: Manuel Cachán (pictured) - Proskauer Rose LLP, Jennifer Saulino - Covington & Burling LLP, Booker Shaw - Thompson Coburn LLP, Erik Hansell - Husch Blackwell
Link to video of the full trial:
https://cvn.com/proceedings/carl-alesi-et-al-v-monsanto-trial-2022-08-01
Why it made the list:
A Missouri state court jury returned a defense verdict for Bayer-owned agrochemical giant Monsanto last September at the first trial involving Roundup herbicide to take place in St. Louis County just miles from the company’s former U.S. headquarters.
The jury returned its verdict the same day it heard closing arguments in the trial that began in early August. Besides being the first Roundup trial in the the St. Louis area, the trial also marked the first time a jury heard claims from three plaintiffs in a Roundup case simultaneously. The plaintiffs, a woman and two men in their 60’s and 70’s, all claim they developed cancer due to exposure to the chemical glyphosate in Roundup while spraying weeds in their yards.
Their lawyers argued Monsanto had internal knowledge about glyphosate’s supposed carcinogenic properties but withheld that information from the public to protect sales of a popular brand. Monsanto successfully countered that scientific studies supposedly linking glyphosate exposure to cancer are fundamentally flawed, and that numerous other studies determined the chemical to be safe.
Thousands of Roundup lawsuits remain pending in state and federal court, and while a large-scale settlement seemed close-at-hand following massive plaintiff verdicts in earlier trials, a string of defense victories including this one have reset the situation, with Bayer/Monsanto now vowing to continue taking Roundup cases to trial.
Another multi-plaintiff Roundup trial is scheduled to begin on January 23rd in the nearby City of St. Louis, and those proceedings will be similarly webcast gavel-to-gavel by CVN.
Read more via the CVN News Blog
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#3 - Moses v. Riverside Community Hospital (Riverside, CA)
California jury clears hospital in bellwether trial over alleged use of counterfeit spinal implants
Defense attorneys: Richard Carroll (pictured), David Pruett - Carroll Kelly Trotter & Franzen, Zuzana S. Ikels - King & Spalding LLP
Link to video of the full trial:
https://cvn.com/proceedings/dereka-moses-v-healthsmart-pacific-et-al-trial-2022-08-22
Why it made the list:
A California state court jury returned a defense verdict in November for a hospital accused of using knockoff versions of spinal surgical implants in the first case out of hundreds to go to trial.
Plaintiff Derika Moses accused Riverside Community Hospital of “gross negligence” in allowing doctors to use supposedly imitation metal screws in her spinal fusion surgery, but attorneys for the hospital successfully argued the FDA never determined the screws were counterfeit, and that Moses fully consented to the procedure.
The trial was closely tracked by both plaintiff and defense attorneys due to being the first civil case to go before a jury among the many lawsuits initially paused in the wake of a sprawling federal criminal investigation of the alleged use of counterfeit spinal implants in a number of California hospitals.
Attorneys for plaintiff Derika Moses argued she had “counterfeit hardware” implanted in her spine following an on-the-job injury, and that administrators at Riverside Community Hospital knew doctors were using supposedly non-FDA approved devices in violation of hospital policies.
However the defense successfully rebutted claims the hospital failed to perform an investigation into the alleged use of counterfeit materials, arguing that the hospital properly relied on an outside investigation by the FDA that did not raise any red flags that could serve as the basis for halting operations like the one Moses underwent.
Read more via the CVN News Blog
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#4 - Snowden v. Ethicon (Dallas, TX)
Texas jury sides with Johnson & Johnson in $28M+ pelvic mesh product liability trial
Defense attorneys: Kathleen Gallagher (pictured) - Rodman & Rodman LLC, Victor Vital - Barnes & Thornburg LLP, Christopher Cowan, Amy Pepke - Butler Snow LLP, Diane Shaw - Shaw & Associates PC
Link to video of the full trial:
https://cvn.com/proceedings/jennifer-snowden-v-ethicon-trial-2022-11-29
Why it made the list:
Johnson & Johnson’s Ethicon unit secured a defense verdict last December in Texas state court following a trial over allegations that a supposedly defective pelvic mesh implant caused a woman’s chronic pain and other injuries.
The trial was among the first to include both product liability claims against a mesh manufacturer and malpractice claims against an implanting surgeon, but the physician defendant in the case obtained a directed verdict in her favor prior to the jury beginning deliberations.
