Topics: Negligence, tobacco, Engle Progeny, Florida
T. Hardee Bass and Harold K. Gordon, CVN's inaugural Engle Progeny Attorney Award winners.
With 31 key trials, including a record-setting, $23.6 billion verdict in one case alone, 2014 was a landmark year in CVN's coverage of Engle litigation. To reflect on the outstanding trial work in such influential proceedings, we present the attorneys and firms we believe shone brightest in 2014.
Plaintiff's Attorney of the Year: T. Hardee Bass
While other attorneys may have finished the year with larger verdict totals, Bass's 3-0-1 record in just over 36 weeks was eye-popping. Further, his $20 million award in Odom v. R.J. Reynolds was the fourth biggest CVN verdict of the year.
Topics: Engle Litigation Trading Cards, Engle Progeny, Florida, Tobacco Litigation
Discussing damages is one of the most delicate elements of your closing argument. Even a case supported by solid evidence and compelling testimony can fall apart if you alienate your jurors with a damage request they consider excessive. On the other hand, if you fail to give them a roadmap to calculate damages, you risk leaving money on the courtroom table.
The general rule is to ask your jury, specifically and directly, for the damages your client is seeking, showing point-by-point how you reached the figure you're giving them. This works well for economic damages, where you can use directly relevant data to support your argument. But what about less tangible claims, such as pain and suffering, or cases in which hard economic data can't be pinned down? In those cases, there are three strong approaches when it's time to face the jury.
Topics: Trial Techniques, CVN Training
