MTLA President’s Message:
Trial Lawyers: What The Mass Media Never Reports by Bruce M. Plaxen
“If you are a lawyer, you stand between the abuse of governmental power and the individual; If you are a lawyer, you stand between the abuse of corporate power and the individual; If you are a lawyer, you stand between the abuse of judicial power and the individual; If you are a lawyer, you protect individuals from the smugness and the com- placency of society. And if you are a lawyer, you are helping to mold the rights of indi- viduals for generations to come.” - Theodore Koskoff
I was reminded of these words, when
several weeks ago, I attended a dinner to honor Judge Robert M. Bell with the Pro Bono Resource Center of Maryland Ac- cess to Justice Award for his Pro Bono activities over the years. I saw a short film that cited the many attorneys in this state that offer legal services for free to those who cannot afford an attorney in civil matters. As I watched this film, I was proud to belong to a profession that rou- tinely encourages its members to do work on a pro bono basis, and I was hard pressed to think of other occupations that routinely give their services for free. As trial lawyers, its important for us to
remember our historical role in society and the public good we ultimately serve. We must also be vigilant against the pe- rennial attempts to dismantle the tort system with contingency fees, class action lawsuits and punitive damages repeatedly under attack in Washington D.C. Without a contingency fee system, al- most all of my clients could not afford an attorney. Those who are sick and injured and missing time from work cannot pay lawyers on an hourly basis, and the cost of any trial would be prohibitive. Without class action lawsuits, corpo- rate abuse would be rampant and individuals could not get redress. Punitive damage awards are about so- cial change and making the world better for others. In July, 1999 Brian Panish of Green, Broillet, Taylor, Wheeler & Panish (Santa Monica, CA) won the largest per- sonal injury verdict in history - $107 million dollars in compensatory damages and 4.9 billion dollars in punitive damages.
Summer 2001
Patricia Anderson, her four children and a family friend were horribly burned when their 1979 Chevy Malibu exploded in flames after being struck in the rear on Christmas Eve 1993. On August 20, 1999, Mr. Panish offered to cut the award by 4.5 billion dollars if General Motors would recall the Malibu. His clients wanted to help other people “so they don’t have to go through what we did.” GM refused the offer. In May, 1999, two small-firm lawyers,
David Perry and Rene Haas of Corpus Christi, Texas offered to return all 31 mil- lion dollars awarded in punitive damages if GM would issue a truck recall to install head restrains. Again, GM refused the offer. John Caballero, a former triathlete, was scalped, lost an ear, and will never walk again because of an oil well explosion. The jury returned a verdict that included 30 million dollars in punitive damages (re- duced to 6 million dollars by a State Cap on damages). Caballero proposed to give up the entire punitive damages award if the oil company agreed to implement a safety plan to prevent future accidents. “I wasn’t the only one who gave up money”, says Caballero, “my lawyers forewent their share of it too, and they should be com- mended.” Lawyers David Perry and Rene Haas gave up 40% of 6 million dollars (2.4 million dollars) to make the work-
place as safe as possible. Sweeping safety improvements have been made at the site. “We want punitive damages to perform their real purpose, which is to prevent the same tragedies from happening over and over again,” said David Perry. Jeff Rusk of Austin, Texas won a 4.8 million dollar verdict in a case that in- volved a nursing home patient who strangled to death in the rails of the bed. After trial, the family (at the suggestion of Rusk) returned 1.8 million dollars in exchange for the defendant railmaker sending a letter to 1,100 nursing homes warning them of the danger and returned another $100,000.00 to the defendant nursing home in exchange for instituting safety procedures to prevent other deaths. Rusk himself forfeited $760,000.00 as his 40% of the 1.9 million dollars his cli- ents returned to the Defendants. Rusk says this type of dollars for safety exchange serves the real purpose of tort litigation: to protect people. He is glad to give up money in order to prevent future trag- edies.
This story comes from an Ohio class-
room: A teacher asks a student what do your parents do for a living? “My Dad protects people”, says a boy “Oh is he a Police Officer?” “No he helps sick people that are hurt” “Oh, he’s a doctor?” “No, my dad is a lawyer”
Trial Reporter
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