Jurimatic: Verdicts and Settlements

A federal jury in Colorado awarded $11.6 million to Rehab Mohamed, a former employee of the Society for Human Resource Management, after finding that SHRM terminated her because of her race and in retaliation for her discrimination complaints. The verdict included $1.6 million in compensatory damages and $10 million in punitive damages. Mohamed, a 34-year-old Egyptian Arab woman, alleged her supervisor treated her more strictly than white colleagues and fired her after she complained about racial bias.

David Caravantes filed a class action lawsuit against Gil & Roy Studios, LLC and Modernica, Inc. alleging systematic wage and hour violations against hourly non-exempt employees in California. The Plaintiff claimed the Defendants rounded down employee work hours, failed to provide proper meal and rest periods, and did not reimburse workers for employment-related expenses. On November 4, 2025, Judge Elaine Lu approved a $470,000 settlement that compensated affected workers who were employed between June 2019 and August 2024.

Two young brothers secured a $10.5 million settlement against San Bernardino County and multiple social workers after the Department of Children and Family Services failed to protect them from abuse and returned them to parents who ultimately tortured and murdered their infant brother Jamari Mendez in April 2022. The plaintiffs, identified as J.G. and J.M., witnessed their baby brother's killing after social workers ignored warning signs including documented domestic violence, drug use, and protective orders against their father Ricardo Mendez. The case settled in March 2025, days before trial was scheduled to begin.

A Florida jury awarded Mohamed Abd El Rahman $3,530,250 after finding that orthopedic surgeon Dr. Obinna Adigweme failed to obtain proper informed consent before performing a right hip replacement surgery in July 2020. The plaintiff developed nerve damage and foot drop following the procedure at Orlando Orthopaedic Center. While the jury rejected claims of surgical negligence, it determined that Abd El Rahman would not have consented to the operation if the doctor disclosed all material risks. The verdict included $3.5 million for pain, suffering, and diminished quality of life, plus over $30,000 in medical expenses.

On December 25, 2022, Yasmin Razavipour was driving north on Roberts Road in Saint Johns, Florida, when Dylan Tarongoy attempted a left turn without yielding to oncoming traffic. The collision resulted in serious, permanent injuries that required extensive medical treatment and fundamentally altered Razavipour's quality of life. After nearly three years of litigation, a jury found Tarongoy 85 percent responsible for the accident while assigning only 15 percent comparative negligence to Razavipour. The jury awarded the Plaintiff a total of $2,113,680.60, including $113,680.60 for past medical expenses, $400,000 for future medical care, and $1,600,000 for future pain and suffering and loss of life enjoyment. This significant verdict demonstrates the serious consequences of distracted driving and failure to maintain a proper lookout at roadway intersections.

A Miami-Dade County jury ruled in favor of the defendant in a rear-end collision lawsuit on June 5, 2025. Donna Nasimov sued Evan Fuertes after a September 14, 2018 crash on SW 152nd Street, claiming she sustained permanent injuries when Fuertes struck her stopped vehicle from behind, pushing her into another car. The plaintiff sought damages for medical expenses, pain and suffering, and lost earnings. The defense argued Nasimov failed to meet Florida's No-Fault threshold requirements and challenged her claimed injuries. After nearly six years of litigation, the jury found that the defendant's negligence was not a legal cause of the plaintiff's damages, resulting in a complete defense verdict with no monetary award.

A Miami-Dade County jury awarded $175,000 to a married couple after a ceiling collapsed on the wife while she slept in her apartment. Raquel Recio de Roman and Cesar Roman sued their landlord, Little Havana Equities, LLC, following the June 29, 2024 incident at 1028 SW 3rd Street, Miami. The jury returned its verdict on June 11, 2025, awarding Mrs. Roman $150,000 for medical expenses, pain and suffering, and related damages. Her husband received $25,000 for loss of consortium. The plaintiffs argued the property owner failed to maintain the structural elements of the building and knew or should have known about the dangerous ceiling condition. The defense claimed the incident was caused by third parties or an Act of God, but the jury rejected these arguments.

On November 6, 2025, a jury in the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware (Case No. 1:19-cv-01937) returned a unanimous verdict in the patent infringement lawsuit filed by Express Mobile, Inc. against GoDaddy.com, LLC. Express Mobile, an inventor-owned company, alleged that GoDaddy's Website Builder and WordPress Website products infringed its foundational patents related to browser-based website creation tools. The trial focused on two of the five originally asserted patents: U.S. Patent No. 6,546,397 and U.S. Patent No. 7,594,168. The jury awarded Express Mobile total damages in the amount of $170,000,000.00 ($170 Million), structured as royalties over the life of the patents. This figure represents the full amount of damages sought by Express Mobile. GoDaddy had asserted multiple defenses, including non-infringement and patent invalidity. The verdict represents a significant victory for Express Mobile on the liability questions and marks one of the year's largest patent verdicts against a mainstream internet platform.

Michael Errar filed a medical malpractice lawsuit against Dr. Steven H. Katz and Inphynet South Broward LLC following a January 2016 emergency room visit at Memorial Hospital West. Errar presented with severe leg pain and a history of vascular issues but was discharged with a diagnosis of groin pain. Three days later, he returned requiring a leg amputation due to ischemia. Errar alleged Dr. Katz failed to properly diagnose, assess, and monitor his condition, leading to premature discharge. Following a trial in November 2025, a jury found Dr. Katz negligent and awarded Errar $5 million in damages, covering past and future medical expenses, lost earnings, and pain and suffering.

A Texas jury delivered a split verdict in a high-stakes trade secret dispute between composite mat manufacturers, awarding Spartan Composites over $16 million after finding that Signature Systems Group willfully misappropriated confidential marketing strategies, pricing information, and customer lists obtained during failed acquisition talks. However, the jury also sided with Signature on its counterclaim, awarding $2.4 million for Spartan's breach of a 2019 settlement agreement that prohibited manufacturing interoperable products. The case stemmed from two rounds of acquisition discussions in 2018 and 2021, during which Signature gained extensive access to FODS business information under confidentiality agreements. When Spartan later acquired FODS in 2024, the complex web of prior agreements and alleged misappropriation led to litigation that exposed both companies' competitive tactics in the industrial matting industry.

The class action lawsuit Cranton vs. Grossmont Hospital Corporation had exposed widespread wage-and-hour violations affecting thousands of non-exempt employees from 2018 to 2024. Plaintiffs Jacquelyn Cranton and Katrena Arnold had alleged that Grossmont Hospital required off-the-clock work, interrupted meal breaks, denied rest breaks, rounded time in the hospital’s favor, and excluded incentive pay from overtime calculations. Employees also had completed mandatory COVID-19 screenings before clocking in, which the hospital had not treated as compensable time. Cranton had also reported retaliation after raising break violations and safety concerns. The defense denied wrongdoing and argued employee choice, preemption, and constitutional challenges. After extensive negotiations with mediator Jeffrey Ross, the parties had reached a $5,950,000 class settlement, which the Court approved on August 9, 2024. The Court had found the agreement fair, reasonable, and adequate, noting high participation and zero objections.

Danette Hodge received a substantial jury award after being struck by a driver who pulled out from a stop sign and violated her right-of-way. Lindsee Mellott attempted to turn left from Pershing Road onto Park Street in Jacksonville on April 29, 2022, when she failed to yield to Hodge's vehicle. The collision caused Hodge to crash into Mellott's vehicle, resulting in permanent injuries. After a trial in Duval County Circuit Court, the jury awarded Hodge $604,905.76 in damages, including over $110,000 for past medical expenses, nearly $494,000 for future medical expenses, and confirmed her injuries were permanent.