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| Amount (in millions) | Case Name and Court | Plaintiffs Attorney(s) | Defense Attorney(s) | Description | Status | |
| 1 | $28,000.8 | Bullock v. Philip Morris, Los Angeles Superior Ct., BC 249171 | Michael J. Piuze Law Offices of Michael J. Piuze Los Angeles |
Peter Bleakley Arnold & Porter Washington, D.C. |
Plaintiff was a one- to two-packs-a-day smoker for 40 years and said that she believed the cigarette makersí claims that the cause of lung cancer was unknown. Years later, she couldn't quit even after she knew about the negative health effects. The largest-ever verdict for an individual Californian, the award included $750,000 in economic damages, $100,000 in non-economic damages and $28 billion in punitive damages. | Reduced to $28 million. Appealed by both sides to the Second District Court of Appeal. |
| 2 | $500.2 | City of Hope National Medical Center v. Genentech Inc., Los Angeles Superior Ct., BC 215152 | Morgan Chu Irell & Manella Los Angeles |
Robert A. Van Nest & Susan J. Harriman, Keker & Van Nest San Francisco |
Genentech failed to pay royalties on drugs discovered through research done at City of Hope under the terms of a 1976 agreement. The award included $300 million in compensatory and $200 million in punitive damages. | Appealed to the Second District. |
| 3 | $185.0 | In re Real Estate Associates Limited Partnership Litigation, Central District, 98-7035 | Nicholas E. Chimicles Chimicles & Tikellis Haverford, Pa. Lawrence A. Sucharow Goodkind Labaton Rudoff & Sucharow New York |
Robert J. A. Zito Schiff Hardin & Waite New York |
Class action of 18,000 shareholders in eight partnerships who received consent solicitations from the managing general partner. The solicitations sought approval for the sale of interests in real property. The general partners then bought the interests. The shareholders sued for self-dealing. | Settled for approximately $85 million. |
| 4 | $170.8 | Claghorn v. Edsaco Ltd., Northern District, 98-3039 | Richard M. Heimann Lieff, Cabraser, Heimann & Bernstein San Francisco |
Daniel J. Herling Duane Morris Philadelphia, Pa. Kendall R. Meyer Quarles & Brady Milwaukee, Wis. |
Shareholders said they were defrauded into buying stock in a nonexistent company based on the assurances and fraudulent business practices of Edsaco, a British firm. | Settlement undisclosed. |
| 5 | $156.0 | Reiss v. NORCAL Mutual Insurance Company, Los Angeles Superior Ct., BC 190516 | Larry R. Feldman & Jerome L. Ringler Fogel, Feldman, Ostrov, Ringler & Klevens Los Angeles |
Robert G. Wilson & Steven L. Paine Cotkin, Collins & Ginsburg Los Angeles |
A class of 700 physicians claimed it was defrauded into purchasing malpractice insurance from Norcal, based on Norcal's assurance that it would cover past malpractice liabilities through rate rebates. The rate rebates did not cover past liabilities, and the doctors sued for breach of contract. | Settlement undisclosed. |
| 6 | $136.3 | Atlantic Recording v. Media Group Inc. and Jimmy Chan, Central District, 00-CV-6122 | Patricia H. Benson & Karin G. Pagnanelli Mitchell Silberberg & Knupp Los Angeles |
Mitchell B. Young Mitchell B. Young Law Offices Los Angeles |
23 record companies sued a Taiwanese CD production company for pirating more than 1,500 songs for counterfeit CDs. | Media Group's former CEO appealed to the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals. Both defendants are in bankruptcy. |
| 7 | $114.0 | Internet Magic Inc. v. Netfax Inc., San Diego Superior Ct., 757699 | Robert M. Steele Meisenheimer Herron & Steele San Diego |
Michael B. McDonnell & John L. Romaker McDonnell & Romaker San Diego |
Two companies applied for patents to send faxes over the Internet. Instead of fighting over the patent in a U.S. Patent and Trademark Office administrative action, which can take two to six years, they began merger talks. Defendant then used information gained in the merger talks to try to force plaintiff out of business. | Reduced on remittitur to $10.4 million; defendant in bankruptcy. No appeal was filed. |
| 8 | $97.2 | Pacific Coin Management v. BR Telephony Partners, Los Angeles Superior Ct., BC 242432 | Anthony C. Duffy The Duffy Law Firm Irvine Ronald M. Oster Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker Los Angeles |
William H. Lancaster Seyfarth Shaw Los Angeles |
