2024 USLAW NETWORK State Judicial Profiles by County

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STATE JUDICIAL PROFILES

BY COUNTY 2024

PREPARED BY THE MEMBER FIRMS OF

®

®

USLAW NETWORK

STATE JUDICIAL PROFILE BY COUNTY

USLAW is your home field advantage. The home field advantage comes from knowing and understanding the venue in a way that allows a competitive advantage – a truism in both sports and business. Jurisdictional awareness is a key ingredient to successfully operating throughout the United States and abroad. Knowing the local rules, the judge, and the local business and legal environment provides our firms’ clients this advantage. USLAW NETWORK bring this advantage to its member firms’ clients with the strength and power of a national presence combined with the understanding of a respected local firm.

In order to best serve clients, USLAW NETWORK biennially updates its countyby-county jurisdictional profile, including key court decisions and results that change the legal landscape in various states. The document is supported by the common consensus of member firm lawyers whose understanding of each jurisdiction is based on personal experience and opinion. Please remember that the state county-by-county comparisons are in-state comparisons and not comparisons between states. There are a multitude of factors that go into such subjective observations that can only be developed over years of experience and participation. We are pleased on behalf of USLAW NETWORK to provide you with this jurisdictional snapshot.

The information here is a great starter for discussion with the local USLAW member firm on how you can succeed in any jurisdiction. This conversation supplements the snapshot because as we all know as with many things in life, jurisdictions can change quickly. Please use this document as a way to begin exploring the benefits of an ongoing relationship with USLAW.

USLAW NETWORK, Inc. • 11555 Heron Bay Blvd., Suite 200 • Coral Springs, FL 33076 (800) 231-9110 • www.uslaw.org

USLAW NETWORK

STATE JUDICIAL PROFILE BY COUNTY

Table of Contents Alabama.................................... page 1

Montana...................................page 26

Alaska....................................... page 2

Nebraska..................................page 27

Arizona...................................... page 3

Nevada.....................................page 28

Arkansas.................................... page 4

New Hampshire..........................page 29

California................................... page 5

New Jersey...............................page 30

Colorado.................................... page 6

New Mexico..............................page 31

Connecticut................................ page 7

New York..................................page 32

Delaware................................... page 8

North Carolina............................page 33

Florida....................................... page 9

North Dakota..............................page 34

Georgia.....................................page 10

Ohio.........................................page 35

Hawaii......................................page 11

Oklahoma..................................page 36

Idaho........................................page 12

Oregon......................................page 37

Illinois......................................page 13

Pennsylvania.............................page 38

Indiana.....................................page 14

Rhode Island..............................page 39

Iowa.........................................page 15

South Carolina...........................page 40

Kansas......................................page 16

South Dakota.............................page 41

Kentucky...................................page 17

Tennessee.................................page 42

Louisiana..................................page 18

Texas.......................................page 43

Maine.......................................page 19

Utah.........................................page 44

Maryland...................................page 20

Vermont....................................page 45

Massachusetts...........................page 21

Virginia.....................................page 46

Michigan...................................page 22

Washington...............................page 47

Minnesota.................................page 23

West Virginia.............................page 48

Mississippi................................page 24

Wisconsin.................................page 49

Missouri...................................page 25

Wyoming...................................page 50

USLAW NETWORK

AL

STATE JUDICIAL PROFILE BY COUNTY

.. . . . . . ... . . . .

A Morgan County jury returned a $25M verdict in a single-car accident case where plaintiffs injuries were moderate, although a TBI was alleged.

LAUDERDALE

LIMESTONE

LAWRENCE

FRANKLIN

MARION

FAYETTE

LAMAR

MARSHALL

CULLMAN

GREENE

BLOUNT

CALHOUN

ST. CLAIR

CLEBURNE

JEFFERSON

TALLADEGA

SHELBY

BIBB

PERRY

AUTAUGA

DALLAS

MARENGO

CHOCTAW

LOWNDES

WILCOX

BUTLER CLARKE

RANDOLPH

CLAY

COOSA

CHILTON

HALE

SUMTER

. . . . ...

CHEROKEE

ETOWAH

TUSCALOOSA

PICKENS

DE KALB

MORGAN

WALKER

..

