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The Great Trials Podcast offers a series of laid-back, casual conversations with leading trial lawyers, taking listeners "behind the scenes" of America’s greatest trials. Hosted by acclaimed trial lawyers Steve Lowry and Yvonne Godfrey, each podcast episode focuses on one important trial and includes in-depth, insightful interviews with the attorneys who successfully argued the case in front of a judge and jury.
Episodes
Tuesday Feb 23, 2021
Tuesday Feb 23, 2021
This week, your hosts Steve Lowry and Yvonne Godfrey interview Chrysta Castañeda of The Castañeda Firm (https://castaneda-firm.com/).
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Episode Details:
Accomplished Dallas oil and gas litigator Chrysta Castañeda of The Castañeda Firm discusses how she secured justice for oil tycoon T. Boone Pickens, the owner of Mesa Petroleum Partners, in a landmark breach of contract case against three Texas oil companies, securing the nation's 12th largest verdict in 2016. In January 2007, Mesa Petroleum Partners signed a participation agreement with J. Cleo Thompson and Baytech, affording Mesa 15% ownership in oil wells and other assets in Texas over a five-year period. Mesa Petroleum elected to participate in all offered deals, but unbeknownst to Pickens, Mesa Petroleum's 15% interest was being used to purchase assets and to drill more than 160 wells under the auspices of two newly formed companies: Patriot Resources and Delaware Basin Resources. In 2009, Delaware Basin Resources attempted to buy out Mesa Petroleum from the original agreement and recruited Baytech to initiate an offer that Mesa Petroleum ultimately rejected. Despite the defense's claims that Pickens stated in a phone call that he wanted out of the agreement, except for his initial investment in a Lyda Well, and assertions that Pickens did not pay his fair share and was looking to repair his reputation after making poor business decisions during the 2008-2009 financial crisis, Chrysta Castañeda secured justice for her client. In November 2016, after a five-week trial, a Reeves County, Texas jury returned a verdict in favor of the plaintiff, awarding more than $140 million in damages plus legal fees. This groundbreaking case is also featured in the book The Last Trial of T. Boone Pickens, written by Chrysta Castañeda and Loren Steffy.
Click Here to Read/Download the Complete Trial Documents
Guest Bio:
Chrysta Castañeda
Chrysta Castañeda is a go-to lawyer for high-stakes litigation in the energy industry and beyond. Practicing for over twenty-five years, she has built a solid reputation for adeptly handling technical litigation, often serving as lead trial counsel in high-profile disputes of media interest. Her win for T. Boone Pickens’ Mesa Petroleum Partners was recognized as the 12th largest verdict in 2016 in the nation by The National Law Journal and earned her a spot as one of the NLJ’s Elite Trial Lawyers of 2018, as well as induction into Texas Lawyer‘s Texas Verdicts Hall of Fame. Following this series of high-profile recognitions, Chrysta was inducted as a fellow of the Texas Bar Foundation in the beginning of 2020.
Chrysta developed her reputation and commitment to excellence from practicing for more than two decades at top firms worldwide. Since founding the Castañeda Firm, Chrysta has prioritized delivering the quality of representation found in large law firms in a personalized way. Chrysta and her team strive to out-prepare the opposition, from investigation through trial.
Chrysta not only has more than two decades of experience litigating energy and oil and gas matters but also holds a degree in engineering. Her technical training in combination with her experience in crisis communications frequently proves invaluable to clients, enabling her to effectively explain complex scientific concepts to judges and juries.
Clients value Chrysta’s strength and tenacity. As Chrysta puts it, “We take pride in having both the knowledge and experience clients require, as well as the necessary tenacity and creativity to craft winning strategies. We aim to prepare so thoroughly that we can adapt without hesitation to changing dynamics at trial or in discovery. I want our clients to feel confident and assured when The Castañeda Firm is on their case.”
Outside of the oil and gas and energy industries, Chrysta has extensive experience in commercial litigation, trade secrets, products liability, pharmaceutical, medical device, and toxic tort litigation.
The Last Trial of T. Boone Pickens
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Tuesday Feb 16, 2021
Tuesday Feb 16, 2021
This week, your hosts Steve Lowry and Yvonne Godfrey interview Jonathan Marko, the Detroit Bar Association's Civil Rights Chair and founder of Marko Law (https://markolaw.com/).
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Episode Details:
Jonathan Marko, the Detroit Bar Association's Civil Rights Chair and founder of Marko Law, shares how he secured justice for Lisa and Cedric Griffey, a husband and wife who suffered racial discrimination in the workplace. A probation officer for the Michigan Department of Corrections who worked in an all-white office, Lisa was called "mammy" and "the black one," and she was the victim of numerous racially derogatory remarks. Lisa's multiple attempts to file discriminatory harassment complaints through the proper channels were sabotaged, and no action was taken. After Lisa filed suit, Cedric's boss received a copy of Lisa's lawsuit and retaliated against Cedric, alleging that the 2017 Corrections Professional Excellence Award winner did not properly administer discipline. Cedric was forced to resign as deputy warden, ending his 29-year career with the Michigan Department of Corrections. In September 2019, a jury returned the largest employment discrimination verdict in Genesee County, Michigan history, awarding the Griffeys over $11.67 million in economic and non-economic damages.
Click Here to Read/Download the Complete Trial Documents
Guest Bio:
Jonathan Marko
Jonathan Marko knew that he wanted to be a lawyer for as long as he can remember. As a little boy, he was always being told by his teachers and authority figures to use his inside voice because he was too loud; to not argue with opinions that he didn’t agree with; and to always follow the rules, even if they didn’t make any sense. These traits that got Jon in so much trouble when he was younger, are what make him a great attorney today.
Jonathan grew up in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He attended Aquinas College, a small Catholic liberal arts school for his undergraduate studies, where he obtained a bachelor’s in history. After undergrad, Jon set his sights on Washington, D.C. He attended American University for law school, where he was active in the trial advocacy program and graduated in the top 10 percent of his class. While in Washington, D.C., Jonathan had the honor to clerk for well-respected Maryland Circuit Court Judge Michael Mason, where he cultivated his passion for trial advocacy and honed his trial skills. Jonathan also had the opportunity to work on Capitol Hill. There he lobbied for clients, especially the interests of Michiganders.
After graduating law school, Jonathan was invited to work under the Chief Justice of the Michigan Supreme Court, Marilyn Kelley. At the Supreme Court, Michigan’s highest appellate court, Jonathan worked exclusively on appeals. Although the cloistered environment of the Michigan Supreme Court did not involve the trial advocacy that Jonathan desired, it was there that he was able to pursue intellectual legal issues and help shape and form the law of the state of Michigan. Jon’s appellate experience gives him a unique background in his practice today.
