Jury Verdicts & Settlements

Latest jury verdicts, settlements, and legal outcome analysis

Jury Awards $30M Over Insurers' Delay on Coal Silo Claim

A federal jury in West Virginia awarded Ramaco Resources, LLC, $30 million in Hayseeds damages against Federal Insurance Company and ACE American Insurance Company in a second trial. The trial followed a 2018 coal silo collapse at Ramaco’s Elk Creek mining complex, a denied property claim, a 2021 trial, and a Fourth Circuit remand. Jurors found the insurers’ delay in settling the claim caused $2.5 million in corporate aggravation and inconvenience and $27.5 million in net economic loss.

Trade Secrets

Idaho Jury Clears Ex-Manager in Simplot Trade Secret Suit

A federal jury in Boise, Idaho, returned a unanimous defense verdict for Kadyn Del Toro, a former insights and analytics manager at J.R. Simplot Company. Simplot claimed Del Toro copied confidential sales data to USB drives before leaving to join competitor Wilbur-Ellis in 2022. The Court granted summary judgment to Del Toro on the conversion claim before trial. After a four-day trial, the jury found Simplot failed to prove breach of contract, breach of the duty of loyalty or trade secret misappropriation. Simplot later filed an appeal with the Ninth Circuit.

Breach of Contract

Jury Awards $81K in Miami Penthouse Renovation Dispute

A federal jury in Miami found that The Justin Maderia Trust and its trustee, Justin Maderia, breached their contract with interior design firm Sure Business Corp. over a penthouse renovation at the Gran Paraiso condominium. The firm claimed the owners requested costly upgrades, then refused to pay a $269,500 balance. Jurors set damages at $81,492.87, including $14,433.79 in apartment rent, but rejected the civil theft and conversion claims. The Court later entered a $107,738.49 Final Judgment with prejudgment interest.

Wrongful Death

Jury Finds Deputy 40% at Fault in Jail Fentanyl Death

A federal jury in Riverside, California, awarded $13.5 million to the family of Richard Matus, Jr., a pretrial detainee who died of fentanyl toxicity at the Cois M. Byrd Detention Center in 2022. Jurors found that Deputy Angel Rojas did not deliberately ignore inmate intercom calls about Matus’s emergency but unreasonably ignored one or more of them. They assigned 60 percent of the fault to Matus, and the Court entered a $5.4 million negligence judgment against Rojas and the County of Riverside. Judgment went to the Defendants on the federal civil rights and Monell claims.

Personal Injury

Jury Rejects Defect Claims Over Holstered P320 Discharge

A Maine federal jury found for Sig Sauer in David and Kimberly Cole's lawsuit over an unintended P320 discharge. David Cole, a sheriff's detective, suffered leg injuries after the pistol discharged while holstered during a 2022 search-warrant operation. The jury found that Plaintiffs had not proved the P320 was defective and unreasonably dangerous. The Court entered judgment for Sig Sauer on August 10, 2026.

Wrongful Termination/Employment

Ex-Transdev Worker Wins $10.26M Whistleblower Verdict

A federal jury in the Central District of California returned a $10,260,080 verdict for Daniel Stein, a former Waymo Roadside Assistant employed by Transdev Alternative Services, Inc. Stein claimed Transdev fired him after he reported dangerous conditions during a January 2024 street takeover in downtown Los Angeles. Transdev said it terminated him for violating company policy. After an August mistrial, a second jury found for Stein on his whistleblower and wrongful termination claims. It awarded $260,080 in compensatory damages and $10 million in punitive damages.

Defamation

Jury Clears Wilton Police, EMTs in Misdialed 911 Lawsuit

A federal jury in Connecticut returned a defense verdict in Neelu Pal v. Mark Canepari, et al. Pal, a physician representing herself, alleged that Wilton police officers injured her right arm during a 2018 handcuffing that followed a misdialed 911 call. She also claimed that officers retaliated against her for an earlier lawsuit and that police and ambulance reports defamed her. On September 18, 2026, the jury answered ‘No’ on every question it reached, clearing the officers, ambulance personnel, and the Town of Wilton.

Patent Infringement

Philips Wins $3.01M Willfulness Verdict Against Quectel

A Delaware federal jury found Quectel Wireless Solutions Co. Ltd. liable for infringing eight claims of a Philips cellular patent. The jury awarded Koninklijke Philips N.V. $3,009,749 and found that Quectel's infringement was willful. However, the jury found that Quectel did not infringe a second Philips patent. It also rejected Quectel's invalidity challenges to that second patent.

Defamation

HR Director Wins $10.15M Retaliation and Defamation Verdict

A federal jury in Fort Worth, Texas, awarded former Trinity Valley School HR Director Carrie Skains $10.15 million on September 4, 2026. Jurors found the private school retaliated against her under Title VII and the Texas Labor Code by assigning extra work without pay after she complained and filed EEOC charges. They also found two statements in a December 2024 Board email defamatory, awarding $3.59 million in compensatory and $6.3 million in exemplary damages. The jury rejected her sex discrimination claims.

Negligence

New Orleans Jury Sides With Casino Guest in Collision Suit

Nellie Legendre, then 76, alleged that a Harrah's Casino employee collided with her on the casino floor in New Orleans in May 2023, fracturing her right hip. After an appeal revived her negligence case, a federal jury found employee Eddie Giles, Jr. 95 percent at fault and Legendre 5 percent at fault. The jury awarded $279,695.21 in damages. The Court later denied the casino operator's request for judgment as a matter of law or a new trial, reduced the medical expenses award under Louisiana law, and entered Judgment against Jazz Casino Company, LLC.