Tuscaloosa County, home of the University of Alabama and previously thought of as a conservative county, recently entered a $30 million judgment in a wrongful death medical malpractice case. This is the largest medical malpractice award in the history of the state.

WINSTON

..

COLBERT

JACKSON

MADISON

CHAMBERS

TALLAPOOSA

ELMORE

$16 million verdict in truck accident case was tried as a products case so that standard defenses in auto negligence cases were no longer available, which is a new tact taken by sophisticated plaintiffs’ counsel.

LEE

..

MACON

RUSSELL

MONTGOMERY

BULLOCK

PIKE

BARBOUR

CRENSHAW

MONROE HENRY WASHINGTON

CONECUH

COFFEE

DALE

COVINGTON ESCAMBIA

GENEVA

HOUSTON

MOBILE

BALDWIN

CONSERVATIVE LIBERAL MODERATE

While medical malpractice cases traditionally resulted in defense verdicts or minimal awards in Alabama, there has been a significant increase in the potential value of these cases throughout the entire state.

1

ALABAMA

USLAW NETWORK

AK

STATE JUDICIAL PROFILE BY COUNTY

NORTH SLOPE

NORTHWEST ARCTIC YUKON-KOYUKUK

NOME

FAIRBANKS NORTH STAR DENALI

SOUTHEAST FAIRBANKS

MATANUSKA-SUSITNA

WADE HAMPTON

VALDEZ-CORDOVA

BETHEL

ANCHORAGE KENAI PENINSULA

LAKE AND DILLINGHAM PENINSULA

YAKUTAT

SKAGWAY-HOONAH-ANGOON

HAINES

HAINES BRISTOL BAY

JUNEAU

SKAGWAY-HOONAH-ANGOON

SKAGWAY-HOONAH-ANGOON

SITKA WRANGELL-PETERSBURG KODIAK ISLAND

ALEUTIANS EAST

PRINCE OF WALESOUTER KETCHIKAN

PRINCE OF WALESOUTER KETCHIKAN KETCHIKAN GATEWAY

ALEUTIANS WEST

CONSERVATIVE

ALASKA

LIBERAL MODERATE

2

USLAW NETWORK

AZ

STATE JUDICIAL PROFILE BY COUNTY

COCONINO

MOHAVE NAVAJO APACHE

YAVAPAI

LA PAZ

GILA MARICOPA

GREENLEE

GRAHAM

PINAL YUMA

PIMA COCHISE

SANTA CRUZ

CONSERVATIVE

ARIZONA

LIBERAL MODERATE

3

USLAW NETWORK

AR

STATE JUDICIAL PROFILE BY COUNTY

BENTON

FULTON

CARROLL

CLAY

RANDOLPH

BAXTER

BOONE MARION

IZARD WASHINGTON

GREENE

SHARP

LAWRENCE

MADISON NEWTON

SEARCY

STONE

CRAIGHEAD

INDEPENDENCE JOHNSON

CRAWFORD

VAN BUREN

FRANKLIN

CONWAY

YELL

PERRY

SCOTT

SALINE MONTGOMERY

GARLAND

HOT SPRING

GRANT

...

LONOKE

PULASKI

POLK

JEFFERSON

PIKE SEVIER

HOWARD

CLARK DALLAS

CLEVELAND

...

...

WHITE

FAULKNER

POINSETT

JACKSON

POPE

LOGAN

SEBASTIAN

CLEBURNE

CROSS

WOODRUFF

PRAIRIE

LINCOLN

HEMPSTEAD

NEVADA

OUACHITA

DREW

CALHOUN BRADLEY

CRITTENDEN

ST. FRANCIS

LEE

MONROE

PHILLIPS

ARKANSAS

The Arkansas Supreme Court concluded a Lonoke County jury’s award of $42M in punitive damages did not “shock the conscience” in a case where the jury found only $5.9 million in actual damages.

DESHA LITTLE RIVER

MISSISSIPPI

MILLER

CONSERVATIVE LIBERAL MODERATE

UNION

ASHLEY

CHICOT

... . . . .

LAFAYETTE

..