After working for the Michigan Supreme Court, Jonathan worked under renowned trial attorneys Geoffrey Fieger and Ven Johnson. It was here, that Jon was finally able to practice his life-long dream of being an attorney in the trenches of the courtroom.
Jonathan is the principal attorney at Marko Law, located in Detroit Michigan. The firm has a diverse practice helping clients, including injured persons, businesses, civil rights issues, employment litigation, and injuries caused by defective products, and other litigation related matters. If your case is outside of our practice area, we are able to connect you with an extremely capable attorney specializing in the area that you need.
Jonathan has been recognized by local and national news outlets for his work in the legal field. He has been on the front page of the Detroit News, he has been featured in the Detroit Free Press, and has been in the New York Times several times. He has been awarded the honor of being named a “Rising Star” by Super Lawyers magazine for the past eight years, and has been named one of the top ten personal injury attorneys in the state of Michigan by the National Academy of Personal Injury Lawyers based out of Washington, D.C.
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Tuesday Feb 09, 2021
Tuesday Feb 09, 2021
This week, your hosts Steve Lowry and Yvonne Godfrey interview Ian Alexander, Katrina Taraska, and Joseph Preiser of Goldberg & Goldberg (https://www.chicagomedicalmalpracticefirm.com/).
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Episode Details:
Chicago trial lawyers Ian Alexander, Katrina Taraska, and Joseph Preiser of Goldberg & Goldberg share how they successfully represented 25-year-old model Irma Sabanovic's grieving family after Irma drove her car over an unmarked curb and drowned in the Chicago River. In May 2011, Irma drove her Ford Focus to Goose Island to pick up her boyfriend from a late-night performance at a nightclub and got lost on a dead end street bisected by the Chicago River. Due to the City of Chicago's failure to maintain barriers or provide warnings to motorists --despite knowledge of a similar incident that occurred more than a decade earlier -- Irma unknowingly drove her car over the curb and into the water. After an extensive search, her body was discovered nine days later in her vehicle. At trial, the defense attempted to blame Irma for her own wrongful death, insinuating she was drunk, driving impaired and not paying attention. In May 2016, a Cook County, Illinois jury awarded Irma's family $13,890,000 in damages, delivering the #6 verdict in Illinois in 2016.
Click Here to Read/Download the Complete Trial Documents
Guest Bios:
Katrina M. Taraska
Born Staten Island, New York, 1968; Admitted to bar, 1995, Illinois. Education: University of Illinois, Bradley University (B.S., 1991), Widener University School of Law, Wilmington, DE (J.D., 1995).
Originally from the East Coast, Katrina M. Taraska grew up in a family of seven in Peoria, Illinois. Her mother was a language teacher proficient in French, Italian and Spanish who devoted her time to the enrichment of the lives of her students while teaching at area schools. Her father, a dedicated pathologist, was one of the four original founders of the Midwest affiliate of St. Jude Children’s Hospital, which provides care to children with childhood diseases.
Unique to Ms. Taraska’s chosen career in personal injury law, she was the victim of a propane gas explosion, in which a commercial building collapsed on her, her mother, brother and a close family friend. The explosion left Taraska with extensive second and third degree burns early in her life. She was hospitalized for 3 months, during which she underwent skin grafting of her arms, legs, hands, and chest. Incredibly, a year prior to the explosion, Ms. Taraska’s father and a reconstructive surgeon opened the only downstate burn unit in Peoria where she was successfully treated despite the severity of her burns. It is this life changing event that has played a significant role in Ms. Taraska’s career of representing the injured.
After graduating from law school Ms. Taraska has successfully represented clients and their families in complex litigation.
In 1995, Katrina Taraska began practicing law in downstate Illinois where she grew up. In 2000 she became a partner with a Peoria law firm where she enjoyed the privilege of advocating for her clients in their respective claims for personal injuries, medical negligence, workers compensation, and employment discrimination. She frequently appeared before the Circuit Court of Peoria County, Illinois, the Illinois Department of Human Rights, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the Social Security Administration, the Department of Employment Security, and in the United States District Court for the Central District of Illinois.
In 2009, Ms. Taraska joined the Chicago law firm of Goldberg & Goldberg, where she continued her professional experience as a Plaintiff’s lawyer in tort litigation. As a focus of her practice, she concentrates on representing individuals and their families in catastrophic medical malpractice and wrongful death claims. Her cases have involved spinal cord injuries, brain injuries, complications from surgical procedures, cardiovascular injuries, birth injuries, interventional radiology, infections, negligence in the diagnosis and treatment of injuries involving alleged abuse and neglect, gynecological and obstetric injuries, and products liability cases. Ms. Taraska also represents individuals involved in transportation accidents (railroad grade crossings, motor vehicle accidents, and semi-truck collisions), as well as premises liability claims, and injuries from assault, battery and false imprisonment.
Throughout her career Ms. Taraska has been active in professional organizations including the Peoria County Bar Association, the Illinois Trial Lawyers Association, the American Inns of Court (Abraham Lincoln Chapter), the National Employment Lawyers Association, and the Chicago Bar Association. She has been guest writer for the Peoria Woman Magazine and enjoys mentoring younger lawyers in their professional endeavors.
Ms. Taraska is a member of the Catholic Church and is active in the service of those individuals in need in the local community.
Ian R. Alexander
Mr. Alexander concentrates his practice on representing the victims of catastrophic injuries in the areas of medical malpractice and complex personal injury litigation.Mr. Alexander first joined Goldberg & Goldberg in 1999 and became a partner in 2004. Mr. Alexander has tried to verdict and/ or settled numerous medical malpractice, product liability, aviation, railroad, construction negligence and other complex personal injury cases. Mr. Alexander has been appointed to the plaintiff’s steering committee in the litigation arising out of the Amtrak-Bourbonnais Train Disaster, the Hinkley Air Disaster and the Oshkosh Mid-Air Disaster, among other litigation. Mr. Alexander has published articles regularly on issues pertaining to medical malpractice litigation.
Mr. Alexander was raised in north suburban Chicago and attended the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He received his legal education at Tulane University in New Orleans, Louisiana. Mr. Alexander is admitted to practice before the Illinois Bar and the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. He is also a member of the Federal Trial Bar.Mr. Alexander is married and has two children. He resides with his family in Highland Park, IL.
Joseph Preiser
Born in Chicago, Illinois, Joseph M. Preiser grew up in the suburbs of Oak Park and River Forest. Joseph’s father, a personal injury attorney, unintentionally set Joseph on a path toward a career in law. From an early age, often unbeknownst to his father, Joseph read his father’s books authored by prominent trial attorneys including, Gerry Spence, Robert Shapiro, Irving Younger, and Vincent Bugliosi, sparking Joseph’s interest in law and justice.
