Verdicts & Settlements

Romo vs. Ford Motor Company – $296,885,709.10 – (Stanislaus County 1999) – Product Defect

Ramon Romo bought a 1978 Ford Bronco in 1992.  On June 20, 1993, Ramon’s son, Juan Romo was driving the Bronco.  In the vehicle were Ramon, his wife Salustia, and their other 3 children, Ramiro, Evangelina and Maria.  Juan and Ramon were seated on the front seat, wearing seat belts.  Salustia and Ramiro were in the back seat wearing seatbelts, Evangelina and Maria were sleeping in the luggage / rear portion of the SUV.  They were unbelted.  The vehicle was involved in an accident, rolled over a couple of times.  Ramon, his wife Salustia, and one of their children, Ramiro were killed.  The other three children lived without significant physical injury.  Both unseatbelted passengers lived because they were thrown clear.  Three of the four seatbelted passengers were killed.  They were killed in their seatbelts by the crush of the rollover.  Juan, the driver, somehow ended up bent over the front seat thereby avoiding a crush injury from the roof.  The other three seatbelted passengers were killed in their seatbelts by the crush of the roll over.

The car’s roof crushed all the way down to the dashboard.  The seatbelted passengers died because they were in seatbelts.  The unseatbelted passengers lived because they were not in seatbelts.

Provenza vs. LeMans Corp. – $41,411,452.00 – (Clark County, NV 2007) – Product Defect

12 year old Joey Provenza was riding a motocross bike in the Nevada desert when his bike crashed and his fuel tank ruptured and ignited.  Defendant LeMans Corp. designed and manufactured the specialty protective clothing that Joey was wearing.  That specialty protective clothing was highly flammable, and because it was made out of a plastic polymer, became molten plastic that caused 3rd degree burns over 90% of his body.  The jury found the clothes defective and awarded $41,411,452.00 in damages.

DeLeon vs. Fresh Express, Inc. – $17,066,869.16 – (Monterey County 2010) – Auto Accident

Four farm workers were on the way to the fields on a foggy morning when their vehicle was struck head–on.  One of the workers died, and the other three suffered significant physical injuries.

Dorroh vs. Warren – $16,789,834.54 – (Tuolumne County 2008) – Auto Accident

Robert Dorroh was struck by a driver who crossed the centerline, causing Mr. Dorroh’s vehicle to slide and then rollover.  Mr. Dorroh was ejected from the vehicle and rendered a paraplegic.

Dhillon v. Hilbers, Inc., et. al. – settled for $11,580,772.76 – (Yuba County – 2023) – Trucking / Big Rig Accident / Wrongful Death

Mr. Ranjit Dhillon was a passenger in a Nissan truck driven by his nephew, Sukhjot Dhillon.  Their vehicle was rear–ended by a 3500 GMC truck driven by an employee of Hilbers.  The force of the impact caused the Nissan truck to cross the centerline and collide with Butte Sand and Gravel big rig causing the Nissan to catch fire.  Our office represented Ranjit Dhillons’ wife and two minor daughters and secured a settlement of $11,580,772.77.

Jane Doe vs. Zaret – $8,381,780.00 – (Marin County 2006) – Molestation

A young girl was molested over the course of three years by a family friend and benefactor.

Karow vs. Evenflo, Inc. – $8,000,000.00 verdict – (San Mateo County 2016) – Product Defect / Baby Sleeping Product

7 month–old Abigail Karow died while taking a nap at her daycare in a playard sold by Evenflo, Inc.  Although the coroner determined the death to be from SIDS, we established that in fact Abigail suffocated as a result of the defective design of the playard mattress that Abigail was sleeping on.  The mattress had a loose, billowy cover that was impervious to air.  As a result, when Abigail rolled over in her sleep to her stomach, the fabric formed a pocket around her mouth and caused her to suffocate.  Plaintiffs made a C.C.P. 998 offer for $1,000,000 which was rejected causing roughly $3,000 per day in interest to accumulate after the verdict.  Evenflo appealed the verdict and ended up settling for $9,000,000.

Navarro v. City of Tulare Police Department – Settled for $4,500,000 – (Tulare County 2023) – Officer Involved Shooting / Excessive Force / Wrongful Death / 1983 Civil Rights Violation

Joel Villegas was shot multiple times in the back by Tulare County police officers. The shooting was covered by Univision, Telemundo, ABC, Fresno Bee, LA Times and other local news affiliates.  The City of Tulare Police Department refused to release the officers’ body–worn camera footage, but our office was able to obtain it. Officer Bradley shot Mr. Villegas multiple times in the back, then stated over the radio that the subject had turned and charged at them. Our office represented Mr. Villegas’ widow, Delilah Navarro, and their three minor sons. We attended multiple mediations before securing a settlement of $4,500,000.

Rodriguez vs. Amtrak – $3,863.359.00 – (U.S. District Court – Eastern District 2012) – Negligence

A mother and her two young children were killed when their vehicle stopped on a railroad track due to a traffic backup.  Although the train engineer could see the vehicle stopped on the tracks, and had sufficient time to stop the train to avoid the collision, Amtrak policy is to not stop a train when someone is on the tracks because Amtrak views anyone on the tracks to be a trespasser.

Garcia vs. Douglas Phan, M.D. – $1,738,500.10 – (Santa Clara County 2010) – Malpractice

A 7 year old boy went to have his tonsils removed.  The surgeon used an electrocautery tool to perform the surgery, and the surgeon inadvertently ignited the electrocautery tool causing the intubation tube to catch fire and the boy to inhale amounts of smoke causing significant physical and mental injuries.   

Vallejo v. Farmers Insurance Group, et. al. – $923,405.96 – (San Joaquin County – January 3, 2020.) – Insurance Bad Faith

Farmers Insurance refused to pay a judgment entered against their insureds in the amount of $125,000, claiming that the insureds failed to provide Farmers notice of the lawsuit prior to entry of judgment.  The jury found that Farmers acted in bad faith in refusing to pay judgment.