COLUMBIA

A jury awarded $46.5 million in damages in a medical malpractice case in Union County after the defense relied on the ability to apply a lower standard of care than national standards.

4

ARKANSAS

USLAW NETWORK

SISKIYOU

MODOC

SHASTA

LASSEN

TRINITY

TEHAMA

PLUMAS BUTTE

GLENN

SIERRA

MENDOCINO

NEVADA PLACER

YOLO

EL DORADO

NAPA

SONOMA

SACRAMENTO AMADOR

...

SOLANO

CALAVERAS

...

MARIN

An appellate court considering a Contra Costa County case found that defendants could present evidence of benefits under the Affordable Care Act to argue for a reduction in the costs of future medical care. The case is the latest in the line of cases establishing that plaintiff can only seek medical specials based on what was or will be paid rather than grossly billed by medical providers.

TUOLUMNE

CONTRA COSTA SAN JOAQUIN

ALAMEDA SAN MATEOSANTA CLARA

STANISLAUS

MONO

MARIPOSA

MERCED

MADERA

SANTA CRUZ

SAN BENITO

MONTEREY

FRESNO INYO TULARE KINGS

KERN

SAN LUIS OBISPO

SANTA BARBARA

VENTURA

CONSERVATIVE LIBERAL MODERATE

LOS ANGELES

ORANGE

RIVERSIDE

.. . . . .

As a monolith, Los Angeles County is viewed as liberal. However, analysis of the sub-venue is require for a more accurate assessment.

For example, sub-venues such as downtown Los Angeles and Compton have liberal juries, whereas sub-venues such as Long Beach and Santa Monica are relatively moderate, and sub-venues such as Chatsworth, Alhambra, Torrance, Van Nuys and Norwalk can even tilt conservative.

SAN BERNARDINO

...

...

SAN FRANCISCO

ALPINE

...

LAKE

YUBA COLUSA SUTTER

...

HUMBOLDT

...

DEL NORTE

CA

STATE JUDICIAL PROFILE BY COUNTY

While Orange County has been a rock-ribbed conservative venue, the changing political and cultural landscape is being reflected in the jury pools. Juries in Orange County may now consist of many Asian-American and Hispanic-American jurors. Relatively, it is still a good place to try a California case as a defendant, as the changing landscape seems more socially liberal while remaining economically conservative. For example, a USLAW member attorney recently obtained a defense verdict in a seven-figure slip-and-fall case despite arguing to a jury consisting of two registered Republicans and ten registered Democrats or Independents.

5

SAN DIEGO

IMPERIAL

CALIFORNIA

USLAW NETWORK

CO

STATE JUDICIAL PROFILE BY COUNTY

In Nieto v. Clark’s Market, Inc., __ P.3d __, 2021 CO 48 (Colo. 2021), the Colorado Supreme Court unanimously held that under the Colorado Wage Claim Act, all earned and determinable vacation pay must be paid out to an employee when she leaves her job. This ruling means that employers cannot require employees to forfeit unused vacation pay at the end of their employment. This decision could have potentially significant impacts for Colorado employers who do not already adhere to this practice.

The Colorado General Assembly passed House Bill 21-1188, which allows a plaintiff to bring direct negligence claims against an employer even if the employer admits liability for the tortious actions of its employee. This bill explicitly overrules Ferrer v. Okbamicael, 390 P.3d 836 (Colo. 2017), which previously allowed employers to dismiss direct negligence claims if they admitted their employee was acting within the course and scope of their employment when they committed the alleged tort.

This increases potential exposure for employers.