After graduating from Oak Park-River Forest High School, Joseph attended the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign. While pursuing his undergraduate degree, Joseph began to hone his skills as a trial lawyer by participating on the University of Illinois’ Mock Trial team. During his senior year, Joseph’s team won the Regional Mock Trial Championship and competed in the Mock Trial National Championship in Des Moines, Iowa.
In 2006, after working for a year at a large Chicago law firm, Joseph received an Honors Scholarship and enrolled at Loyola University in the Juris Doctorate and MBA programs. While attending law and business school, Joseph worked as a judicial extern for Cook County Circuit Court Judge Thomas L. Hogan and as a traffic prosecutor for the City of Chicago, where he prosecuted over 185 bench trials to verdict.
In 2009, Joseph graduated with a joint J.D./M.B.A. degree. While earning his degrees, Joseph obtained recognition on the Dean’s List, was a participant on the Health Law Moot Court team, assisted at Loyola’s Business Law Clinic, obtained his M.B.A. with honors, and became a Beta Gamma Sigma Honor Society member.
After graduation, Joseph immediately went to work for the Cook County State’s Attorney’s office as an Assistant State’s Attorney. In his first year, Joseph authored and filed more than 30 appellate briefs in the Illinois Appellate Court, First District. Notably, Joseph authored the State’s brief in People v. Tripp, a matter of first impression in Illinois, in which the Appellate Court agreed with Joseph’s position and published an opinion in his favor. Joseph also argued on behalf of the State before the Illinois Appellate Court in People v. Primbas, an animal cruelty case that resulted in the death of a Rottweiler, where the Appellate Court again agreed with Joseph and published an opinion in his favor.
For the following four years, Joseph worked in the Traffic Division where he prosecuted DUIs and represented the victims of automobile crashes. During his time in the Traffic Division Joseph refined his skills in the courtroom, prosecuting over 600 trials to verdict including 14 jury trials.. In recognition of his performance and dedication the Alliance Against Intoxicated Motorists awarded Joseph with a Certificate of Recognition and Achievement.
In late 2014, Joseph was assigned to the State’s Attorney’s Office’s Felony Review Unit. During his time, he spoke to victims of crimes, Mirandized and obtained statements from violent offenders, reviewed evidence, and provided consultation on charging decisions to law enforcement agencies throughout Cook County.
In 2015, Joseph joined Goldberg & Goldberg where he has continued his practice as a civil trial lawyer with a concentration in representing the victims of medical malpractice. Joseph is involved in all matters related to the trial of these complex civil litigation matters, including taking and defending depositions, drafting and arguing contested motions, attending court, and assisting on all of the firm’s catastrophic medical malpractice and wrongful death claims. Joseph has specialized knowledge in Illinois Traffic Law and crash investigations, particularly as they affect victims in car crashes, motorcycle crashes, and pedestrian injuries. Dedicated to the needs of all of his friends and clients, Joseph is willing to lend his assistance on any law related matter. Joseph relishes the opportunity to work with and learn from the other talented lawyers at Goldberg & Goldberg. Joseph appreciates the firm’s devotion to their clients, their comprehensive commitment to preparation, and their unrelenting fearlessness in the courtroom.
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Tuesday Feb 02, 2021
Tuesday Feb 02, 2021
This week, your hosts Steve Lowry and Yvonne Godfrey interview Adam Slater of Mazie Slater Katz & Freeman (https://www.mazieslater.com/).
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Episode Details:
New Jersey trial lawyer Adam Slater of Mazie Slater Katz & Freeman shares how he successfully represented Mary McGinnis, a 70-year-old woman who underwent numerous surgeries after C.R. Bard's defective transvaginal mesh products eroded within her body, causing chronic inflammation, severe pain, and debilitating physical injuries. In March 2009, Mary's doctor implanted the Avaulta Solo and Align TO mesh products to treat her pelvic prolapse. Due to recurrent mesh erosion, Mary later endured multiple mesh removal surgeries and a complex vaginal wall reconstruction. Today, she still suffers from severe pain and is unable to sit comfortably or be intimate with her husband. Despite the defense's attempts to blame Mary's pain on pre-existing medical issues or her surgeon's techniques, a Bergen County, New Jersey jury found that the Avaulta Solo and Align TO were defective in its design, and that Bard failed to warn of the defects, and awarded $33 million in compensatory damages to Mary and her husband, Thomas. In a separate punitive damages phase, Attorney Adam Slater obtained a punitive damages award of an additional $35 million against Bard..
Click Here to Read/Download the Complete Trial Documents
Guest Bio:
Adam Slater
Adam Slater is certified as a civil trial attorney by the Supreme Court of New Jersey, and a partner in the law firm of Mazie Slater Katz & Freeman, LLC in Roseland, New Jersey. Mr. Slater specializes in the handling of complex civil litigation including product liability, malpractice, catastrophic injury cases, class actions, and mass litigations. He has obtained many jury verdicts and settlements in excess of $1 million, with a number in the nine figures. He also has argued appeals in the New Jersey Supreme Court, New Jersey Appellate Division, and the Third Circuit Court of Appeals, in his own cases and as Amicus, with numerous published decisions.
Mr. Slater also has been appointed as lead counsel in numerous mass torts and class actions, including for example the coordinated litigation of more than 10,000 pelvic mesh cases against Johnson & Johnson, Ethicon, and C.R. Bard in New Jersey State Court, the In Re Benicar Federal MDL in the District of New Jersey which resulted in a global settlement for $358 million, the In Re Valsartan, Losartan, and Irbesartan Federal MDL in the District of New Jersey, the New Jersey State Court consolidation of the Allergan breast implant litigation, and a member of the Executive Committee for the Federal MDL of the Allergan breast implant litigation, Federal class actions against Volkswagen and Audi for breach of warranty (settlement with $84 million value), and a Federal class action against Sanofi-Aventis, on behalf of a class of pharmaceutical sales representatives.
Mr. Slater filed the first pelvic mesh case in the country against Ethicon, Inc. and Johnson & Johnson in early 2008, and he was lead trial counsel for the first trial in the United States against Ethicon and Johnson & Johnson, held in the New Jersey Superior Court. The trial resulted in a verdict for the plaintiffs, with compensatory damages of $3.35 million, and punitive damages of $7.76 million, and the Judgment was affirmed by the New Jersey Appellate Division, with certification denied by the New Jersey Supreme Court. Mr. Slater has been trial counsel in numerous other pelvic mesh cases against Ethicon and Johnson & Johnson around the country, including in Philadelphia in December, 2015 ($12.5 million verdict including punitive damages of $7 million), New Jersey in December, 2017 ($15 million verdict including punitive damages of $10 million) the MDL Court in West Virginia (settled during trial), and Missouri State Court (settled during trial). He also obtained the largest pelvic mesh verdict ever obtained against C.R. Bard, in March 2018, in the amount of $68 million, including punitive damages of $35 million. Of note, Mr. Slater testified in 2015 to the Scottish Parliament, at the invitation of a Parliamentary subcommittee, with regard to the dangers of pelvic mesh, aiding the successful effort to have pelvic mesh banned in Scotland.
