As a follow-up to Courtroom View Network’s widely read annual list of top 10 most impressive plaintiff verdicts, we are excited to present our equally popular picks for the top 10 most impressive defense verdicts that CVN’s cameras covered in 2024.
Despite the reality large plaintiff verdicts generate more mainstream news coverage than defense verdicts, that doesn’t make a defense verdict any less newsworthy for the legal, business and educational communities that CVN primarily serves.
CVN firmly believes the public benefits just as much from watching a trial that ends with a large plaintiff verdict as they do learning a jury affirmed the safety of a medical device, or found a traffic intersection didn’t constitute an unsafe road condition, or that an employer complied with age discrimination laws, or that a security officer didn’t cause someone’s death. CVN regularly and often exclusively covers trials ending in major defense wins that without CVN would only be witnessed by a small handful of attorneys and a court reporter before quietly slipping through the cracks.
Some defense attorneys reasonably have concerns about cameras in the courtroom, but CVN’s editorial team is rigorously committed to non-biased, non-disruptive objective coverage. Tremendous advances in camera technology have made electronic media access to the courtroom less obtrusive than even just a few short years ago. Having successfully covered hundreds of trials without incident over more than a decade, CVN hopes more defense attorneys will come to see this type of respectful coverage as distinct from the way cameras in courtrooms used to operate - and thus not something to automatically oppose.
The trials listed below make up the 10 most impressive defense verdicts CVN covered in 2024, taking into consideration the facts of the case, the attorneys involved, and the potential broader impact on other litigation. These trials (limited to cases CVN had the opportunity to film) feature some of the most elite, highly sought defense counsel in the country arguing in high-stakes cases before real judges and real juries and going up against some of the most dynamic plaintiff attorneys practicing today. Watching advocates of this caliber firsthand in real trials is an invaluable experience for any attorney.
Sign up today for a monthly or annual CVN video library subscription and get unlimited access to all of these trials, in addition to all the trials on our top 10 plaintiff list and hundreds more - including all the trials on our top 10 defense verdict lists from years past.
Have any questions about CVN? Drop us a line any time. Now on to the trials!
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#1 - Abbott and Reckitt Land First NEC Baby Formula Defense Verdict
Whitfield v. St. Louis Children’s Hospital, et al., - St. Louis, MO
Defense attorneys: James Hurst (pictured), Rebecca Fitzpatrick, Sierra Elizabeth (Kirkland & Ellis LLP), Stephen D’Amore, Linda Coberly, Bryce Cooper, Matthew Saxon, Sharon Desh (Winston & Strawn LLP), Thomas Magee, W. Jason Rankin, Emilee Bramstedt (HelperBroom LLC), Shirleitha Franklin (Jones Day)
Click here to watch the full trial
Why it made the list:
Lawsuits over claims that cows milk-based baby formula given to premature infants in hospital settings can cause serious bowel injuries constitute one of the most closely watched emerging mass torts in the country. By last November the first two trials against formula manufacturers resulted in a $60 million verdict over Mead Johnson’s Enfamil brand formula in Illinois and a $495 million verdict against Abbott over their Similac brand formula in Missouri.
The third NEC formula trial would mark the first time both Mead and Abbott went before a jury simultaneously, in addition to showing whether or not a third consecutive jury would return a plaintiff verdict - an outcome that could have a significant impact on the contours of any eventual large scale settlement of NEC formula cases.
Following a five-week trial a St. Louis jury delivered a defense verdict for both companies, essentially resetting the board for the NEC trial landscape leading up to the first federal bellwether trial in May. It’s the type of win that has major industry-wide implications and drew scrutiny from attorneys and analysts throughout the United States, and it’s the clear pick for the most impressive defense verdict CVN covered in 2024.
Read more via the CVN News Blog
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#2 - Urologist And Hospital Land Defense Win In Pelvic Mesh Malpractice Trial
Tamarie Richards v. Legacy Health, et al. - Portland, OR
Defense attorneys: Karen O’Kasey (pictured) - Hart Wagner LLP, Peter Eidenberg (Keating Jones Hughes)
Click here to watch the full trial
Why it made the list:
Product liability lawsuits related to pelvic mesh implants have largely been resolved in recent years, but there are still thousands of mesh-related medical malpractice claims working their way through the courts. While not consolidated in MDL’s like mesh product cases were, many of these cases are proceeding quietly in state court dockets and largely under the radar, as malpractice cases don’t draw the same attention as high-profile mass torts.
This mesh medmal trial CVN covered last summer in Portland involved the considerable defense challenge of overcoming evidence that a urologist implanted a mesh device despite allegedly knowing the FDA issued warnings against its use days before (and then again just hours before) the plaintiff's surgery. It’s the type of “bad fact” that requires deft and precise framing for a jury to properly contextualize.
