By the time opening statements begin, the average juror has already been overwhelmed with information. Voir dire, instructions from the bench, even the courtroom environment are all new and confusing to many jurors, making it difficult for them to fully understand details delivered in an opening. Under these circumstances, too many charts, models, and graphs intended to explain key terms can, in the wrong circumstances, confuse and distract the overwhelmed juror. Particularly where complex terms and ideas are central to a case, opting for a basic, simple demonstration of a theory can often be a powerful tool. That's the route The Cochran Firm's Jane Lamberti took in explaining the deadly buildup of fluid in a sleep center patient's lungs. 

Larry Stewart tells jurors Gwinnett County's control of a drainage pipe renders it responsible for flood damage to Jay and Lori Swift's property. 

 Lawrenceville, GA—A $189,000 October verdict against Gwinnett County capped nearly a half-decade of litigation by a couple who claimed the county refused in bad faith to pay for flood damage a drain system caused to their property. Swift v. Gwinnett County, 11-C-08314-S2.

When the patient at the center of a medical malpractice case dies following a relatively routine medical procedure, the defense must often overcome a natural tendency among jurors to believe the healthcare staff involved must have committed some error. During closing arguments of Bailey v. Corso, Daniel Huff delivered a powerful appeal to reason that convinced jurors his client, an Emory Healthcare surgeon, was blameless in the procedure that punctured his patient's heart. 

Update: Dr. Magdi Hanafi, the gynecologist that performed a 2007 hysterectomy on Tammy Toomer, prevailed Monday evening in Toomer's suit claiming Hanafi forged her signature on consent forms and negligently performed the procedure.

Jurors deliberated for four hours before clearing Hanafi on claims ranging from medical malpractice to fraud. The decision capped a week-long trial and followed a closing in which Toomer's attorneys requested up to $5 million, plus attorney fees in the case. 

CVN will publish video of the trial as soon as it is available. 

Atlanta, GA—Trial begins today in Fulton County State Court in a medical malpractice case involving a gynecologist who is accused of forging his patient’s signature to a consent form for a hysterectomy he performed on her. Tammy Toomer v. Magdi Hanafi, MD et al. (09EV006809).

Conyers, GA—Jurors awarded more than $2 million in a suit against a Conyers entrepreneur and his company on an allegedly fraudulent lease guarantee. TrackFinders Music Group, Inc. d/b/a MC2 Funding Group, Inc. v. The Baoming Group, LLC et al. (2013-sv-1202)