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Tuesday Jan 26, 2021
Tuesday Jan 26, 2021
This week, your hosts Steve Lowry and Yvonne Godfrey interview Mark Mandell of Mandell, Boisclair & Mandell, Ltd (https://www.mbmjustice.com/).
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Episode Details:
Acclaimed trial lawyer Mark Mandell of Mandell, Boisclair & Mandell, Ltd. explains how he successfully advocated for Alissa Moulton, who was ejected from her boyfriend Alexander Arango's car after he lost control while driving under the influence, leaving her paralyzed. In April 2010, Alexander, who was only 18 years-old at the time, became highly intoxicated after he was illegally served alcoholic drinks at Twin River Casino and Royal Liquors store in Rhode Island. While under the influence, Alexander drove his mother's 1997 Toyota Camry and lost control of the passenger-filled vehicle as it struck a median barrier, crossed two highway lanes, rolled onto its roof and hit a tree, ejecting Alissa and another passenger. Today, Alissa is paralyzed from the chest down and confined to a wheelchair. Despite the defense's attempts to poke holes in the established timeline of events and to question whether Alexander was served drinks at the casino, a Providence, Rhode Island jury found in favor of the plaintiff Alissa, returning a total judgment of $21,270,455.69 in November 2016. This landmark dram shop liability case is also featured in Mark Mandell's book Advanced Case Framing.
Click Here to Read/Download the Complete Trial Documents
Guest Bio:
Mark Mandell
Mark Mandell graduated from Georgetown University Law Center receiving his J.D. in 1974. When Mark graduated from Georgetown he served as a law clerk for the Honorable U.S. District Judge Edward W. Day in the United States Federal District Court in Providence for a year before entering private practice.
Mark is certified for his expertise in civil trials by two national organizations. He is a Board Certified Civil Trial Specialist by the National Board of Legal Specialty Certification. Attorney Mandell is also nationally recognized and Board Certified as an expert in medical negligence litigation by the American Board of Professional Liability Attorneys. Double board certification nationally is rare for trial lawyers. Both certifications require trial experience and passing a national certification examination.
Mark is actually Triple Board Certified as he is also board certified in Civil Pretrial Practice by the National Board of Legal Specialty Certification.
Mark is a member of the prestigious Inner Circle of Advocates. Membership in the Inner Circle is limited to 100 of the best trial lawyers in the country. The Inner Circle has been described as “an invitation only group of the best plaintiffs lawyers in the United States”.
Mark is also a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers. Membership in the College is an honor that is given only after a lengthy and rigorous evaluation.
Attorney Mark Mandell is a Fellow of the American Academy of Appellate Lawyers and a member of the American Law Institute. He has also attained bar membership in United States Supreme Court, United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit, United States District Court for the District of Rhode Island and in the States of Rhode Island and Alabama.
Mark Mandell has served as President of the Association of Trial Lawyers of America, the Roscoe Pound Institute of Civil Justice, the Rhode Island Bar Association and the Rhode Island Trial Lawyers Association. He has chaired the Board of Bar Examiners for the United States District Court for the District of Rhode Island and is a Past Chair of the National Center for Victims of Crime. He is also a Past President of the National Crime Victims Bar Association. He not only has served these presidential roles but has served many intermediary positions in these prestigious groups.
Attorney Mandell is a current member of the Rhode Island Supreme Court Ethics Advisory Panel and has also served on the Governor’s Advisory Commission on Judicial Appointments, the Rhode Island Supreme Court Commission on the Future of Rhode Island Judicial System, the Rhode Island Board of Medical Licensure and Discipline, and the Governor’s Council on Mental Health.
He is currently a member of the Alabama Bar Association, the American Bar Association, the American Association for Justice, the Rhode Island Association for Justice, and the Rhode Island Bar Association. Mark has written 22 articles in well known journals and has lectured many hundreds of times to Trial Lawyers Associations, state and national, in 45 different states and internationally. Attorney Mandell is currently listed in the publication “The Best Lawyers in America“.
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Tuesday Jan 19, 2021
Tuesday Jan 19, 2021
This week, your hosts Steve Lowry and Yvonne Godfrey interview Derrick A. Pope of The Arc of Justice Institute (https://onthearc.net/).
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Episode Details:
In honor of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, Hidden Legal Figures Podcast host Alexander Pope returns to discuss the landmark 1956 case against Civil Rights activist Martin Luther King, Jr. for his role in the year-long Montgomery, Alabama Bus Boycott and violation of a 1921 anti-boycott law. An example of white Alabama officials' effort to use the courts to quash the Civil Rights Movement, the trial began with numerous attempts by prosecutors to identify King as the official leader of the boycott. King's legal team countered by trying to establish "just cause" or "legal excuse" for the boycott, with 31 witnesses sharing their first-hand experiences with abusive bus drivers and reasons for participating in the boycott. In spite of these moving statements, Judge Eugene W. Carter found King guilty of violating the anti-boycott law and fined him $500 plus an additional $500 in court costs. King's appeal was rejected, and he later paid the fine.
Click Here to Read/Download the Complete Trial Documents
Guest Bio:
Derrick Alexander Pope:
Derrick Alexander Pope is President and Managing Director of The Arc of Justice Institute. In his role, he has responsibility for its standing initiatives and programs, including hosting its podcast, Hidden Legal Figures.
Before The Arc, Mr. Pope enjoyed a distinguished career in the public, private, and academic sectors. He has provided counsel to the legislative and executive branches of government at the federal, state, and county level, having most recently served as Chief of Staff in the Office of the Chairman of the Fulton County Board of Commissioners. He is a former Assistant Legislative Counsel to the Georgia General Assembly and former Legislative and General Counsel to the Medical Association of Georgia. During the Obama administration, Mr. Pope was a member of the White House Data-Driven Justice Initiative and the My Brother's Keeper Taskforce in 2015 and 2016. In private practice, he has helped protect the inheritance rights of more than 500 families throughout Georgia. Mr. Pope is a former adjunct professor of law at the Georgia State University College of Law where he taught Probate Practice and Procedure.
Mr. Pope has several published works to his credit. He is the author of By the Content of Our Character: A Declaration of Independence for Colored Folks, Negroes, Black People, and African Americans and Thy Will Be Done: An African American Guide to Estate Planning and the Howard Law Journal article A Constitutional Window to Interpretive Reason: Or in Other Words...The Ninth Amendment. In 2012 teaming with this daughter he released a spoken word CD - The Race Track.
