Verdicts and Settlements

Recent Cases Handled By Daughtery, Crawford, Fuller & Brown, LLP

BUSINESS DISPUTES / BUSINESS TORTS / BUSINESS FRAUD

The firm represented Thione International, Inc., an Atlanta-based developer of patented nutritional supplements, in a dispute with a Florida-based marketer and distributor, Advanced BodyCare Solutions, LLC. On April 24, 2009, a federal court jury returned a $2.5 million verdict in favor of Thione on its counterclaim for breach of contract and found against Advanced on all of its claims. Judge Daniel T.K. Hurley of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida presided over the two-week trial in West Palm Beach, Florida. Thione's founder and CEO, Dr. Theodore Hersh, is a leader in the field of antioxidants. Dr. Hersh is an accomplished gastroenterologist, having taught at the Emory University School of Medicine for more than twenty five years. In the early 1990s, Dr. Hersh stepped down from his position at Emory University and stopped treating patients due to loss of vision related to retinitis pigmentosa. Despite suffering from a decline in his vision, Dr. Hersh did not stop trying to help others, however, as he put his years of research and knowledge to work for his company, Thione, which secured several patents related to glutathione, an important antioxidant. In 2004, Thione entered into a contract with Advanced under which Advanced agreed to market Thione's products. In the contract, Advanced agreed to make certain minimum purchases to secure the rights to market two of Thione's products in the United States. These products included a dietary supplement featuring glutathione and a test kit which allows a consumer to monitor levels of harmful free radicals. Advanced began marketing the products in early 2005, but its efforts did not reach the levels contemplated by the parties. A dispute arose concerning the first minimum purchase payment which was due on December 31, 2004. Advanced made a partial payment just after the first minimum payment deadline but never completed an order as spelled out by the contract. Thione considered this a breach of the contract but only wanted Advanced to comply with its promise. Practically immediately after the dispute over the payment arose, Advanced began forcefully complaining about their initial shipment of one of the products, the test kits, which included a glass tube containing a solution. Advanced did this despite having received the shipment about five months earlier. After raising this issue, Advanced did not return the allegedly defective products. Later, the parties attempted to renegotiate the contract, but these efforts proved unsuccessful when Advanced demanded return of its partial payment. In 2006, Advanced sued Thione alleging civil theft, conversion, and breach of contract. Before Daughtery, Crawford, Fuller & Brown became involved in the case, the case went to the Eleventh Circuit on a procedural issue. After the appeal, Thione hired the firm to defend Advanced's claims and to prosecute its counterclaim for breach of the contract's minimum purchase requirements. The firm associated Charlie Peeler of the Albany, Georgia firm of Flynn, Peeler & Phillips to assist with these issues and to bring claims related to Thione's intellectual property. Pete Daughtery and Clay Fuller of the firm prepared the case for trial. Clay Fuller of the firm tried the case along with Peeler and Florida lawyer Craig Zobel of the West Palm Beach firm or Reid Zobel. At trial, the jury heard evidence that Advance's CEO, Mr. Carl Pradelli, did not begin communicating with Thione concerning alleged defects about the initial shipment until he had already heard that television networks, including Fox News, had refused to air the commercial Advanced had produced to promote the products. Significantly, Pradelli knew about this development prior to making the partial payment which was disputed, but he did not reveal this information to Thione. In addition, the evidence showed that despite repeated requests by Thione for Advanced to return the allegedly defective product so it could be replaced or the purchase price refunded in accordance with the agreement, Advanced instead tried to use the dispute about the quality of the initial shipment as an excuse to avoid making the contractually-required minimum purchases. Significantly, even though Advanced only returned a very small amount of products, Thione ultimately shipped more replacement products than any amount ever identified in writing by Advanced. Advanced never had any problem with subsequent shipments and continued to sell the products long after it sued Thione. In light of this evidence, the jury found that Thione did not breach the contract in any way. It further found that Advanced breached the contract by failing to make the minimum purchase and awarded $2.5 million in damages to Thione. Advanced's tort claims for civil theft and conversion had been disposed of by the Court on directed verdict. At the time of the verdict, the only offer proposed by Advanced involved Thione paying a significant amount to Advanced to resolve the claim. Advanced BodyCare Solutions, LLC. v. Thione Intern., Inc., 06-81128-CIV-HURLEY (S.D. Fla.).
The firm represented a Georgia tree farm in a dispute over fraudulent charges for fuel including fraudulent use of financial transaction cards. The case resolved favorably after the Court struck the defendant's answer for discovery abuse, including making false statements in response to discovery and refusing to produce documents after a court order. In an unusual development, the Defendant's 30(b)(6) witness was taken by ambulance to the hospital moments before his deposition after claiming to have suffered a heart attack. Fortunately for all involved, the witness did not suffer a heart attack that day and was later able to sit for a deposition which helped provide the factual basis for the Court concluding that the answer should be stricken. Lone Oak Tree Farm LLC, v. Lilywala, et al. - Court Strikes The Defendants'Answer For Discovery Abuse- Settlement
The firm represented a Georgia company in a dispute over the breach of a release. The case resolved, but the terms are confidential. Small Georgia Company v. Fortune 500 Company - Confidential Settlement