SEDGWICK MOFFAT

WELD

LARIMER

JACKSON

LOGAN PHILLIPS

ROUTT MORGAN GRAND

BOULDER

RIO BLANCO

BROOMFIELD

GILPIN EAGLE

SUMMIT

GARFIELD

PITKIN

DENVER CLEAR CREEK JEFFERSON

ARAPAHOE

ELBERT

DOUGLAS LAKE

KIT CARSON

PARK

MESA

TELLER DELTA GUNNISON

LINCOLN

EL PASO

CHAFFEE

CHEYENNE

FREMONT

KIOWA

MONTROSE

CROWLEY OURAY

PUEBLO

CUSTER

SAGUACHE

SAN MIGUEL

BENT HINSDALE

DOLORES

SAN JUAN

LA PLATA

PROWERS

OTERO MINERAL

HUERFANO RIO GRANDE

MONTEZUMA

YUMA

WASHINGTON

ADAMS

ALAMOSA

LAS ANIMAS ARCHULETA

CONEJOS

BACA

COSTILLA

CONSERVATIVE

COLORADO

LIBERAL MODERATE

6

USLAW NETWORK

CT

STATE JUDICIAL PROFILE BY COUNTY

NOTE: The state is divided into 13 judicial districts, 20 geographical areas and 12 juvenile districts. Connecticut’s 13 judicial district courts are Ansonia-Milford, Bridgeport, Danbury, Hartford, Litchfield (Torrington), Middlesex, New Britain, New Haven-Meriden, New London-Norwich, Stamford-Norwalk, Tolland, Waterbury and Windham.

TOLLAND

HARTFORD

WINDHAM

LITCHFIELD

. . ... .

...

...

FAIRFIELD

...

...

NEW HAVEN

NEW LONDON

MIDDLESEX

In 2023, a Waterbury jury (Waterbury Judicial District) found that the City of Danbury and one of its building officials acted with reckless disregard for the health and safety of the public during the permitting, construction, and inspection phases of developing and expanding a storage facility. As a result, the building was never able to comply with structural storage loading and other requirements of the building code. The jury awarded the plaintiffs $16.8 million in damages.

Past is prologue: Fairfield Judicial District, based on its proximity to New York City, continues to lead the field in producing Connecticut’s most generous jury pool. On May 22, 2019, after five and a half days of deliberations, a jury in Stamford Superior Court awarded $14.2 million to a plaintiff who suffered back and neck injuries after a tractor-trailer rear-ended his car on an interstate highway. In addition to that verdict, the jury also awarded his wife $727,562.50 in past and future loss of consortium. This is believed to be one of the largest vehicular verdicts in Connecticut’s history.

CONSERVATIVE

CONNECTICUT

LIBERAL MODERATE

7

USLAW NETWORK

STATE JUDICIAL PROFILE BY COUNTY

DE

NEW CASTLE

KENT

SUSSEX

CONSERVATIVE

DELAWARE

LIBERAL MODERATE

8

USLAW NETWORK

FL

STATE JUDICIAL PROFILE BY COUNTY

HOLMES JACKSON OKALOOSA SANTA ROSA WASHINGTON WALTON

ESCAMBIA

BAY

CALHOUN

GADSDEN

NASSAU

JEFFERSON

LEON

HAMILTON

MADISON

LIBERTY WAKULLA TAYLOR GULF FRANKLIN

DUVAL

COLUMBIA BAKER SUWANNEE

UNION CLAY BRADFORD ST. JOHNS

LAFAYETTE DIXIE

GILCHRIST ALACHUA

PUTNAM FLAGLER

LEVY MARION VOLUSIA

The Florida Supreme Court, according to its exclusive rulemaking authority pursuant to article V, section 2(a) of the Florida Constitution, adopted chapter 2013-107, sections 1 and 2, Laws of Florida (Daubert amendments), which amended sections 90.702 (Testimony by experts) and 90.704 (Basis of opinion testimony by experts), Florida Statutes, of the Florida Evidence Code to replace the Frye standard for admitting certain expert testimony with the Daubert standard, the standard for expert testimony found in Federal Rule of Evidence 702

CITRUS

LAKE SUMTER HERNANDO

SEMINOLE ORANGE

PASCO PINELLAS

HILLSBOROUGH

OSCEOLA BREVARD

POLK

INDIAN RIVER MANATEE

HARDEE

OKEECHOBEE ST. LUCIE

HIGHLANDS SARASOTADE SOTO

... ...

LIBERAL MODERATE

9

... ...

CONSERVATIVE

$21,585,148 verdict to breast cancer patient whose physicians failed to diagnose inflammatory breast cancer for several months. Due to the aggressive type of cancer plaintiff had, an earlier diagnosis would not have improved her prognosis, and therefore the delay ultimately did not negatively affect her survival chances. The Miami jury awarded her over $21 million anyway, highlighting plaintiff-friendly nature of venue.