An Atlanta native, Mr. Pope is a graduate of Morris Brown College and the Loyola University School of Law in New Orleans, Louisiana, earning top honors in the Loyola Law Clinic. He is a member of the State Bar of Georgia where serves on three standing committees (Vice-Chair, Communications/Cornerstones of Freedom Program; Advisory Committee on Legislation, and the Editorial Board of the Georgia Bar Journal, and Past Co-Chair of the Committee on Inclusion in the Profession), the Phi Alpha Delta Law Fraternity, the United States Supreme Court Historical Society, and the Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc.
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Tuesday Jan 12, 2021
Tuesday Jan 12, 2021
This week, your hosts Steve Lowry and Yvonne Godfrey interview Randy Edwards and Paul Piland of Cochran Edwards (https://www.cochranedwardslaw.com/) & John Sherrod of Sherrod Bernard (https://www.sherrodandbernard.com/).
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Episode Details:
Accomplished trial lawyer and former NFL defensive lineman Randy Edwards of Cochran Edwards, personal injury attorney John Sherrod of Sherrod Bernard, and experienced litigator Paul Piland, also of Cochran Edwards, explain how they strategically represented Adrian Johns, a motorcyclist who was catastrophically injured due to a brake defect concealed by manufacturer Suzuki Motor Corp. In August 2013, Adrian, an experienced rider and U.S. Air Force Special Ops veteran, was thrown off his 2006 Suzuki GSX-R1000 when his front brakes failed to work on an Austell, Georgia roadway. As a result, Adrian shattered his back and permanently damaged his spinal cord, requiring surgery and leading to irreversible motor problems as well as sensory deficits. As early as December 2012, Suzuki Motor Corp. knew riders were in danger due to front brake issues and failed to warn consumers like Adrian until nearly a year later in an effort to maintain sales during peak season. In spite of Suzuki's attempts to blame Adrian's injuries on his own reckless driving or gravel on the roadway, a Douglas County, Georgia jury returned a verdict in favor of the plaintiff, awarding $10,500,000 in compensatory damages to Adrian and $2,000,000 to his wife Gwen. This was the fifth-largest motorcycle accident verdict in the U.S. in 2018.
Click Here to Read/Download the Complete Trial Documents
Guest Bios:
Randy Edwards:
Randy is an “AV” rated lawyer by Martindale Hubbell and has been practicing law for over 25 years. He spent the first half of his career at two of Atlanta’s premier law firms, Kilpatrick Stockton (now Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton) where he was a partner for 8 years, and Smith Currie & Hancock where he was an associate for 4 years.
In 2009, he opted for lower overhead and a shorter commute and formed Cochran & Edwards with his childhood friend and neighbor, Scott Cochran. He is licensed in both Georgia and Alabama. As a former NFL defensive lineman, Randy brings a “unique” attitude to the courtroom.
Randy is a trial lawyer and primarily handles the following types of cases:
Business Litigation
With a master’s degree in finance, Randy has unique experience with business cases involving complex damage models. He has handled a wide variety of cases involving unfair competition, “business divorces”, trade secrets, patents, failed business acquisitions, franchise disputes, non-competition agreements, construction disputes (representing contractors, suppliers and owners).
RICO
Many types of business disputes may fall under the Georgia or Federal “RICO” statutes (Racketeering Influenced Corrupt Organizations), depending on exactly what the defendant did, including: larceny, embezzlement and theft, theft of labor or services, mail and wire fraud, health care fraud and various investment scams. Randy has experience on both sides and has obtained several six and seven figure RICO judgments and settlements.
Personal Injury and Wrongful Death
Randy has extensive experience with serious personal injury and death cases involving cars, trucks and motorcycles, products liability, road construction, particularly cases against the Georgia Department of Transportation and its contractors, and failed medical devices
Insurance Coverage/Bad Faith
Randy started his career defending insurance coverage in bad faith cases. He knows how insurance companies approach cases, and where they bury the skeletons when they blow coverage. For over ten years now, Randy has exclusively represented policy holders in disputes with their insurers.
Randy was a 4-year letterman and 3-year starter as a defensive lineman for the University of Alabama where he played for legendary Coach Paul “Bear” Bryant, and was named a permanent captain by his Alabama teammates. Randy went on to play four years for the Seattle Seahawks of the NFL. He was primarily a “nickel” pass-rusher for the Seahawks, with his best year being 1985 when he had 10.5 quarterback sacks.
John Sherrod
Few lawyers in Douglas County and West Georgia can match John Sherrod’s experience and achievements.
He has been representing injured plaintiffs and their families for some 33 years, attaining numerous seven- and eight-figure resolutions on their behalf.
A Georgia native who was born and raised in Marietta, John attended the University of Georgia, graduating cum laude in 1984. During his college years, he became friends with future law partner Ken Bernard, and the two students made plans to go into law and perhaps one day create their own law firm.
After college, John immediately enrolled in Mercer University’s Walter F. George School of Law, where he would graduate at the top of his class in 1987. During law school, he clerked for an insurance-defense law firm and then joined that firm as an attorney after receiving his J.D.
But after a couple of years, John was having second thoughts about the type of law he was practicing.
“I felt like I was representing these faceless corporations that were motivated by greed, and I wanted to help the little guy,” he recalls. “That’s why I moved into the direction of where I still am today.”
He joined a plaintiff’s personal injury law firm in Western Georgia, a move that provided him much greater personal and professional satisfaction. During this time, his old university friend Ken Bernard was finishing his service as a military lawyer for the U.S. Marines in California. He had a law degree from the University of Georgia and was preparing to begin his career as a civilian attorney. They talked on the phone about their shared vision, and in 1992, when Bernard concluded his active duty, the law firm of Sherrod & Bernard was born.
“My vision was for us to get back to our roots,” John says. “We were both fairly local guys — Ken grew up here and I’m from the next county over — and represent the people we grew up with, our friends and family and neighbors, and give them effective representation that they don’t have to go to Atlanta or somewhere else to get. They can get it right here in Douglas County.”
Paul Piland
Paul is an experienced litigator and trial lawyer. Paul focuses his practice on complex business and commercial litigation. He represents both plaintiffs and defendants in state and federal courts as well as in arbitration proceedings. While representing plaintiffs, Paul has played an integral role in multiple jury trials resulting in verdicts of over $10 million.
Education
Vermont Law School, J.D. (2007)
Auburn University, B.A. (2004) cum laude
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Tuesday Jan 05, 2021
Tuesday Jan 05, 2021
This week, your hosts Steve Lowry and Yvonne Godfrey interview Christine Spagnoli of Greene Broillet & Wheeler LLP (https://www.gbw.law/).