Attorneys for plaintiff Jennifer Snowden sought more than $28 million in compensation for injuries they claim she sustained after receiving the “TVT Abbrevo” mesh implant, which they argued included the chemical polypropylene that Ethicon supposedly knew could cause a harmful human tissue reaction.
However Ethicon maintained the use of the TVT Abbrevo was consistent with the standard of care to treat Snowden’s stress urinary incontinence, and that the device has safely and effectively helped thousands of other women without complications.
Read more via the CVN News Blog
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#5 - Singh v. Nissan Motor Company (Las Vegas, NV)
Nissan prevails at $25M+ trial over SUV’s multiple fatality rollover accident
Defense attorneys: Thomas Klein (pictured), Paul Lee - Klein Thomas & Lee, Kurt Bonds - Alverson Taylor & Sanders
Link to video of the full trial:
https://cvn.com/proceedings/singh-et-al-v-nissan-motor-company-et-al-trial-2022-04-18
Why it made the list:
A Nevada state court jury cleared Nissan of all liability last May for a fatal rollover accident involving a sport utility vehicle that supposedly occurred because of a defective design following a lengthy trial in which plaintiffs sought over $25 million dollars in damages.
The family of decedents Kewal Singh, Jasvir Kaur, and Nirbhai Singh sued Nissan following a 2017 accident on a California highway, where a vehicle struck another car that then collided with a 2004 Nissan Xterra SUV.
The family’s attorneys argued the Xterra lacked a safety system known as 'Vehicle Dynamic Control' which can help keep a vehicle upright if it experiences excessive yaw following an impact. They also claimed the seatbelt system failed to function properly.
However Nissan’s attorneys successfully argued that the Xterra met all applicable federal safety standards, that a VDC system would not have prevented a rollover in such a severe crash, and that the seat belts were not properly worn at the time of the accident.
Read more via the CVN News Blog
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#6 - Anderson v. R.J. Reynolds, et al, (Gadsen County, Florida)
Florida jury clears Philip Morris and RJR of responsibility for clergyman’s lung cancer death
Defense attorneys: Bill Geraghty (pictured), Hassia Diolombi - Shook Hardy & Bacon LLP - Jack Williams, Simon Hansen - Jones Day
Link to video of the full trial:
https://cvn.com/proceedings/anderson-v-rj-reynolds-et-al-trial-2022-10-14
Why it made the list:
The nation’s two largest cigarette makers landed a win last October in a trial over the cancer death of a Florida reverend who died of lung cancer after smoking for decades.
Jurors deliberated less than two hours before concluding nicotine addiction was not a legal cause of Hosey Anderson’s 1994 death, clearing Philip Morris and R.J. Reynolds of liability in the case.
Anderson’s family contends the two tobacco companies, which make the Marlboros and Kents Anderson smoked during his life, are responsible for the former railroad worker and reverend’s death by hiding the dangers of smoking through much of the 20th century. Their attorneys presented evidence supposedly showing Anderson was a chain smoker who was powerfully hooked to cigarettes and unable to quit for years.
The defense successfully argued Anderson chose to smoke despite knowing the dangers of cigarettes and was not interested in quitting before he became ill. Attorneys for both tobacco companies built their arguments around evidence that Anderson rejected family members’ pleas to quit cigarettes and made no serious efforts to stop smoking until just a year before his death.
Read more via the CVN News Blog
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#7: Camen v. Glacier Eye Clinic PC and Kalispell Regional Medical Center Inc. (Kalispell, MT)
Healthcare providers defeat $30M+ malpractice lawsuit over teenager’s permanent blindness
Defense attorneys: Kevin Kuhn (pictured) - Wheeler Trigg O'Donnell LLP, Jori Quinlan - Wooden Thane PC, Sean Giocoechea- Moore Cockrell Goicoechea & Johnson PC, J. Kent Matthewson - Donohue Brown Mathewson & Smyth LLC
Link to video of the full trial:
https://cvn.com/proceedings/brett-camen-v-glacier-eye-clinic-pc-et-al-trial-2022-01-31
Why it made the list:
A Montana state court jury returned a defense verdict last February in favor of a local hospital and eye clinic in a medical malpractice lawsuit filed by a teenager who claimed unnecessary delays in critically needed brain surgery caused his permanent blindness.
The jury deliberated for nearly 12 hours over two days, including a late-night session that stretched until 10:30pm, before returning an 8-4 verdict clearing Kalispell Regional Medical Center and Glacier Eye Clinic of responsibility for plaintiff Brett Camen’s blindness, which his attorneys argued could have been avoided with an emergency referral for shunt surgery to drain fluid accumulating in his brain.
