Missouri's Largest Verdicts of 2004
Western Part Of Missouri Dominates Top Verdicts 2004
The western part of Missouri scored almost a clean sweep in 2004 when it comes to ranking the largest verdicts in the state.
Of the 10 top awards, nine were registered in Jackson, Jasper and Clay counties. What's more, the largest defense verdict and the largest settlement of 2004 came from Jackson County. Coincidence or not, western Missouri was definitely where the action was in 2004.
Joplin attorney Ed Hershewe had a good year. He and his firm had the seventh and ninth largest plaintiff's verdicts, in addition to the third and 10th largest settlements. Louis Accurso of Kansas City also did well — the top settlement and sixth largest verdict. The names of Gary Robb and Anita Porte Robb also appeared often on the lists — Robb & Robb had the 12th and 14th largest plaintiff's verdicts and the eighth largest settlement.
All told, the sum of the 10 top verdicts in 2004 — $140.6 million — was greater than the $99.6 total in 2003.
Here is a summary of the top five plaintiff's verdicts:
* $30 million: wrongful death — murder, Clay County.
* $27 million: automobile accident — two deaths, brain injury, Jackson County.
* $20 million: products liability — popcorn flavoring, Jasper County.
* $15 million: intellectual property — misappropriation of name, St. Louis City.
* $12.5 million: products liability — auto fuel tank, Jackson County.
Ground Rules — This survey includes the top verdicts to individual plaintiffs or groups of individuals who were injured in a single incident and had their claims tried in one case before the same jury. The list does not include business-against-business suits, bench trials, consolidated cases or verdicts that were the result of uncontested litigation.
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Top Plaintiffs' Verdicts
$30 Million
Swope, et. al. v. Johnson
Attorneys: John Kurtz, Kansas City
$27 Million
Coleman, et al. v. Auction Transport, Inc., et al.
Attorneys: John H. (Jack) Norton, Norton & Noland, Kansas City; James T. Thompson and Brendan Buckley, Edelman & Thompson, Kansas City
$20 Million
Peoples v. International Flavors & Fragrances, Inc.
Attorneys: Kenneth McClain, Humphrey, Farrington & McClain, Kansas City
$15 Million
Twist v. McFarlane, et al.
Attorney: Robert Blitz, Robert D. Blitz and R. Thomas Avery, Blitz, Bardgett & Deutsch, Clayton; James Holloran, Holloran, Stewart & Schwartz, St. Louis
$12.5 Million
Mathes v. Ford Motor Company
Attorneys: J. Kent Emison and Kevin Stanley, Langdon & Emison, Lexington; Roger Ponder, House Springs
$12 Million
Sturdevant v. Kansas City Southern Railway Company
Attorneys: Louis C. Accurso, Steven D. Steinhilber and Ann Wright, The Accurso Law Firm, Kansas City; William McIntosh, The McIntosh Law Firm, Kansas City
$7.6 Million
Burrell v. O’Reilly Automotive
Attorneys: Edward Hershewe, Alison Hershewe and Theresa Kenney, The Hershewe Law Firm, Joplin
$6.5 Million
Phariss v. Crown Equipment Corp
Attorneys: Duke W. Ponick Jr., Kansas City; Rick D. Holtsclaw, Holtsclaw & Kendall, Kansas City; Daniel T. DeFeo, Kansas City; Bradford C. Kendall, Kansas City
$5 Million
Carroll, et al. v. Troostwood Banquet Hall, Inc.
Attorneys: Michael R. Fletcher and Charles Menifee, Sanders, Simpson & Fletcher, Kansas City
$5 Million
Flood, et al. v. Holzwarth
Attorneys: Ed Hershewe, Alison Hershewe and Teresa Kenney, The Hershewe Law Firm, Joplin
$5 Million
Kaplan, et al. v. US Bank, N.A.
Attorneys: Thomas P. Rosenfeld, Stone, Leyton & Gershman, St. Louis; Jeffrey R. Curl, Curl & Hark, Hannibal
$4 Million
Carnahan, et al. v. Parker-Hannifin Corp., et al.
Attorneys: Gary C. Robb and Anita Porte Robb, Robb & Robb, Kansas City
$3 Million
Shoemaker, et al. v. Fantastic Enterprises, Inc.