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Episode Details:
Santa Monica, California attorney Christine Spagnoli of Greene Broillet & Wheeler LLP shares how she advocated for injured church members and their grieving families after a Ford E350 15-passenger van overturned following a tire tread separation. In April 2004, four members of Fair Oaks Presbyterian Church traveled on Sacramento's I-5 in a van equipped with Goodyear Load Range E tires. Due to known tread separation problems, Goodyear conducted a voluntary replacement program on these tires, but Ford failed to notify its dealers. The tread on the church van's factory-mounted Goodyear tires separated, causing the van to flip four times, killing the driver William Brownell and front-seat passenger Tony Mauro and injuring passengers Marlene Shirley and Alexander Bessonov. Ford knew the E350 15-passenger van was susceptible to overturning, given professional driver tests that indicated oversteering and handling issues, but the company allowed the vehicle to go to market without modifying the design. In 2011, a Sacramento jury found Ford Motor Company negligent and returned a $73 million verdict, including $50 million in punitive damages against Ford in favor of the plaintiffs.
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Guest Bios:
Christine D. Spagnoli:
Christine D. Spagnoli is a partner of Greene, Broillet & Wheeler in Santa Monica, specializing in representing plaintiffs in product liability, personal injury and legal malpractice actions. She has obtained many multimillion-dollar verdicts, including the 1999 General Motors case in which a defective fuel tank was found responsible for the burn injuries of two adults and four children. The jury returned with a landmark $4.9 billion verdict. She was co-counsel in the largest personal injury verdict in California, which resulted in a $58 million verdict for a man severely burned by a defective O-ring.
She has also spear-headed litigation to protect consumers from injuries and deaths involving 15 passenger vans including:
- A March 2018 jury verdict of $25.9 million awarded to the family of a church volunteer in New Port Richey, Florida who died in a rollover of a Ford 15 passenger van after the left rear tire tread separated. (Named by National Law Journal as one of the Top 100 Verdicts of 2018)
- A November 2011 jury verdict of $73 million (including $50 million in punitive damages) awarded to the family of a church volunteer in Sacramento who died in a rollover crash of a Ford 15 passenger van following a tire tread separation. In that case, the jury found that the van’s defective design led to the loss of control and that Ford knew about the dangers of tread separations but failed to warn consumers to remove recalled tires that were prone to separation.
- A July 2010 jury verdict of $5 million for a man injured when the roof of his Ford 15 passenger van crushed in a rollover causing permanent spinal cord injuries.
Her achievements cover the full range of personal injury and product liability cases. Recently, Chris served as the Plaintiffs’ Co-Lead Counsel in the Federal Express Vehicle Collision Cases resulting from the May 2015 crash involving a FedEx tractor-trailer that crossed a median in Orland, California colliding with a charter bus full of high school students, killing 10 and injuring dozens. The cases settled in October of 2017 on the eve of trial after Chris and her team successfully fought efforts by FedEx to exclude the driver’s cell phone records from the trial. She has also served as the Plaintiffs’ Liaison Counsel in coordinated cases involving defective Cooper Tires as well as on the California Plaintiffs’ Steering Committee for cases involving defective Firestone tires on Ford Explorers.
Chris earned widespread recognition for her work as co-lead trial counsel in the 2001 negligence case against Southern California Edison, which resulted in a $21 million verdict for an electrocuted avocado picker. Among her other noteworthy cases are Brezovec v. State of California – $8.8 million, a brain/motor vehicle injury case, Ogden v. Hamm Brothers Construction – $6.4 million, a personal injury matter, and McGee v. The City of Alameda – $25 million, an electrocuted construction worker.
In 2017 Chris was honored by the American Association of Justice with its prestigious Harry M. Philo Award which recognizes an individual who has made an outstanding contribution to the civil justice system and whose work has advanced the safety and protection of American consumers. In 2012, the Consumer Attorneys Association of Los Angeles recognized Chris as its Trial Lawyer of the Year, the first time in the history of the organization that a woman trial attorney received that honor. In 2001 she was named Most Outstanding Young Trial Lawyer, the F. Scott Baldwin Award, by the American Association for Justice (AAJ), New Lawyers Division. She also received Loyola Law School’s 2001 Trial Lawyer of the Year Award. She has also been nominated as a finalist for the Consumer Attorneys of Los Angeles Trial Lawyer of the Year and the Consumer Attorneys of California Trial Lawyer of the Year on multiple occasions.
Within professional organizations, Chris has assumed numerous leadership positions and received many honors for her service. She served as the President of the Consumer Attorneys of California (CAOC) in 2009 and was the 2002 president of the Consumer Attorneys Association of Los Angeles (CAALA). In 2011 – 2013 she served as the President of the Attorneys Information Exchange Group, a national organization of attorneys specializing in automotive product liability cases. She is a member of the Board of the American Association for Justice, the International Academy of Trial Lawyers and is also a member of the International Society of Barristers and the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA) where she holds the rank of Associate. In 1998, she was appointed by the Chief Justice of the California Supreme Court to the Civil Jury Instructions Committee (CACI), where she still serves. Chris also serves as a member of the Board of Overseers for the Rand Institute for Civil Justice as well as the Board of Overseers of her alma mater, Loyola Law School of Los Angeles.
Chris is one of the state’s most trusted legal leaders as a member of the Los Angeles Judicial Selection Advisory Committees (JSACs). In January 2020, Governor Gavin Newsom named Ms. Spagnoli to the influential committee that reviews judicial candidates under consideration for nomination and appointment and will provide important feedback before forwarding their names to the Governor for review.
The awards and honors bestowed on Chris by these various organizations include the Consumer Attorneys of California’s 2014 Robert E. Cartwright Award and its 2010 Marvin E. Lewis Award as well as the Consumer Attorneys of Los Angeles 2005 Ted Horn Memorial Award. These awards recognized Chris for her excellence in trial advocacy and her dedication to teaching trial advocacy to her colleagues as well as her selfless gift of her talents in service to the organizations and consumers. She was honored as one of Loyola Law School of Los Angeles’ Champions of Justice in 2013. In May 2017, Consumer Watchdog, a non-profit consumer advocacy group, bestowed on Chris its Rage for Justice Lifetime Legal Achievement Award. On June 7, 2018, the Consumer Attorneys of Los Angeles inducted Chris into its Hall of Fame, honoring CAALA members with distinguished legal careers who have made significant contributions to the legal profession and society.
In 2018 Chris was named as one of California’s Top 30 Plaintiff attorneys by the Daily Journal, which also has ranked her as one of the Top 100 Most Influential Attorneys in California and one of the Top 50 Women Litigators since 2004. She has also been named a “Super Lawyer” in the Southern California Super Lawyers peer-nominated listings compiled and published by Law & Politics, and one of the Best Lawyers in America by Woodward/White, Inc., based on a survey of her peers.
As a frequent lecturer and author, Chris has shared her expertise on various trial techniques including demonstrative evidence, direct and cross-examination methods, written discovery and demonstrating head trauma injury in children. Among the organizations she has addressed are CAALA, CAOC, AAJ, the American Bar Association, the Los Angeles County Bar Association, and Trial Lawyer associations in Colorado, Connecticut, Missouri, Washington, and the Western Trial Lawyers Association.
