Verdicts and Settlements for Injury and Defamation

Over 1 Million paid in settlement by Bill Kristol company Weekly Standard In 1997, nearly a year after a cover story that included allegations of hiring a prostitute and plagiarism against best-selling author Deepak Chopra, the editors of The Weekly Standard accepted full responsibility for the errors in the story, and apologized." Chopra claimed that the magazine settled for $1.6 million. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Weekly_Standard

 

 

115 Million Awarded  -  Bollea v. Gawker was a Florida lawsuit in which Terry Gene Bollea, known professionally as Hulk Hogan, sued Gawker Media, publisher of the Gawker website, and several Gawker employees and Gawker-affiliated entities,[2] for posting portions of a sex tape of Bollea with Heather Clem, at that time the wife of radio personality Bubba the Love Sponge. Bollea's claims included invasion of privacy, infringement of personality rights, and intentional infliction of emotional distress. Prior to trial, Bollea's lawyers said the privacy of many Americans was at stake while Gawker's lawyers said that the case could hurt freedom of the press in the United States.[4][5] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bollea_v._Gawker   Bollea sought $100 million in damages.[6] In March 2016, the jury found Gawker Media liable and awarded Bollea $115 million in compensatory damages and $25 million in punitive damages.[7][8] Three months after the verdict, Gawker filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and put itself up for sale.[9] Gawker Media's assets, not including the namesake website, were subsequently sold to Univision Communications.[10] On November 2, 2016, Gawker reached a $31 million settlement with Bollea.[11]

$4.85 billion Lawsuit Settlement - The parties announced that Merck & Co., Inc. has agreed to pay $4.85 billion to resolve Vioxx-related legal claims in which a claimant has suffered a heart attack, sudden cardiac death, or stroke. This case could have become one of the largest class action lawsuits in our time.

51 MILLION DOLLARS - Awarded by Federal Court Jury in New Orleans - Merck faced 2 major setbacks in the same week. In New Orleans, the court and jury found that Merck "knowingly misrepresented or failed to disclose" information about Vioxx to retired FBI agent Gerald Barnett's doctors.- Awarding $50 million in compensatory damages along with $1 million in punitive damages, saying Merck "acted in wanton, malicious, willful or reckless disregard for the plaintiff's rights." Further, on the same day in New Jersey, state Superior Court Judge Carol Higbee ruled that new evidence uncovered since the November verdict showed that Merck withheld information showing heart attacks could come with use of Vioxx for less than 18 months.

 

 Eli Lilly & Co. announced that it will pay $690 million to settle approximately three-quarters of the liability claims against Zyprexa, its great-selling anti-psychotic drug. The lawsuits claim that the labeling on Zyprexa medications failed to provide adequate warning that the drug could put patients at risk for developing diabetes and other glucose problems.

A Jury in New Jersey found recently that Vioxx significantly contributed to a 77-year-old man's heart attack awarded him $9 million in punitive damages, raising Merck & Co.'s liability in the case to $13.5 million and intensifying pressure on it to settle such lawsuits.

Example of Personal Injury Case 2004 : Ford Explorer rollover-prone and roof not crash safe and worthy- CASE TYPE : Product Design Defect, Auto Truck Vehicle - SUV, Motor Vehicle – Rollover CASE : Buell-Wilson v. Ford Motor Co., San Diego Co., Calif., Super. Ct. GIC 800836 Los Angeles, Calif. JURY VERDICT: ($369 Millions Dollars)

 In what may be one of the biggest massive medical malpractice tort verdicts in the state of Texas, a state jury awarded $606 million - including a remarkable $ 600 million dollars in punitive damages - to the family of an 82-year-old patient who had cancer and then who died after receiving an overdose of chemotherapy drugs. 2005 -

In the 9th big loss for Ford in SUV Explorer rollover cases, a Florida jury awarded $61.2 million to the parents of an 18-year-old boy who was killed in a 1997 (wrongful death & Product Defect and Product Liability Issues)

Environmental Damages Toxic Tort - A federal jury verdict has awarded thousands of property owners $352 million for property damage caused by the closed Rocky Flats nuclear bomb plant in Colorado.

Example of Personal Injury Lawyer Case 2004 : Dodge Caravan seatback collapsed on baby in a car-seat - CASE TYPE : Automobiles, Products Liability - Product Design Defect, Wrongful Death, Motor Vehicle - Rear-ender, Motor Vehicle - Passenger, Motor Vehicle - Minivan CASE : Flax v. DaimlerChrysler Corp., Davidson Co., Tenn., Cir. Ct. O2C-1288 JURY VERDICT : $105,500,000 (105 Million Dollars )

Mass Toxic Tort Verdicts - The New York Supreme Court, Appellate Division, First Department, in a published decision, upheld the July 2003 jury verdict in favor of: Angel Gomez, who died following the trial, and the late Daniel Tucker. Both gentlement worked with and around asbestos-containing welding rods. The NY jury awarded Gomez a total of approximately $3.19 million against Lincoln Electric Company ("Lincoln"), reduced 25 percent since Gomez was a cigarette smoker. Tucker's estate was granted a total of approximately $3.5 million split between Lincoln and Hobart Brothers Company ("Hobart").

2005 – Billion Dollar Verdicts - In one of 2005's largest verdicts to an individual plaintiff regarding financial fraud , a Florida jury ordered Morgan Stanley Broker Dealer to pay $1.45 billion to investor Ronald O. Perelman for defrauding him in the sale of his camping gear company - Coleman.

2005 - February, a prominent Houston law firm and a Texas bank were SMACKED and Beaten with a $65.5 million verdict in a highly complex estate planning case that involved major problems and conflicts of interest. (65 million dollar jury award)

2004 - Bar liable for worker who got drunk on the job & hit construction flagger - CASE TYPE: Dram Shop Drunk Driver - Motor Vehicle - Alcohol Involvement CASE: Tuski v. Ivyland, Philadelphia Co., Pa.,Ct. C.P. Feb. Term 2002 No. 4436 JURY VERDICT: $75,684,000 75 Million Verdict

2005 – 3 years after a jury acquitted a company in Florida of manslaughter and criminal charges, a Florida civil jury SLAMMED the outdoor advertiser with a $65 million jury award verdict for the shock and electrocution of a sixth-grade boy.

Jet Pilot Wins $64 Million For Age Discrimination - In December, a Los Angeles California jury found that PrivatAir - an aviation company focusing on private airline services - wrongfully fired Captain Doyle D. Baker on the basis of his age, defaming him in the termination process and causing extreme emotional distress. *2005