Jurimatic: Verdicts and Settlements

A Hartford Superior Court jury awarded Michelle Pollard $350,000 in economic damages after finding that her former attorney John Sodipo and Sodipo Law Group, P.C. committed legal malpractice. Pollard hired Sodipo to represent her following a 2012 rear-end collision, but he failed to file a timely underinsured motorist claim against GEICO, leaving her unable to recover additional compensation for her injuries.

In Dababneh v. Doja, Inc. et al, the plaintiff, Tania Dababneh, filed suit against her former employers in the Superior Court of San Bernardino County, alleging severe workplace misconduct. Ms. Dababneh claimed she was subjected to sex discrimination, sexual harassment, and a hostile work environment, which culminated in her wrongful termination in violation of public policy. On November 14, 2025, the jury returned a verdict in favor of the plaintiff. The jury found Doja, Inc. liable for discrimination, harassment, and wrongful termination, and determined that individual defendant Ayad Jaber contributed to the hostile work environment. The jury awarded Ms. Dababneh $300,000 in past noneconomic damages and $800,000 in future noneconomic damages. Additionally, finding that Doja, Inc. acted with malice, oppression, or fraud, the jury assessed $900,000 in punitive damages against the corporation. The total judgment amounted to $2,000,000.

In Otranto v. RD America, LLC, the plaintiff, Ignacio Otranto, filed suit against the operators of a Restaurant Depot warehouse in Waterbury, Connecticut, following an incident on December 31, 2022. Mr. Otranto suffered significant injuries, including a crush injury and traumatic neuropraxia to his right thumb, when the top shelf of a shopping cart provided by the store collapsed during use. The plaintiff argued that the defendants were negligent in their duty to inspect and maintain the store's equipment, allowing a hazardous condition to persist. Following a trial in the Superior Court, the jury returned a verdict in favor of the plaintiff on November 19, 2025. The jury awarded Mr. Otranto $9,321.19 in economic damages and $140,000.00 in noneconomic damages, resulting in a total judgment of $149,321.19.

James Thomas Simpson and his wife, Maria Luz Simpson, secured an $11.8 million settlement against the City of Los Angeles following a severe pedestrian accident in Chino, California. The lawsuit alleged that LAPD Officer Alex Anthony Pozo, driving a city-owned vehicle, negligently ran a red light while on duty. This traffic violation caused a third-party driver to lose control and strike James Simpson as he walked on a sidewalk, inflicting catastrophic physical and mental injuries.

Lajos "Lali" Hugyetz, a former five-time world champion kickboxer, sued luxury fitness company Equinox Holdings, Inc. for wrongful termination and disability discrimination. Hugyetz alleged that Equinox fired him while he was on protected medical leave to treat a severe hip condition and care for his ailing mother. He claimed the company failed to accommodate his medical restrictions and retaliated against him for taking leave. A Los Angeles jury found in favor of Hugyetz, determining that Equinox acted with malice, and awarded the plaintiff over $32 million in compensatory and punitive damages.

Leah Hickey filed a negligence suit against Rebecca Harrington following a June 2021 collision in San Francisco where Harrington turned her vehicle left directly into the path of Hickey’s bicycle. Hickey sustained severe injuries, alleging the defendant failed to yield the right of way. Following a jury trial in December 2025, the jury returned a verdict in favor of the plaintiff, calculating total damages at approximately $12.1 million, which included substantial awards for future economic and non-economic losses. However, the jury also applied the doctrine of comparative negligence, assigning 30% of the fault to Hickey and 70% to Harrington.

A Contra Costa County Superior Court jury returned a defense-favorable verdict on November 6, 2025, in a motor vehicle accident case arising from a June 4, 2020 collision on Cypress Avenue in Oakley, California. Plaintiff Ginger Conrad sued driver Rowyn De Witt and vehicle owners James De Witt and Lea McLaughlin De Witt for negligence. The jury answered yes when asked if Rowyn De Witt was negligent but found that negligence was not a substantial factor in causing Conrad's claimed injuries. Because causation was not established, jurors never reached the damages portion of the special verdict form. Conrad sought compensation for medical expenses, lost wages, loss of earning capacity, and noneconomic damages including pain, suffering, and emotional distress. The defense, represented by State Farm's legal department, raised affirmative defenses including comparative negligence, failure to mitigate damages, and apportionment of fault. The trial before Judge Jill Fannin began October 27, 2025, more than five years after the accident and three years after the complaint was filed.

On November 7, 2025, a jury in the Superior Court of Hartford, Connecticut, awarded a combined verdict of $53,786.33 to Roshona Chase and four minor children following a lawsuit against Progressive Casualty Insurance Company. The case stemmed from a violent hit-and-run collision on May 28, 2020, in Hartford. The Plaintiffs were passengers in a vehicle that was struck by a speeding, stolen car that subsequently fled the scene. Because the at-fault driver was never identified, the Plaintiffs sought compensation under their driver's uninsured motorist (UM) policy. While Progressive admitted the policy was in force, they contested the Plaintiffs' entitlement to the specific benefits claimed. The jury found in favor of the Plaintiffs, awarding damages for medical expenses and pain and suffering, including permanent injuries and nervous system shock sustained by the mother and children.

On November 17, 2025, a jury in the Circuit Court for Duval County, Florida, returned a defense verdict in favor of Dr. Jack John Messina. The Plaintiff, Louise Tyson, representing the estate of her late husband Paul W. Tyson, filed a medical malpractice and wrongful death lawsuit alleging that negligence during a 2018 heart surgery led to Mr. Tyson's death. The complaint argued that the medical team failed to properly monitor anti-coagulation levels and manage the cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) system, causing a massive stroke due to blood clots. Specifically, the plaintiff claimed Dr. Messina, as the surgeon, failed to ensure the CPB system was safe before use. However, the jury found that there was no negligence on the part of Dr. Messina that was a legal cause of injury to the decedent.

In Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority v. Aiguo Wu, a Santa Clara County jury returned a significant verdict in favor of a property owner facing condemnation for a public infrastructure project. The case centered on the VTA's use of eminent domain to acquire fee simple ownership, utility easements, and temporary construction easements from the defendant. While the government entity had established a right to take the property as of August 7, 2023, the parties disputed the "just compensation" owed. The jury ultimately rejected the Authority's initial valuations, awarding the landowner $551,600 for the land acquisition and a combined $57,087 for the easements. Crucially, the verdict included $668,440 in "severance damages" for the reduction in value to the remaining property and an additional $170,076 for well replacement costs, determining that the Authority's previous payment of $177,650 for the well was insufficient. The total award exceeded $1.4 million.

John Stripling filed a negligence lawsuit against the City of Orlando following a bicycle accident on Pasadena Place in August 2022. Stripling alleged that he sustained permanent injuries after hitting a pothole and loose gravel that the City had failed to repair or warn against. The City denied liability, arguing that Stripling was comparatively negligent and that the City was protected by sovereign immunity caps. The dispute proceeded to a jury trial in the Ninth Judicial Circuit Court in October 2025 to determine liability and damages.

A Duval County, Florida jury found Defendant Shelby Nicole Howell negligent for a 2022 motor vehicle collision, determining her actions were a legal cause of the plaintiff’s injuries. However, the plaintiff's recovery was strictly limited after the jury determined that Janet McCaskey had not sustained a permanent injury from the crash. Because of this finding, the final verdict awarded McCaskey only $13,000, which was compensation solely for past medical expenses, denying all claims for future medical costs and non-economic damages like pain and suffering.