CHARLOTTE LEE

MARTIN

GLADES

... ...

Pregnant woman was killed when a drunk driver drove into a hotel cabana 15 feet from the road. The woman’s family sued the hotel and the driver. The South Florida jury found both parties liable and awarded damages of $24,057,283. The appellate court reversed and entered a directed verdict for the hotel, stating the position of the hotel relative to the road was not a dangerous condition, the hotel had acted reasonably, and the accident was attributable to “an improbable freak accident” and not to the negligence of the hotel. This is a surprising reversal from a typically liberal South Florida appellate Court.

HENDRY

PALM BEACH

BROWARD

COLLIER

MONROE

DADE

FLORIDA

USLAW NETWORK

. . . . . ..

..

CATOOSA

DADE

. . . ....

In May 2019, a Whitfield County Superior Court jury needed less than two hours to return a $21.6 million verdict against a trucking company in an accident that resulted in a below-the-knee amputation of the plaintiff’s left leg. This is a very high award for a historically conservative county.

TOWNS

FANNIN

GILMER

..

PICKENS

DAWSON

CHEROKEE FORSYTH

BARTOW

FLOYD

POLK

COBB

PAULDING HARALSON

BANKS FRANKLIN

HALL

JACKSON

BARROW

FAYETTE

OGLETHORPE

WILKES

GREENE TALIAFERRO

MORGAN

PIKE

HANCOCK

LAMAR

CRAWFORD

..

... . . . .

HOUSTON

LAURENS

BLECKLEY

TREUTLEN

PULASKI DODGE

WILCOX

WORTH

MILLER

MITCHELL

WHEELER

EVANS

TOOMBS

JEFF DAVIS

BEN HILL IRWIN

BRYAN CHATHAM

COFFEE

LIBERTY LONG

APPLING

BACON

WAYNE

MCINTOSH

TIFT PIERCE

BAKER

EARLY

EFFINGHAM

TELFAIR

LEE

DOUGHERTY

BULLOCH

TATTNALL

TURNER

CALHOUN

CANDLER

MONTGOMERY

CRISP

CLAY

SCREVEN

EMANUEL

SUMTER

RANDOLPH

JENKINS JOHNSON

TWIGGS

DOOLY

TERRELL

BURKE

WILKINSON

PEACH

TAYLOR

MACON MARION CHATAHOOCHEE SCHLEY

QUITMAN

JEFFERSON

BALDWIN

JONES

BIBB

TALBOT

WEBSTER

RICHMOND

GLASCOCK

WASHINGTON

UPSON

STEWART

COLUMBIA MCDUFFIE

WARREN

MONROE

MUSCOGEE

LINCOLN

PUTNAM

JASPER

BUTTS

SPALDING

HARRIS

CLARKE

HENRY

COWETA

TROUP

ELBERT

WALTON

CLAYTON ROCKDALE NEWTON

MERIWETHER

HART

MADISON

OCONEE

CARROLL

In 2022, Gwinnett County saw a $1.7 billion verdict, the largest in state history, against Ford Motor Co. in a wrongful death lawsuit stemming from a 2014 rollover crash that killed a Middle Georgia couple. The demographics of Gwinnett continue to evolve as it grows, and Gwinnett is now decidedly one of the more liberal metro Atlanta counties.

STEPHENS

GWINNETT

DEKALB DOUGLAS FULTON

HEARD

HABERSHAM

WHITE

LUMPKIN

GORDON

CHATTOOGA

RABUN

UNION

MURRAY

WHITFIELD WALKER

In August 2019, a Muscogee County State Court jury needed 45 minutes to return a $280 million verdict against a trucking company whose driver crossed the center line and killed five members of a family traveling together.