Facing off against a plaintiff team with deep expertise in pelvic mesh litigation, the defense attorneys in this case pulled off that significant achievement, thus making this the second most impressive defense verdict CVN covered in 2024.
Read more via the CVN News Blog
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#3 - Florida Jury Clears Johnson & Johnson In Cosmetic Talc Trial
Matthey v. Johnson & Johnson - Sarasota, FL
Defense attorneys: Morty Dubin (pictured), Kathryn Lehman (King & Spalding LLP)
Click here to watch the full trial
2024 saw some of the first cosmetic talc trials take place in Florida, a state with a massive population known for its aggressive plaintiff bar. Both ovarian cancer and mesothelioma-related talc trials have been playing out around the country for the last decade (with many covered by CVN), but how Florida juries would weigh in on these high-profile cases remained a largely unanswered question.
After one trial in March ended in a deadlocked jury in Miami, a subsequent jury in Sarasota rejected claims that J&J’s baby powder caused the ovarian cancer death of a woman who used the product for decades.
The plaintiff - represented by a powerhouse firm with a national footprint - maintained J&J knew for years that talc-based products like Johnson’s Baby Powder contained asbestos but withheld that knowledge from consumers. However J&J successfully argued those conclusions were based on flawed scientific studies and that the plaintiffs’ medical history made her especially likely to develop ovarian cancer.
Read more via the CVN News Blog
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#4 - Nissan Cleared In $42M Trial Over Allegedly Defective Airbag
John Paxin Jr., et al., v. Nissan North America, et al - Las Vegas, NV
Defense attorneys: Tom Klein (pictured), Greg Gilmer, Melissa Wilner (Klein Thomas Lee & Fresard)
Click here to watch the full trial
Why it made the list:
A Nevada state court jury returned a defense verdict last July in a product liability trial over allegations an airbag in a Nissan vehicle accidentally deployed and paralyzed the driver.
The Clark County jury reached their verdict on July 11 in a trial that kicked off on May 28. Plaintiff John Paxin sued Nissan following a 2017 accident, when he drove his 2012 Titan truck off the road. While the vehicle remained upright, the side curtain airbag meant to protect passengers in rollovers - known as a SCAB - inflated and supposedly fractured Paxin’s neck.
Paxin was rendered a quadriplegic and died in 2020 of pneumonia. Attorneys for his family sought $42 million in damages, however Nissan successfully argued Paxin suffered from a medical condition that made his neck brittle and especially prone to injury, and that the SCAB system’s software designed to predict rollovers before they occur functioned properly.
Read more via the CVN News Blog
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#5 - California Jury Rejects $45M+ Childbirth Malpractice Lawsuit
Matthew G. Lopez Bautista v. Foothill Presbyterian Hospital - Los Angeles, CA
Defense attorneys: Stephen Rosa (pictured) - West & Rosa LLP, Evan Guze - Fraser Watson & Croutch LLP
Click here to watch the full trial
Why it made the list:
The plaintiff sued Emanate Health Foothill Presbyterian Hospital in 2018 on behalf of her son Matthew, claiming her delivery in 2012 involved numerous unnecessary delays that violated the hospital’s own policies for emergency births.
However the hospital's attorneys successfully argued Matthew suffered a brain injury before his mother's arrival in the emergency room, and that their treatment was consistent with the standard of care.
The jury deliberated for two days before finding hospital was not responsible for Matthew's injuries.
Read more via the CVN News Blog
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#6 - Philip Morris Found Not Liable For Virginia Slims Smoker's Throat Cancer
Santana v. Philip Morris - Miami, FL
Defense attorneys: Lindsey Heinz (pictured), Bruce Tepikian (Shook Hardy & Bacon LLP)
Click here to watch the full trial
Why it made the list:
Last summer jurors cleared Philip Morris of responsibility for the laryngeal cancer a Florida woman developed after years of smoking the company’s "Virginia Slims" cigarettes.The state court jury, in Florida's 11th circuit, capped an eight-day trial by finding in favor of Philip Morris on a design defect claim related to its Virginia Slims, which Tomasa Santana, who began smoking in the 1970s, favored for much of her life.
The case against Philip Morris is a relatively unusual Florida tobacco lawsuit that is not among the thousands of so-called “Engle progeny” cases spun from an earlier class action against the nation’s cigarette companies. Unlike “Engle progeny” suits, in which design defect are already resolved against tobacco defendants, the Santana case required plaintiff to prove his design-defect claim in order to prevail.