Two partners in a pay telephone company sued each other after the company defaulted on bank loans and was taken over by their bank. Plaintiff claimed that defendant had agreed to follow their conservative business model, but instead expanded too quickly and lost the company. Defendant countersued, claiming plaintiff failed to disclose his criminal history. | Reversed in favor of defendant with a $1 damages award; appealed to Second District. |
| 9 | $84.3 | Andrew Leyvas, ad litem v. Norma Paragas M.D., Alameda Superior Ct., 798868 4OH | Cynthia Bernet-McGuinn & William Veen Law Offices of William Veen San Francisco |
Robert Slattery McNamara Dodge Ney Beatty Slattery & Pfalzer Walnut Creek |
Delayed treatment of jaundiced baby caused quadriplegia and cerebral palsy. | Settled for about $17 million, the present value of the award. |
| 10 | $71.5 | Valu Gas Inc. v. Equilon Enterprises, Los Angeles Superior Ct., BC 260592 | Thomas P. Bleau & Nikki Fong Bleau Fox & Fong Los Angeles |
David A. Destino & Nigel E. Jacques Baker & Hostetler Los Angeles |
The plaintiffs, a group of gas stations lessees, had their leases assigned to Equilon, a joint venture of Shell and Texaco. The jury found that Equilon intentionally misled franchise dealers about portions of the leases relating to rate reductions. | Vacated; new trial ordered. |
| 11 | $59.3 | Greenwell v. Kaplan & John Muir Medical Center, Contra Costa Superior Ct., MSC 00 02889 | Bruce G. Fagel Law Offices of Bruce G. Fagel Beverly Hills |
J. Randall Andrada, Andrada & Schanzenbach Oakland John L. Supple Gordon Rees San Francisco |
The combined actions and inaction of doctors delayed emergency delivery of a baby. The baby was born with cerebral palsy. | Settlement undisclosed. |
| 12 | $44.7 | Steinberg Moorad & Dunn, Inc. v. David L. Dunn & Athlete's First, Central District, 01-1009 | Franklin Brockway Gowdy Morgan Lewis & Bockius San Francisco |
Lee J. Hutton & Stephen C. Sutton Duvin Cahn & Hutton Cleveland, Ohio |
David Dunn was a partner in a sports management company that was bought by a Canadian money management firm. Dunn signed a five-year employment contract with the new ownership, but left two years later with five employees and most of the football clients. SMD claimed interference, fraud and blackmail. | Appealed to Ninth Circuit; Dunn and Athlete's First are in bankruptcy. |
| 13 | $43.5 | Brown v. Community Hospital of San Bernardino, San Bernardino Superior Ct., SCVSS 076207 | Bruce G. Fagel Law Offices of Bruce G. Fagel Los Angeles |
Louis H. De Haas La Follette Johnson De Haas Fesler Silberberg & Ames Los Angeles |
A boy's parents sued after monitoring devices in his hospital crib were removed or shut off. The boy suffered brain damage so severe that he will never talk, walk or swallow. | Bought annuity to satisfy judgment. |
| 14 | $40.0 | CFM Technologies & Mattson Technology v. Dainippon Screen Manufacturing, Northern District, C 97-20270 JW | Rik Parker Woodcock Washburn Philadelphia, Pa. |
Jeffrey Fisher Farella Braun & Martell San Francisco |
Japan-based Dainippon was found guilty of patent infringement in its chip-manufacturing process. After the verdict, but before the jury determined damages, the case settled for $40 million and cross-licensing agreements. | Settled for $40 million and a cross-licensing agreement worth between $30 million and $70 million. |
| 15 | $33.7 | Todak v. Foster Wheeler, San Francisco Superior Ct., 320621 | Gilbert L. Purcell & John B. Goldstein Brayton Purcell San Francisco |
Allan D. Gutsche & Julie A. Torres Jackson & Wallace San Francisco |
Plaintiff built asbestos-laden boilers manufactured by defendant and contracted mesothelioma, a cancer caused only by exposure to asbestos. Plaintiffs claim it is the largest asbestos verdict ever in California. | Settlement undisclosed. |
| 16 | $30.6 | Gober v. Ralph's Grocery Company, San Diego Superior Ct., N 72142 | Philip Kay Law Offices of Philip E. Kay San Francisco John W. Dalton Law Offices of John W. Dalton San Diego |
Helene Wasserman Ford & Harrison Los Angeles John Golper Ballard Rosenberg Golper & Savitt Universal City |
Six women sued defendant for failing to take administrative action against their store manager, whom they accused of physical assault and sexual harassment. The store manager was transferred three times, and after each transfer he continued harassing co-workers. | Plaintiffs were offered a reduced award or a new trial. Two women accepted the reduction; four are appealing to the Fourth District Court of Appeal. |
| 17 | $20.0 | Sole Energy Company v. Petrominerals Corporation, Orange County Superior Ct., 00CC06333 | Nicholas Hornberger Hornberger & Brewer Los Angeles |
Dan Rasmussen Payne & Fears Irvine |