AUTOMOBILE DEFECT CASES/ PRODUCT DEFECT CASES

The firm represented the family of Mary Reese, a dearly loved mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother whose life was cut short when the front seat of her 1994 Ford Tempo broke and collapsed in a November 2, 2002 rear end collision. When her seat collapsed, Mrs. Reese was thrown into the rear seat and fractured her spine, resulting in paralysis. She was treated at the Medical College of Georgia until her death three weeks after the wreck. The wrongful death case against Ford Motor Company went to jury trial on November 26, 2007 in the State Court of Cobb County. The trial was handled as a team by Pete Daughtery along with Pete Law and Mike Moran of the firm of Peter A. Law, P.C. In the years leading up to trial, Pete Daughtery and Dustin Brown worked tirelessly in preparing and streamlining the case for delivery to the jury, as the case involved more than a handful of experts for each side and involved literally dozens and dozens of boxes of documents produced in discovery. The family of Mrs. Reese was also represented by Buddy Dallas, who provided invaluable assistance from the inception of the case until its conclusion. At trial, the jury heard evidence that the original designers of the seat had not even tested the seat in a crash environment prior to its release and that that seat was not designed to collapse in collisions. Nonetheless, Ford claimed at trial that the seat was designed to “yield” in rear impacts in order to protect the occupants and that the seat met all applicable government standards. Ford also claimed that the severity of the wreck, which involved a loaded 58,000 pound dump truck, was the real cause of Mrs. Reese’s injuries and death. Through cross-examinations of Ford’s own experts, our team of attorneys elicited testimony showing that the November 2, 2002 wreck was not severe and that, in fact, the “delta v” of this wreck (a measure of severity) was almost identical to the moderate delta v in rear-end crash testing run by Ford for government certification testing. After two weeks of hearing the evidence and nearly three days of deliberations, the jury returned a verdict of $3,000,000 against Ford Motor Company. The verdict is believed to be one of the largest ever in the history of Cobb County. Reese v. Ford Motor Company, Civil Action File No. 2003A-10881-1 (State Court of Cobb County, Georgia) (J. Clayton) (verdict on December 11, 2007).
Two-year-old Evan Johnson sustained third degree burns over roughly half of his body when the pilot light of a water heater ignited flammable vapors, causing a fire in the basement of Evan's home. The firm of Daughtery, Crawford, Fuller & Brown represented Evan and his family in bringing suit against various manufacturers as well as the builder of the home. Evan Johnson v. Electrolux Home Prods., Inc. et al., Civ. Act. File No. 02VS041310C (State Court of Fulton County, Georgia).
On Sunday, June 18, 2006, Billy Sheppard was working in his back yard awaiting the arrival of his family and grandchildren, who were coming over to celebrate Father's Day. Tragically, Mr. Sheppard died when the zero-turn radius Toro lawn mower he was using flipped over. The firm of Daughtery, Crawford, Fuller & Brown represented the family of Mr. Sheppard in bringing claims against the manufacturer of the zero-turn radius Toro mower. The terms of the settlement are confidential. Sheppard v. The Toro Company d/b/a Exmark Mfg. Co., Civ. Act. No. 4:07-cv-00064-CDL (M.D. Ga.).