GA

STATE JUDICIAL PROFILE BY COUNTY

BERRIEN

ATKINSON

COLQUITT

GLYNN WARE

COOK

BRANTLEY

LANIER

SEMINOLE DECATUR

GRADY

THOMAS

BROOKS

LOWNDES

CLINCH CHARLTON

CAMDEN

ECHOLS

CONSERVATIVE

GEORGIA

LIBERAL MODERATE

10

USLAW NETWORK

HI

STATE JUDICIAL PROFILE BY COUNTY

A May 2019 decision from the Hawaii Supreme Court in Nationstar Mortgage continues the Court’s recent trend of applying ordinary litigation rules very strictly to foreclosure actions, including the standing requirement and the business records exception to the hearsay rule. Nationstar Mortgage LLC v. Kanahele, 2019 WL 1931703 (Haw. May 1, 2019). In Nationstar, the court concluded that discrepancies in Nationstar’s records indicated that the records were not trustworthy under the business records exception and additional affirmative steps would have to be taken to address the discrepancies on remand.

KAUAI

HONOLULU

KALAWAO

MAUI

HAWAII

CONSERVATIVE

HAWAII

LIBERAL MODERATE

11

USLAW NETWORK

ID

STATE JUDICIAL PROFILE BY COUNTY

BOUNDARY

Hawes v. Western Pacific Timber, LLC, 167 Idaho 896, 477 P. 3d 950 (2020).

In December of 2020, the Idaho Supreme Court affirmed a $2.2 million judgment against Western Pacific Timber, LLC for breach of contract. Western Pacific Timber, LLC offered a private attorney an in-house general counsel position, which included a severance package of up to $500,000 to leave the attorney’s firm.

The severance was not paid, and the in-house counsel position was later eliminated at the company.

The jury awarded plaintiff $500,000, which was trebled by the district court because it was a claim for unpaid wages and $573,904.38 was awarded in attorneys fees.

BONNER

KOOTENAI

SHOSHONE

BENEWAH

LATAH CLEARWATER NEZ PERCE LEWIS

ADAMS

LEMHI

VALLEY

WASHINGTON

GEM

BOISE

CANYON

ADA

JEFFERSON

BUTTE

ELMORE

CAMAS

FREMONT

MADISON TETON

..

PAYETTE

CLARK

CUSTER

..

Brauner v. AHC of Boise, LLC, 166 Idaho 398, 459 P.3d 1246 (2020) In February of 2020, the Idaho Supreme Court affirmed a judgment awarding plaintiff $2,265,204 in damages in a medical malpractice case.

The judgment was awarded against AHC of Boise, LLC due to AHC’s delay in care, which was a substantial factor resulting in an above-the-knee amputation of plaintiff’s leg.

. . . . . ..

. . . . ...

IDAHO

Phillips v. Eastern Idaho Health Services, Inc., 166 Idaho 731, 463 P.3d 365 (2019). In March of 2020, the Idaho Supreme Court significantly limited the ability to obtain the testimony of consulting physicians used to familiarize an outof-state physician with the local standard of care.

The Court held that consulting physicians can be deposed only if there is a showing of exceptional circumstances under which it is impracticable for the party to obtain facts or opinions on the same subject by other means. The Court explained that deposing a consulting physician to examine the reliability and truthfulness of the testifying physician is not sufficient to show exceptional circumstances.

Furthermore, the Court found that the testimony of the consulting physicians was not relevant because the plaintiffs did not intend to rely on the consultations to lay foundation for the testifying physician’s testimony.

BONNEVILLE

BLAINE

BINGHAM GOODING

LINCOLN CARIBOU JEROME

MINIDOKA POWER

OWYHEE TWIN FALLS

CASSIA

BANNOCK

ONEIDA

BEAR LAKE FRANKLIN

CONSERVATIVE

IDAHO

LIBERAL MODERATE

12

USLAW NETWORK

IL

STATE JUDICIAL PROFILE BY COUNTY

JO DAVIESS

STEPHENSON

CARROLL

WINNEBAGO

BOONE

MCHENRY

LAKE

OGLE KANE

DE KALB WHITESIDE

DU PAGE

COOK

LEE KENDALL

ROCK ISLAND

BUREAU

HENRY

WILL

LA SALLE GRUNDY

MERCER

PUTNAM KANKAKEE

STARK

MARSHALL

KNOX HENDERSON

FORD

MCLEAN

MASON

DE WITT

LOGAN

CHAMPAIGN

MENARD

CASS

BROWN

EDGAR

MOULTRIE COLES

CHRISTIAN MACOUPIN

CALHOUN

SHELBY CUMBERLAND

MONTGOMERY

JERSEY

EFFINGHAM

FAYETTE

JASPER

CLARK

CRAWFORD

BOND MADISON

CLAY

RICHLAND LAWRENCE

MARION

CLINTON

WAYNE

ST. CLAIR MONROE

WASHINGTON

RANDOLPH

• An April 2022 ruling changed Illinois law and now permits negligence claims, including negligent entrustment, supervision, retention, training and hiring, to be made against an employer, which were previously barred if the company admitted the employee was its agent.