Plaintiffs wanted to buy oil rights controlled, but not owned, by defendant. After due diligence was finished, and days before the purchase was finalized, defendant canceled the negotiations and bought the rights for his own company. | Partly reversed, partly vacated, fully appealed. Five appeals and cross appeals in federal and state courts. |
| 18 | $20.0 | Karen Peterson and Jeffrey Peterson v. Hill Brothers Chemical Company, Alameda Superior Ct., 2001 031817 | Simona A. Farrise Kazan McClain Edises Abrams Fernandez Lyons & Farrise Oakland |
Phillip Berry Berry & Berry Oakland Michael Vasquez Vasquez & Estrada San Francisco |
Hill Brothers Chemical was found 100 percent responsible for a homemaker's mesothelioma cancer from exposure to asbestos-containing flooring in her childhood home. | Settled for $19.5 million. |
| 19 | $19.9 | Power Play Products Inc., v. Cables & Accessories Inc., Orange County Superior Ct., 00CC 06636 | Michael Brewer Hornberger & Brewer Los Angeles |
George Genzmer & Chip Farrell Murchison & Cumming Los Angeles |
Plaintiffs contracted with defendants for UL-certified power strips; the defendant delivered products with counterfeit certification. Plaintiff sued for return of down payment and was met with a counterclaim of defamation. Defendant's counterclaim was thrown out. Plaintiff went out of business during the litigation and sued for malicious prosecution. | Insurer has filed declaratory relief action in federal court; defendant has filed appeal in Fourth District. |
| 20 | $17.4 | Sean Paul Ponce and Priscilla Ponce v. Bruce Bullias, M.D., and Denis Astarita, M.D., Orange County Superior Ct., 00CC01034 | Greg Patton Langford & Langford Santa Ana |
Carol Ann Salmacia Haight Brown & Bonesteel Santa Ana |
A 26-year-old man was improperly intubated after a car accident, causing irreversible brain damage. | Paid $7.5 million, the present value of the verdict. |
| 21 | $17.0 | Kord Group v. Fieldstone Community and the City of Anaheim, Orange County Superior Ct., 763258 | Robert Wolfe Engstrom, Lipscomb & Lack Los Angeles |
Gregory Dillion Newmeyer & Dillion Irvine |
In May 1999, the threat of a landslide forced residents of two Orange County communities to evacuate their homes. A judge determined the cause of the instability was a reservoir, and ordered it drained. Fourteen homes were razed to make way for the reservoir repairs. During the liability stage of a bifurcated trial, a unanimous jury found the city of Anaheim solely responsible for the damage. | Appealed to Fourth District. |
| 22 | $16.0 | Jeff McCardle, D.C. v. Greyhound Motor Lines, Inc., Los Angeles Superior Ct., BC 241699 | Garo Madirossian & Joseph Barrett Mardirossian & Associates Los Angeles Curtis Floyd Floyd & Horrigan Bakersfield |
Dana Fox Lynberg & Watkins Los Angeles |
The jury found that a relatively innocuous bus accident caused a chain of events that ultimately rendered a chiropractor a partial quadriplegic. | Settled for $14.5 million pursuant to a pretrial high/low agreement. |
| 23 | $14.8 | Agency for the Performing Arts, Inc. v. Walt Disney Pictures & Television, Los Angeles Superior Ct., BC 176829 | Larry Feldman & Joel Klevins Fogel Feldman Ostrov Ringler & Klevins Los Angeles |
Charles Samel Howrey Simon Arnold & White Los Angeles |
Walt Disney Pictures & Television underpaid commissions to the packaging agent of Home Improvement,a television comedy series. | Appealed to Second District. |
| 24 | $14.5 | Patricia Ann Shugart v. OEA, Inc., Solano County Superior Ct., L 11697 | Cynthia Bernet-McGuinn & William Veen Law Offices of William Veen San Francisco Paul Kranz Law Offices of Paul Kranz Berkeley |
Daven Lowhurst Thelen Reid & Priest San Francisco |
An employee in a munitions factory was seriously injured when 250 very powerful and very sensitive pyrotechnics used in ejection seats exploded as she put them away. The explosives were a new product line in her factory, and the jury found that insufficient training in the handling of the more powerful explosives contributed to the accident. | Appealed to First District Court of Appeal. |
| 25 | $14.3 | Gustavo Juarez v. Arrow Disposal Service, Los Angeles Superior Ct., KC 028814 | Lee G. Lipscomb Engstrom Lipscomb & Lack Los Angeles Daniel T. Pierson Law Offices of Daniel T. Pierson Los Angeles |
James R. York Gray York & Duffy Encino Todd A. Norton Norton & Norton Los Angeles |
A man was rendered a quadriplegic in a car accident caused by an uninsured dump truck losing its load of hardened concrete into oncoming traffic. | Appealed to Second District. |
| (The Recorder, July 2003) | ||||||
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