Attorneys: Steven Harrell and Michael Johnson, The Strong Law Firm, Springfield
$3 Million
Haskin v. Union Pacific Railroad Company
Attorneys: Jerry Schlichter and Nelson Wolff, Schlichter, Bogard & Denton, St. Louis
$3 Million
Coon v. American Compressed Steel
Attorneys: Anita Porte Robb and Gary C. Robb, Robb & Robb, Kansas City
$2.9 Million
Payne v. Cornhusker Motor Line
Attorneys: Roger Denton and Paul Slocomb, Schlichter, Bogard & Denton
$2.25 Million
Knifong v. Caterpillar, Inc.
Attorneys: Scott S. Bethune, Grant L. Davis and Randall W. Brown, Davis, Bethune & Jones, Kansas City; Margaret E. Dean, Dean Law Office, Kansas City
$2 Million
Harris v. Union Pacific
Attorneys: Leonard P. Cervantes, Cervantes & Associates, St. Louis
$1.89 Million
Richka Enterprises, Inc. d/b/a Aladdin Chem Dry v. American Family
Attorneys: Russell F. Watters, Stephen D’Aunoy and Irene J. Marusic, Brown & James, St. Louis
$1.7 Million
Yanics, et al. v. Metro Heart Group of St. Louis, Inc., et al.
Attorneys: Daniel P. Finney Jr., St. Louis
Top Defendants' Verdicts
$17.5 Million
Ratcliff v. Sprint Missouri, Inc.
Attorneys: Paul L. Wickens and Joseph L. Van Ackeren, Foland, Wickens, Eisfelder, Roper & Hofer, Kansas City
$11 Million
Thomas v. General Motors
Attorney: John Hickey,Kirkland & Ellis, Chicago
$5 Million
Jone, et al. v. The Coleman Company
Attorneys: Daniel T. Rabbitt, Rabbitt, Pitzer & Snodgrass, St. Louis; Kenneth Lang, Cozen O’Connor, Wichita, Kan.
$4 Million
Smith, et al. v. Tenet HealthSystem SL
Attorneys: G. Keith Phoenix and Joseph F. Callahan, Sandberg, Phoenix & von Gontard, St. Louis; Stephen G. Reuter and Weldon Johnson, Moser & Marsalek, St. Louis
$4 Million
Marion v. Marcus
Attorneys: Bruce Keplinger and John Hicks, Norris & Keplinger, Overland Park, Kan.; Greg Forney, Shaffer, Lombardo and Shurin, Kansas City
$3.9 Million
UMB v. J&D Enterprises
Attorneys: Dana M. Harris and Kemba L. Thomas, Kansas City
$3.5 Million
Paszkiewicz, et al. v. Microsurgery and Brain Research Institute, et al.
Attorneys: Stephen Reuter and Tracy Zuckett, Moser and Marsalek, St. Louis; Michael Daniels and Richard Hunsaker, Heyl Royster, Edwardsville, Ill.
$2.5 Million
Eltiste v. Ford Motor Company
Attorneys: Robert T. Adams, Shook, Hardy & Bacon, Kansas City; J. Randolph Bibb and Robert F. Chapski, Baker, Donelson, Bearman, & Caldwell, Nashville, Tenn.
$1.8 Million
Ferrara, et al. v. Washington University, et al.