ROAD WRECK CASES

The firm of Daughtery, Crawford, Fuller & Brown represented the family of a cherished wife and mother, whose life was lost when a vehicle crossed the center line of Highway 208 in Harris County, Georgia and struck the driver's side of her vehicle. Superior Court of Muscogee County, Columbus, Georgia.
The firm represented Jeffrey Haygood who sustained a serious back injury as a result of a rear-end collision. On July 4, 2004, Mr. Haygood and his family were involved in a low speed collision when their vehicle was struck from behind by a Loomis Fargo & Co. armored truck. The force of the rear-impact caused Mr. Haygood's cervical spine to hyperextend, resulting in spinal cord swelling and ultimately requiring surgery to fuse his cervical spine at the C3/C4 and C4/C5 levels. The testimony of the treating physician was crucial in proving that the low-impact wreck caused the hyperextension of the spine that injured Mr. Haygood. The case resolved within weeks of the scheduled trial date. Haygood v. Loomis Fargo & Co. et al., Civ. Act. No. CV-06-3503 (Circuit Court of Jefferson County, Alabama)
The firm represented a young Marine who sustained a herniated disc in his lower back as a result of a wreck near Augusta, Georgia. At the time of the wreck, the enlisted Marine had just completed Officer Candidate School. Following the wreck, his back caused him problems, and he underwent a conservative course of treatment on his back for more than a year. He ultimately had to undergo spinal fusion surgery at the L4/L5 and L5/S1 levels. The medical expenses for his treatment amounted to approximately eighty thousand dollars. Given the length of time between the wreck and the back surgery, a big issue in the case was whether need for back surgery was, in fact, a result of the wreck. Using the testimony of his treating physicians, our attorneys were able to prove that the wreck was the direct cause the lower back injury and that the surgery was a direct result of the wreck. Soon after the case was placed the court's ready-list for trial, the insurance company for defendants paid $875,000.00 to resolve the case. Civil Act. File No. 2006 RCSC 72 (State Court of Richmond County, Georgia).
The firm of Daughtery, Crawford, Fuller & Brown represented a Columbus resident who, while traveling for business, was badly injured when an oncoming vehicle abruptly turned left directly into her vehicle's lane of travel, causing a wreck and injuries including multiple fractures in her foot and leg. The parties reached a cash settlement with the defendant motorist and with the excess coverage through the underinsured motorist carrier. Cavis v. Cleaves, Superior Court of Coweta County, Newnan, Georgia.
The firm of Daughtery, Crawford, Fuller & Brown recently represented the family of a young woman who was tragically killed as she rode in a car as a passenger. The driver of the vehicle was intoxicated, and the insurance limits were recovered from both the liability and uninsured motorist carriers in this case.
The firm of Daughtery, Crawford, Fuller & Brown represented a Eufaula, Alabama man who was badly injured in a wreck on State Highway 16. The wreck caused him lacerations and severe bruising, and the injuries sustained ultimately required surgery to repair knee damage. The parties reached a settlement through the liability insurance carrier for the defendant. Goodpasture v. J & J Land Development, State of Alabama.

ROAD WRECK CASES/ DRAM SHOP CASES

The firm of Daughtery, Crawford, Fuller & Brown represented the family of Kelly Caldwell and Dylan Eurell in bringing wrongful death and personal injury claims. On a summer evening during 2006, Chuck and Kelly Caldwell and their grandson, Dylan Eurell, were traveling west in their Pontiac Sunbird on Ledo Road in Lee County, Georgia when an oncoming drunk driver crossed the center line and collided with their vehicle. The collision caused the death of both Chuck and Kelly Caldwell and resulted in serious injuries to their grandson, Dylan. On behalf of Kelly Caldwell and Dylan Eurell, our firm brought a dram shop action against Lee Pub as a result of their patron becoming intoxicated and causing this head-on collision. (Chuck Caldwell was represented by another law firm) The parties reached a confidential settlement with the bar, the defendant motorist, and the underinsured motorist carrier. Barron et al. v. Littleton, Superior Court of Lee County, Leesburg, Georgia; Barron et al. v. Jenkins d/b/a Lee Pub, Superior Court of Lee County, Leesburg, Georgia.

CLASS ACTIONS / CONSUMER CASES

The firm represented a class of Georgia nurses who were placed in positions by a temporary employment agency which deducted workers' compensation insurance premiums from their paychecks. The Court approved a settlement where the workers will receive every penny of deducted insurance premiums, plus interest, without having to submit a claim form. Not a single class member opted out of what is believed to be the first class action resolved successfully in state court in Hall County, Georgia. Bennett v. Comprehensive Nursing Care, Inc., Civil Action File No. 2006 CV 1724B (Superior Court of Hall County, Georgia).

