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CVN has covered a wide range of headline-making trials over the last several weeks, from a key baby formula proceeding, to a blockbuster parking lot shooting case. Check out critical moments in three of the most recent trials our cameras have captured.
Missouri Jurors Clear Abbott and Reckitt in Baby Formula Trial
Abbott Laboratories and Reckitt secured a defense verdict last month in one of the first jury trials over claims the companies' baby formula caused a child’s severe digestive condition.
Plaintiff, the mother of a child who suffered necrotising enterocolitis, a gastrointestinal disease that affects newborns, claims the formula, given to her child in the neonatal intensive care unit, caused the condition. And she contends that the two manufacturers failed to adequately warn of risks associated with their products.
But in her closing, Kirkland & Ellis' Sierra Elizabeth, representing Abbott, argued the company's inserts provided adequate warnings to healthcare providers, and warnings to parents were better delivered by doctors.
“Do parents in the NICU want emails from the manufacturers, all of the manufacturers of all of the products that their babies are using?”
$550M Verdict at Trial Over Fatal Car Crash
A Nevada jury handed down a $550 million verdict in October to the widow of a man struck and killed on his way to church by a heavily intoxicated driver.
The award, which included $50 million in compensatory damages and $500 million in punitives, wrapped a damages proceeding over the 2019 crash that killed Marcial Escobia and injured his wife Nimfa. The driver, Kevin Raspperry, had previously been criminally convicted for Escobia’s death.
In his closing, Bighorn Law’s Kimball Jones, detailed the catastrophic impact on Escobia’s widow.
“Is there any doubt based on the evidence that Nimfa’s life was shattered by this? The trauma didn’t just break her body…the trauma impacted her mind so severely that she is literally a prisoner of her own mind.”
Oregon Jury Awards $21M+ at Trial Over Deadly Shooting in Lowe’s Parking Lot
In late September, an Oregon jury awarded $21.25 million at trial against a property management company and others over the fatal shooting of a man in a Lowe's parking lot by a private security guard.
The trial centered on the 2021 death of Freddy Nelson Jr., who was shot by a security guard after Nelson had been ordered to leave the parking lot, where he claimed he had an arrangement with a store employee to pick up and remove excess wooden palates.
Jurors assigned 80 percent of liability to the property management company, 10 percent to Lowe’s, which was not a defendant at trial; and 10 percent to the decedent himself. They also found the security company and the guard's conduct to be reckless and warranting the imposition of punitive damages, which led to the $1.25 million punitive award imposed.
During his opening, D'Amore Law Group's Tom D'Amore, representing plaintiffs, outlined a policy by the private security company hired by the property management group.
"The property management company also hired a security company. And one of their policies was ‘Smile. Be polite, be professional. But have a plan to kill everyone you meet.’”
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Email Arlin Crisco at acrisco@cvn.com.