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Tuesday Dec 29, 2020
Tuesday Dec 29, 2020
This week, your hosts Steve Lowry and Yvonne Godfrey interview Brett Turnbull of Turnbull Law Firm (https://turnbulllawfirm.com/) and Jerome Tapley of Cory Watson Attorneys (https://www.corywatson.com/)
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Episode Details:
Trial lawyers Brett Turnbull of Turnbull Law Firm and Jerome Tapley of Cory Watson Attorneys explain how they successfully represented grieving father Hilario Cruz after his wife and two young daughters were killed in a car crash caused by a faulty brake system. In 2012, a 2004 Infiniti QX56 SUV driven by Solomon Mathenge t-boned a Dodge Caravan in Los Angeles, resulting in the death of the driver, Hilario's wife, and daughters Stephanie, 4 and Hilda, 6. Solomon insisted that his brakes were not working properly. Originally charged with three counts of vehicular manslaughter, Solomon later joined the case as an additional plaintiff, separately represented, against Nissan North America, Inc., due to the discovery of a history of braking issues in Infiniti vehicles. Nissan knew as early as 2003 that select models were equipped with a defective braking software with a "delta stroke sensor," which unnecessarily activated the car's optimized hydraulic braking. Despite this knowledge, Nissan failed to recall the vehicle or notify all vehicle owners. In 2017, a Los Angeles jury found Nissan's negligence to be 100% responsible for the three wrongful deaths and awarded plaintiffs compensatory damages totaling $24,931,109.
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Guest Bios:
BRETT TURNBULL:
Brett Turnbull has embraced the philosophy of keeping clients first in distinguishing himself as a leading trial lawyer, recognized for his jury verdicts and settlements on behalf of clients killed or injured by the negligent and wrongful actions of others. When Brett goes before a jury, he realizes he has one job: to get justice for his client by proving their claims and guiding the jury to award a fair and reasonable verdict.
Brett has more than a decade of successful courtroom experience in complex litigation, including trucking cases, product liability, automobile defects, pediatric burns, traumatic brain injury and nursing home malpractice.
Respect for individuals and for the justice system led Brett, a graduate of the University of Alabama, to pursue legal studies at The Cumberland School of Law. There, he discovered his true passion: trial law. As a class leader, Brett won national recognition for his trial advocacy skills.
That leadership track continued throughout Brett’s legal career. Today, he gives back to his profession by serving in leadership positions with the Alabama Association for Justice, Alabama State Bar, and Southern Trial Lawyers Association.
Brett and his wife Dawn have been married for 13 years and have four children–Brett, Arden, Miller, and Bess. When he’s not in the courtroom, you can find Brett and his family outside playing their favorite sports: baseball, basketball, soccer, golf, and tennis. They also enjoy taking time out of their busy schedule to relax at the lake or the beach for a weekend. The Turnbulls are active members at South Highland Presbyterian Church in Birmingham, Alabama.
JEROME TAPLEY:
For Jerome Tapley, the decision to become a lawyer was a deeply personal one. When he was a boy, a family member died in a workplace accident. Jerome witnessed first-hand how lawyers could make a difference in people’s lives. The trial lawyers who represented his family successfully held the responsible party accountable for the tragedy, and he knew then that he wanted to be a trial lawyer. His road toward achieving that goal was not easy, but hard work has never been an obstacle for him.
Jerome was born in Alexander City, Alabama - a hard-working, cotton mill town that taught him the values of persistence, keeping his word, and doing his best. The lessons learned from his community propelled Jerome to become the first college graduate in his family. He graduated from Auburn University Montgomery, where he was Student Government President, and earned his law degree through Cumberland School of Law at Samford University.
He is now a principal at Cory Watson Attorneys, focusing 100 percent on courtroom litigation and trial, including Class Action, Mass Tort, and Products Liability Litigation. He is admitted to all state and federal courts in Alabama and Florida. Jerome’s peers rightly view him as an accomplished trial lawyer, having tried cases in multiple venues across the country including a $25 million verdict for plaintiffs in an automotive defect case against Nissan in California, a $10 million wrongful death verdict in Alabama, and a $50 verdict against DuPont for pollution caused cancer in Ohio.
Notwithstanding his courtroom accomplishments, Jerome is more than a trial lawyer. Since joining Cory Watson in 2003, Jerome has become a shareholder, Co-Chair of the Class Action & Consumer Fraud litigation group, and a member of the firm’s management committee.
He has also served as Lead Counsel in a multitude of certified nationwide consumer fraud class actions against large corporations in jurisdictions across the country; has years of experience as Lead Counsel in multiple cases representing state Attorneys General, represented nearly every city and county in the State of Arkansas against every major Opioid manufacturer and distributor; and served leading roles for the firm in Multi-District Litigation, including appointment as Co-Lead Counsel in In re Google Inc. Gmail Litigation, MDL 2430.
Jerome’s cases often involve recalls or product redesigns resulting not only in financial recovery for the class, but also increased safety for the public. One such litigation involved two certified nationwide consumer fraud class actions against fireplace manufacturers who made dangerous glass-front fireplaces, successfully changing industry design standards to prevent severe third-degree burns to infants and toddlers.
Jerome has been married to his high school sweetheart, Kelli, for 20 years. Kelli is a pediatrician and loving mom to their two daughters, Madeline and Harper. In his free time, you can find Jerome with his family or quail hunting with his bird dog Duke. The Tapley family is active at Haven Field Community Church, where Jerome serves as Chairman of the Elders. Though Jerome has a variety of hobbies and interests, one of his favorite quotes speaks to his hard-working background: “No one has ever drowned in sweat.” - Lou Holtz.
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Tuesday Dec 22, 2020
Tuesday Dec 22, 2020
This week, your hosts Steve Lowry and Yvonne Godfrey interview Armen Akaragian and Garo Mardirossian of Mardirossian & Associates, Inc. (https://www.garolaw.com/)
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Episode Details:
Los Angeles trial lawyers Armen Akaragian and Garo Mardirossian of Mardirossian & Associates, Inc. explain how they represented the family of Nonki Uno, a 66-year-old restaurant owner who was killed after the accelerator pedal in her 2006 Toyota Camry got stuck following a crash caused by another driver who ran a stop sign. In August 2009, 86-year-old Olga Bello broadsided Nonki Uno's car, sending it spinning and uncontrollably accelerating, crossing the center median curb and striking multiple telephone poles and trees. Nonki was found dead at the scene with her foot broken and mangled under the brake pedal and her emergency brake activated. Originally tried in 2013, this was a bellwether case for nearly 300 unintended acceleration cases involving Toyota vehicles. Toyota failed to include a Brake Override Safety System (B.O.S.S.) in the American model of the Toyota Camry until 2007 and failed to warn consumers about the fact that solid accelerator pedals can get stuck and cause sudden acceleration. Despite Armen and Garo's argument that Toyota and Olga Bello were to blame for Nonki's death, the Los Angeles jury ultimately found Olga 100% responsible and awarded $10,000,000 in noneconomic damages to Nonki's husband and son.