Past Cases Handled By The Lawyers* Of Daughtery, Crawford, Fuller & Brown

BUSINESS DISPUTES / BUSINESS TORTS / BUSINESS FRAUD

Joan Lyman, Mike Pearson, and Jardon Bouska were founders of an internet security company called SecureWorks. The lawsuit involved a dispute with venture capital investors over the appropriate share price to be paid the founders upon their exit from the company. The founders claimed that they were entitled to receive the same price per share upon their exit from the company as the venture capital investors. A shareholder agreement set forth the founders' rights, but the venture capital investors claimed that the provision in question found its way into the document by "mistake." After intensive document discovery and several depositions, including the depositions of the corporate lawyers at King & Spalding and Alston & Bird who negotiated and drafted the deal documents, the litigation concluded with a confidential settlement that was favorable to the founders. Lyman, et al (Counterclaimants) v. GE Capital, Mellon Ventures, Noro-Moseley Partners, and SBK Capital, Superior Court of Fulton County, Atlanta, Georgia.

AUTOMOBILE DEFECT CASES / PRODUCT DEFECT CASES

Product Liability / Roof Crush -- Confidential Settlement

Perry and Amanda Steiner brought suit against General Motors after they were involved in a rollover in their 1998 Pontiac Montana. During the rollover, the roof structure of the Montana crushed downward onto Perry and Amanda Steiner leaving both quadriplegics. Both were wearing their seatbelts and both were seated on the passenger side of the vehicle where the roof crushed. The other three family members were also belted and walked away from the wreck when the roof did not crush over their heads. Steiner v. General Motors Corp., United States District Court of Kansas.

Product Liability / Rollover/ Roof Crush Cash Settlement -- Confidential Cash Settlement

Martha Stansell and her husband, Major Jackson Stansell, brought suit against Ford after they were involved in a rollover in a 1996 Ford Explorer. During the rollover, the roof structure of the Explorer crushed downward into the Stansells' occupant space, striking them and leaving Martha a quadriplegic (fracture at C-6, C-7) and Major a paraplegic (fracture at T-3). They were both wearing their seatbelts and were both on the passenger side of the Explorer where the roof crushed. On the driver's side of the Explorer where the roof did not crush, the two occupants suffered much less severe injuries from which they have fully recovered. Stansell v. Ford Motor Co., Court of Common Pleas, Hampton County, South Carolina.

Product Liability / Auto / Post Collision Fire / Wrongful Death -- Confidential Settlement

Defective GM pickup truck with side-saddle fuel tank design -- Sherry Bradstreet brought suit against General Motors on behalf of her sister and her sister's three sons after all were killed when the car they were traveling in became engulfed in flames due to punctures to the vulnerable side-mounted fuel tank in the C/K pickup truck that struck their vehicle. Bradstreet v. General Motors Corp., United States District Court of Montana, Missoula Division.

Product Liability / Seat Back Failure -- Confidential Settlement

Mr. and Mrs. McCutchen brought suit against GM after she was involved in a rear-impact collision. The driver's seat of her 1990 Cadillac Sedan DeVille failed; she "ramped" underneath her seatbelt and into the back seat where she broke her back at T-11. Mrs. McCutchen, who was 74 years old at the time, was rendered a permanent paraplegic. McCutchen v. General Motors Corp., State Court of Troup County, Lagrange, Georgia.

Product Liability / Auto / Post Collision Fire -- Confidential Settlement

Defective GM pickup truck with side-saddle fuel tank design -- Brian Chamberlain brought suit against GM after he was severely burned by fire when his Chevrolet pickup was struck by another pickup causing an explosion upon impact, due to punctures and failures of the vulnerable side-mounted tank and vulnerable filler neck of the Chevrolet pickup truck. Chamberlain v. General Motors Corp., United States District Court of Kansas.

Product Liability / Auto / Post Collision Fire / Wrongful Death -- Cash/Structured Settlement

Defective GM pickup truck with side-saddle fuel tank design -- Alvin Phillips brought suit against GM on behalf of his daughter, Angela Byrd, son-in-law, Darrell Byrd and grandsons, Timothy and Samuel Byrd after Angela, Darrell and Timothy were killed and Samuel injured when the Chevrolet pickup truck they were traveling in became engulfed in flames due to punctures to the vulnerable side-mounted fuel tank in a collision with a tractor-trailer. Phillips v. General Motors Corp., United Stated District Court of Montana, Missoula Division.