• In February 2023, the Illinois Supreme Court delivered back-to-back decisions regarding the scope of the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA), a statute that allows an aggrieved person to recover $1,000, or even $5,000, per violation. The Court first found that a five-year statute of limitations applies to claims under BIPA and, later that month, subsequently found that a BIPA claim may accrue for the collection and disclosure of biometric “identifiers” “each time a private entity scans or transmits” an individual’s biometrics.

DOUGLAS

SANGAMON

SCOTT

GREENE

VERMILION

PIATT

MACON

MORGAN PIKE

IROQUOIS

TAZEWELL

SCHUYLER ADAMS

WOODFORD

PEORIA

FULTON

MCDONOUGH

HANCOCK

LIVINGSTON

WARREN

• As of late 2021, many of Illinois’s most conservative and moderate venues have rendered judgments and reported settlements that, prior to 2020, would only have been found in the most liberal national venues. On a national comparison, Illinois’s conservative venues must be considered moderate at best, its moderate venues as liberal and so on.

WABASH EDWARDS

JEFFERSON

PERRY

HAMILTON

WHITE

SALINE

GALLATIN

• In 2022, the Chicago Human Rights Ordinance was amended to require employers to provide annually at least one hour of sexual harassment prevention and bystander training to all employees. The amendments also require that Employers provide supervisors and management with an additional hour of sexual harassment prevention training on an annual basis.

• Effective January 1, 2024, Illinois will require employers to provide paid annual leave to its employees. Covered employees accrue at least one hour of paid leave for every 40 hours worked, for up to 40 hours of paid leave for every 12-month period.

FRANKLIN

JACKSON

WILLIAMSON

HARDIN

CONSERVATIVE LIBERAL

UNION

ALEXANDER

JOHNSON

PULASKI

POPE

MASSAC

MODERATE

13

ILLINOIS

USLAW NETWORK

ST JOSEPH

LA PORTE

LA GRANGE

STEUBEN

NOBLE

DE KALB

ELKHART

PORTER

LAKE

MARSHALL STARKE

...

...

...

A jury in Newton County awarded plaintiff $25 million in a trucking accident and $5 million to his wife on her loss of consortium claim.

IN

STATE JUDICIAL PROFILE BY COUNTY

KOSCIUSKO

...

WHITLEY JASPER

FULTON

PULASKI

NEWTON

BENTON

MIAMI

CASS

WHITE

CARROLL HOWARD TIPPECANOE

WARREN

TIPTON

CLINTON

FOUNTAIN

MONTGOMERY

VERMILLION

MARION

PUTNAM

...

GRANT

CLAY

RANDOLPH

HENRY

WAYNE

RUSH

FAYETTE

BARTHOLOMEW

FRANKLIN

RIPLEY GREENE

JENNINGS JACKSON LAWRENCE

DAVIES

JEFFERSON

MARTIN

DEARBORN

OHIO SWITZERLAND

WASHINGTON CLARK

DUBOIS

GIBSON

A jury in liberal Marion County awarded $6 million, reduced to $700,000 under the statutory cap, to the estate of the plaintiff who was intoxicated and attempted to touch or board a bus and was injured. This case is currently on appeal.

SCOTT ORANGE

PIKE

UNION

DECATUR BROWN

MONROE

KNOX

JAY

DELAWARE

MADISON

OWEN

SULLIVAN

ADAMS

BLACKFORD

SHELBY

JOHNSON

MORGAN

VIGO

WELLS

HANCOCK

HENDRICKS

PARKE

WABASH HUNTINGTON

...