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Guest Bios:
Armen Akaragian
Armen Akaragian is an attorney with the firm of Mardirossian & Associates, in Los Angeles, California. He has been with the firm since 1999.
Admitted to practice in 2006, Armen has arbitrated, tried, and settled several cases that have resulted in multi-million dollar verdicts and settlements. Some of the largest entities Armen has represented the firm’s clients against include Ford Motor Company, General Motors, Toyota Motor Corporation, Marriott International, Inc., Kiewit Construction, Continental Tire, Land Rover, State of California, Chrysler Motors, Emerson Electric, and Honeywell International.
In 2009, he was nominated for the coveted Consumer Trial Attorney of the Year Award by the Consumer Attorneys of California, a statewide organization, following his involvement in the case of Pannu vs. Land Rover. This complex product liability case, which was litigated for more than seven years, tried over eight weeks and underwent a two-year appellate process, ultimately resulted in a fully affirmed judgment in excess of $25,000,000.00. Most notably, the published Court of Appeal opinion set precedent in the State of California excluding from evidence crucial testing that automobile manufacturers have relied upon in defending complex product liability cases for decades.
In 2011, Armen again was recognized for his accomplishments by the Armenian Bar Association as one of the top 20 lawyers under 40. This was the first time this award had been given out by the Bar Association.
In 2013, Armen was one of the trial attorneys in the first bellwether case tried to verdict, Uno v. Toyota, in the about 300 coordinated cases against Toyota arising from unintended acceleration incidents. The trial lasted for more than three months and resulted in a jury verdict in the amount of $10,000,000.00 for the untimely death of a 66-year-old wife and mother. The case ultimately settled in 2015 at the Appellate Court steps. At that time, the judgment which also included costs and interest exceeded $13,000,000.00.
During the trial in Uno v. Toyota, the California Court of Appeal published its opinion in Purton v. Marriott International, Inc., 218 Cal. App. 4th 499 (2013), reversing a grant of summary judgment. The Court of Appeal agreed with Armen’s position taken at the trial court level and eventually held that an employer could still be responsible for the acts of its employee who became intoxicated at a company party even if the employee arrived home safely from the party, then left his house and was subsequently involved in a crash. The case eventually started trial in May of 2015 in San Diego. After three weeks and just before plaintiffs rested, the case was resolved for a confidential sum.
Armen attended California State University, Northridge, where he earned, in 2002, a Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Administration. He then attended Southwestern University School of Law in Los Angeles, where he was consistently on the Dean’s List, and completed his Juris Doctor degree in 2005. During his studies, he was also a Judicial Extern for Honorable Dikran Tevrizian, Judge with the United States District Court for the Central District of California.
Garo Mardirossian
Garo Mardirossian is the principal of Mardirossian &Associates, Inc., a five-lawyer firm in the Mardirossian Law Building located at 6311 Wilshire Boulevard in Los Angeles. Since starting his practice in 1981, Mr. Mardirossian has focused almost exclusively on representing individuals who have been catastrophically injured. Mr. Mardirossian has obtained over 100 seven- and eight-figure verdicts and settlements, including eight-figure verdicts in product liability, general negligence, and civil rights cases.
In April of 2019, Mr. Mardirossian obtained the largest settlement ever against the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department in the amount of $42,200,000.00 in the case of Fong v. LA County Sheriff’s Department, where a rogue Sheriff’s Deputy lost control of his patrol car while responding to a call, Code 3, and hit the plaintiff who suffered a broken leg and a moderate TBI. Despite the crash, within six months, the plaintiff returned back to work without any limitations.
In an earlier case against the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, Dole v. LA County Sheriff’s Department, members of the Dole family were beaten and arrested
at the Dole home while celebrating a bridal shower. Mr. Mardirossian obtained a defense verdict in the felony criminal case prosecuted against members of the Dole family and then obtained a jury award in the amount of $24,850,000.00 in the civil rights action -- the largest judgment in history against the Sheriff’s Department at the time.
In Mendoza v. LA County Sheriff’s Department, Mr. Mardirossian obtained a $14,350,000.00 settlement for the family of Frank Mendoza, a grandfather who was mistakenly shot and killed by Sheriff’s Deputies as he was exiting his home.
More recently, in Valenzuela v. City of Anaheim, an excessive force case that resulted in the choking death of Vincent Valenzuela, Garo Mardirossian and Dale Galipo teamed up to obtain a federal court jury verdict of $13,200,000.00 for the family of an unarmed homeless father of two.
In the nationally followed Kelly Thomas v. Fullerton Police Department case, Mr. Mardirossian fought for justice for Kelly Thomas, a homeless man suffering from schizophrenia, who was tased and beaten to death by Fullerton Police officers following an encounter that was escalated by the officers. During jury selection, Mr. Mardirossian obtained a settlement of $4,900,000.00 on behalf of Kelly’s father.
In Kunta Kinte v. Bart Simpson (real names), Mr. Mardirossian represented a South Central family that was beaten and arrested by officers of the LAPD. After obtaining an acquittal in the criminal case, Mr. Mardirossian settled the civil rights action case for $350,000.00.
In Zerby v. Long Beach Police Department, Mr. Mardirossian and Dale Galipo obtained a jury verdict of $6,500,000.00 after Long Beach Police officers shot and killed Douglas Zerby, who was sitting on the steps in front of a friend’s house. The officers mistook the water nozzle he was holding for a weapon and opened fire.
In Amaya v. LA County Sheriff’s Department, Mr. Mardirossian obtained a $3,050,000.00 jury verdict on behalf of the family of a man who was shot and killed in his home by Sheriff’s Deputies who were executing an arrest warrant.
In Ponce v. City of Anaheim, Mr. Mardirossian obtained a $1,650,000.00 settlement for the children of Adalid Flores, who was shot and killed by Anaheim Police Department officers who believed his cell phone was a gun.
In 2000, Mr. Mardirossian won the prestigious CAALA Trial Lawyer of the Year award. In 2010, he was elected CAALA’s president. He has been named by the Daily Journal as one of the top 100 Lawyers in California, and he has had numerous published decisions that have set an important precedent in California, including Purton v. Marriott International, Inc., 218 Cal. App. 4th 499 (2013); Pannu v. Land Rover, 191 Cal. App. 4th 1298 (2011); Mardirossian & Associates, Inc. v. Ersoff, 153 Cal. App. 4th 257 (2007); and Srithong v. Total Investment Co., 23 Cal. App. 4th 721 (1994).
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