They sought more than $30 million for Camen, now 18, however the healthcare providers’ attorneys successfully argued the treatment Camen received met the standard of care for a patient presenting with his symptoms, and that shunt surgery - which they characterized as a high-risk procedure - would not have guaranteed that Camen retained his eyesight.
Read more via the CVN News Blog
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#8 - Arnold, et al. v. Lee, et al. (Atlanta, GA)
Doctor and nurse prevail at trial over death of patient discharged from ER after suffering chest pains
Defense attorneys: Michael Frankson (pictured) - Huff Powell & Bailey, Stephen Moseley - Brinson Askew Berry
Link to video of the trial:
https://cvn.com/proceedings/arnold-et-al-v-jhani-et-al-trial-2022-05-02
Why it made the list:
A Georgia jury cleared a nurse practitioner and her supervising physician of liability last May over the 2015 death of a patient hours after being treated by the two medical professionals in a hospital emergency department.
The Gwinnett County State Court jury deliberated about four hours before finding nurse practitioner Youn Lee and Dr. Eric Deal were not grossly negligent in their care of Connie Arnold, 61. Arnold died less than three hours after being discharged from a Monroe, Georgia hospital emergency department where she had been seen by Lee and Deal for ongoing chest pain.
The defendants faced allegations they failed to properly respond to the tell-tale signs of a critical coronary event at the hospital, but their attorneys successfully argued that blood tests used to check for heart attacks in emergency situations came back negative, and that the decision to discharge the patient was made by another doctor who had treated her previously and was not a defendant in the case when it went to trial.
Read more via the CVN News Blog
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#9 - Mills v. Superior Traffic Services (Las Vegas, NV)
Traffic safety company cleared in $7M+ trial over motorcyclist’s collision with construction drum
Defense attorneys: Leonard Fink (pictured), Duncan Nakesha - Springel & Fink LLP
Link to video of the full trial:
https://cvn.com/proceedings/joseph-mills-v-superior-traffic-services-corp-trial-2022-02-14
Why it made the list:
A Nevada state court returned a defense verdict last February absolving a traffic safety company of liability for a motorcyclist’s collision on I-95 with an orange construction drum that he claimed left his wife with a serious traumatic brain injury.
Plaintiffs Joseph “JR” Mills and his wife Peggy accused Superior Traffic Services of failing to follow proper safety procedures by allegedly leaving the drum too close to the highway. Their lawsuit claimed the drum rolled into their path and collided with their Harley-Davidson motorcycle as they drove to an event honoring veterans at Hoover Dam on Memorial Day weekend in 2017. The collision ejected Peggy from the bike, causing a concussion, and also resulting in less serious injuries to JR.
The couple sought more than $7 million dollars in damages, but attorneys for STS successfully argued that the company complied with all relevant safety guidelines prescribed by the Nevada Department of Transportation, and that the drum in question was not placed too close to the road.
Read more via the CVN News Blog
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#10 - Absolu v. Walmart (West Palm Beach, FL)
Walmart defeats $5.75M slip-and-fall lawsuit
Defense attorneys: Gregory Reed (pictured), Julian Smothers - Simon Reed & Salazar PA
Link to video of the full trial:
https://cvn.com/proceedings/absolu-v-wal-mart-stores-east-lp-trial-2022-11-07
Why it made the list:
A Florid state court jury cleared Walmart of responsibility for the back injuries a new mother claimed she suffered in a 2017 fall at one of the company’s stores.
Jennie Absolu was 21 when she slipped on liquid and fell at a Walmart in Boynton Beach, Florida. Absolu, who had given birth weeks before the fall, says she suffered back injuries that have required ongoing treatment, including three surgeries and multiple pain management injections. She sought roughly $5.75 million in damages, including more than $2 million in medical expenses alone, during closings of the five-day trial.
Absolu’s fall occurred on a rainy October day after customers brought wet umbrellas into the store. Absolu’s attorneys contend Walmart violated policy in failing to hand out umbrella bags and failing to properly inspect or timely clean rainwater from the floor.
Walmart’s attorneys successfully challenged the claim that water sat on the floor long enough for Walmart to have constructive notice about it. They maintained surveillance video showed multiple people walked through the area without falling during the 7-minute period at issue. And he said photos taken after the fall but before the area was cleaned appeared to show only a small area of clear water without any tracks in it.
Read more via the CVN News Blog
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Email David Siegel at dsiegel@cvn.com