Read more via the CVN News Blog
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#7 - Georgia Jury Clears ER Doctor in Med Mal Trial Over Patient's Catastrophic Stroke
Barnett v. Johnson, M.D., et al. - Marietta, GA
Defense attorneys: John Hall (pictured), Beth Kanik, Nichole Hair (Hall Booth Smith PC)
Click here to watch the full trial
Why it made the list:
Last October a Georgia jury cleared an emergency room physician of responsibility for the catastrophic fallout from a brain-stem stroke that one of her patients suffered.
The Cobb County (Georgia) State Court jury’s decision capped a seven-day trial over the February 2013 stroke Jennifer Barnett suffered, which has left her with a range of disabilities and needing assistance to perform daily activities. Jurors concluded Dr. Richisa Hamilton-Salazar was not grossly negligent in her emergency treatment of Barnett after she arrived in the Atlanta Medical Center’s ER, complaining of numbness, weakness, and confusion, among other symptoms that could be associated with a stroke.
The trial turned in large part on Hamilton-Salazar’s workup of Barnett after her arrival in the hospital. During Wednesday’s closings, Barnett’s attorney, the Bell Law Firm’s Lloyd Bell, detailed evidence he said showed Hamilton-Salazar violated the standard of care by failing to take a proper medical history of Barnett and failing to order a neurologic consult on the case, despite Barnett showing multiple symptoms of an ongoing stroke.
Read more via the CVN News Blog
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#8 - California Jury Rejects Age Discrimination Lawsuit
Manuel Banderas v. Pentair Water Pool & Spa Inc., et al. - San Bernardino, CA
Defense attorneys: Reginald Roberts (pictured) - Sanders Roberts LLP, Marissa Lyftogt - Wilson Turner Kosmo LLP
Click here to watch the full trial
Why it made the list:
A California state court jury sided with a large pool equipment supply company last October in an age discrimination lawsuit filed by a former employee who claims he was illegally forced out of his job.
The San Bernardino County jury returned their verdict on October 10 in a trial that began on September 19. Plaintiff Manuel Banderas accused Pentair, a publicly traded company with roughly 10,000 employees, of using the threat of termination to get him to quit his longtime warehouse laborer job due to his age.
However Pentair argued Banderas voluntarily resigned, and that repeated workplace infractions - specifically numerous safety violations and a refusal to comply with updated company policies for how employees must clock in and clock out - could have served as reasonable grounds for his termination. While the jury found Banderas was fired they also determined Pentair's decision to terminate an at-will employee did not run afoul of age discrimination laws.
Read more via the CVN News Blog
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#9 - Jury Finds Casino Security's Negligence Didn’t Cause Patron’s Death
Jonathan Jung v. The Bicycle Casino Inc - Los Angeles, CA
Defense attorneys: Joshua Bordin-Wisk (pictured), Bryan Aghakhani (Bordin | Semmer)
Click here to see the full trial
Why it made the list:
A California state court jury spared a casino's private security staff from having to pay any damages last July in a wrongful death trial over a restraint hold used on an intoxicated patron.
The Los Angeles County jury returned their verdict on July 9 in a trial that began on June 17. While they found the security staff negligent the jury also determined their actions were not a substantial factor in the man's death.
The family of Jonathan Jung sued Bicycle Casino in Bell Gardens in 2022 following his death claiming poorly trained security agents used excessive force to restrain him in a parking lot. His attorneys sought $132 million in damages, but the casino successfully argued that Jung died from methamphetamine toxicity.
Read more via the CVN News Blog
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#10 - Jury Clears ATV Rental Company Of Liability For Rollover Accident
Beatrice Smith v. SunBuggy Fun Rentals - Las Vegas, NV
Defense attorneys: M. Bradley Johnson (pictured), Gina Mushmeche (Schnitzer Johnson & Watson)
Click here to watch the full trial
Why it made the list:
A Nevada state court jury cleared a local ATV rental company in February of all liability in a lawsuit filed by a woman who suffered ankle injuries in a rollover accident.
The Clark County jury returned its verdict shortly after hearing closing arguments in a trial that began January 30th. Plaintiff Beatrice Smith sought nearly $500,000 in past and future damages for injuries she sustained in 2018 during an ATV tour operated by SunBuggy Fun Rentals.
Smith broke her ankle when her ATV rolled over on a hill, and she accused the tour operator of ignoring a complaint she made about the vehicle’s steering earlier in the tour. She argued SunBuggy did not perform adequate maintenance on her ATV and had a systemic practice of failing to properly document similar accidents, but the company successfully convinced jurors the waiver Smith signed prior to the tour absolves them of all responsibility for her injuries.
Read more via the CVN News Blog
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E-mail David Siegel at dsiegel@cvn.com