Attorneys: Peter F. Spataro and Amy E. Kostman, Wayne, Moser & Marsalek PC, St. Louis
$1.7 Million
Botindari v. Archdiocese of St. Louis
Attorneys: Thomas Buckley, Buckley & Buckley, St. Louis
$1.2 Million
McGill, et al. v. Ford Motor Company
Attorneys: Robert T. Adams and Michael J. Kleffner, Shook, Hardy & Bacon, Kansas City
$1.2 Million
Allen, et al. v. Murdock
Attorneys: D. Paul Myre, Anderson & Gilbert, St. Louis
$1.2 Million
Alford v. Hines
Attorneys: Brian D. Malkmus and Jared Robertson, Blackwell Sanders Peper Martin, Springfield; Kevin O’Malley, Greensfelder Hemker & Gale, St. Louis; Thomas Hayek, Behr McCarter & Potter, St. Louis
$1.2 Million
Baccus v. Tenet Healthsystem
Attorneys: Kenneth W. Bean, Sandberg, Phoenix & von Gontard, St. Louis; Stephen Reuter, Moser & Marsalek, St. Louis
$975,000
Smith, et. al. v. Gaskin
Attorneys: J. Thaddeus Eckenrode, Seibel & Eckenrode, St. Louis
$950,000
Doe v. ABC Company
Attorneys: Thomas R. Larson, Larson & Larson, P.C., Kansas City; Hamp Ford, Ford, Parshall & Baker, Columbia
$900,000
Kearbey, et al. v. Wichita Southeast
Attorneys: Bradley S. Russell and Michael C. Kirkham, Sanders, Conkright & Warren, Kansas City
$750,000
Klocke v. Kloss
Attorneys: Kim Roger Luther, McGlynn & Luther, St. Louis; Brian Malkmus and Jared Robertson, The Malkmus Law Firm, Springfield; Robert Seibel, Seibel & Eckenrode, St. Louis
$720,000
Fall Creek Condominium Association, Inc. v. Fall Creek Ozark Investors
Attorneys: Charles Cowherd and Scott Garrett, Husch & Eppenberger, LLC, Springfield
$700,000
Hess v. Chase Manhattan Bank
Attorneys: Robert Hoffman and Jennifer Donnelli, Bryan Cave, Kansas City; Keith Hicklin, Witt & Hicklin, Platte City
Top Settlements
$13 Million
Beyersdorfer, et al. v. I&M Rail Link
Attorneys: Louis C. Accurso, Charles McKenzie and Ann Wright, The Accurso Law Firm, Kansas City; William McIntosh, The McIntosh Law Firm, Kansas City
$9.5 Million
Doe v. ABC Trucking Company
Attorneys: Tim Dollar, Kansas City
$9 Million
Doe v. ABC Hospital
Attorneys: Ed Hershewe and Michelle Boehm O’Neal, The Hershewe Law Firm, Joplin
$7.5 Million
Reasonover v. St. Louis County
Attorneys: Johnny Cochran, St. Louis; Rick Sindel, St. Louis; Cheryl Pilate and Charles Rogers, Kansas City
$5.6 Million
Hajek v. Ellis
Attorneys: Mark McCloskey, St. Louis
$3.8 Million
Westermayer, et al. v. Premier Equipment
Attorneys: James M. Dowd, Dowd & Dowd, St. Louis
$3.3 Million
Doe v. Dr. Roe
Attorneys: James P. Frickleton and Michael C. Rader, Bartimus, Frickleton, Robertson & Obetz, Kansas City
$3 Million
Burns v. ABC Construction Company
Attorneys: Anita Porte Robb and Gary C. Robb, Robb & Robb, Kansas City
$2.9 Million
Gamblin v. Steven’s Distributors
Attorneys: Dan Ramsdell, Springfield
$2.9 Million
Parsons v. Doe
Attorneys: Edward J. Hershewe and Christopher A. Wright, The Hershewe Law Firm, Joplin
$2.5 Million
Jennings, et al. v. O’Reilly Automotive
Attorneys: William Rotts, Rotts & Gibbs, Columbia
$2.5 Million
Winston, et al. v. Garrison’s Canoe Rental and Campground, et al.
Attorneys: G. Keith Phoenix and Christopher A. Hoffman, Sandberg, Phoenix & von Gontard, St. Louis; Kwadwo J. Armano, St. Louis
$2.3 Million
Edwards, et al. v. Air Products and Chemicals, et al.
Attorneys: John Simon and Jamie Boock, Simon Passanante, St. Louis
$2.3 Million
Edwards, et al. v. Air Products and Chemicals, et al.
Attorneys: John Simon and Jamie Boock, Simon Passanante, St. Louis
$2.2 Million
Doe v. ABC Medical Group
Attorneys: Paul Passanante, Simon Passanante, St. Louis
$2.1 Million
Kleffner, et al. v. Hastings Fiber Glass
Attorneys: James M. Dowd, Dowd & Dowd, St. Louis