HAMILTON

BOONE

ALLEN

FLOYD

CRAWFORD HARRISON WARRICK

POSEY

VANDERBURGH

PERRY SPENCER

CONSERVATIVE

INDIANA

LIBERAL MODERATE

14

USLAW NETWORK

IA

STATE JUDICIAL PROFILE BY COUNTY

The Iowa Supreme Court’s 173-page, three-opinion ruling vacates a $2.5MM judgement and announces the elements of Iowa law on a sexually hostile work environment, the standard for retaliation claims, and constructive discharge.

OSCEOLA

LYON

DICKINSON

WINNEBAGO

EMMET

MITCHELL

WORTH

HOWARD

O’BRIEN

SIOUX

CHEROKEE

PLYMOUTH

MONONA

HUMBOLDT

CALHOUN

SAC

CRAWFORD

WEBSTER

GREENE

CARROLL

CERRO GORDO

HANCOCK

BUENA VISTA POCAHONTAS

IDA

WOODBURY

PALO ALTO

CLAY

ALLAMAKEE

WINNESHIEK

KOSSUTH FLOYD

FRANKLIN

BUTLER

HAMILTON

HARDIN

GRUNDY

STORY

MARSHALL

BUCHANAN

BLACK HAWK

DELAWARE

LINN

BENTON

TAMA

CLAYTON

FAYETTE

BREMER

WRIGHT

BOONE

CHICKASAW

DUBUQUE

JONES

JACKSON

CLINTON CEDAR HARRISON

SHELBY

AUDOBON

GUTHRIE

DALLAS

JASPER

POLK

IOWA

POWESHIEK

SCOTT

JOHNSON MUSCATINE

POTTAWATTAMIE

ADAIR

CASS

MADISON

WARREN

MARION

MAHASKA

KEOKUK

WASHINGTON LOUISA

MILLS

FREMONT

MONTGOMERY

PAGE

ADAMS

TAYLOR

UNION

RINGGOLD

CLARKE

DECATUR

LUCAS

WAYNE

MONROE

APPANOOSE

WAPELLO

JEFFERSON

DAVIS

VAN BUREN

HENRY

DES MOINES

LEE

CONSERVATIVE

IOWA

LIBERAL MODERATE

15

USLAW NETWORK

KS

STATE JUDICIAL PROFILE BY COUNTY

SHERMAN

RAWLINS

DECATUR

THOMAS

SHERIDAN

NORTON

GRAHAM

PHILLIPS

ROOKS

SMITH

JEWELL

OSBORNE

MITCHELL

REPUBLIC

WASHINGTON

GOVE

TREGO ELLIS

ELLSWORTH GREELEY

WICHITA

SCOTT

LANE

NESS

RUSH

MORRIS

MCPHERSON

MARION

HODGEMAN

STAFFORD

KEARNY

RENO

GRAY GRANT

STEVENS

SEWARD

CLARK

JOHNSON

FRANKLIN

MIAMI

COFFEY

ANDERSON

LINN

GREENWOOD

WOODSON

ALLEN

BOURBON

WILSON

NEOSHO

BUTLER KIOWA

MEADE

DOUGLAS

LYON

PRATT

KINGMAN

SEDGWICK ELK

MORTON

SHAWNEE

HARVEY

FORD

HASKELL

WYANDOTTE

OSAGE

CHASE

EDWARDS

STANTON

WABAUNSEE

DICKINSON

PAWNEE

FINNEY

LEAVENWORTH

JEFFERSON

BARTON RICE

HAMILTON

SALINE

DONIPHAN

RILEY

GEARY

RUSSELL

BROWN

POTTAWATOMIE JACKSON

CLAY OTTAWA

LOGAN

NEMAHA

ATCHISON

CLOUD

LINCOLN WALLACE

MARSHALL

...

CHEYENNE

. . . .. .

In June 2019, the Kansas Supreme Court, which sits in Shawnee County, struck down as unconstitutional the state’s long-standing cap on non-economic damages. At the time, the cap was $325,000.

COMANCHE

BARBER

HARPER

SUMNER

COWLEY

MONTGOMERY CHAUTAUQUA LABETTE

CRAWFORD

CHEROKEE

House Bill 2238’s enactment will profoundly impact the sports landscape in Kansas by introducing guidelines based on “biological sex” for organizing athletic teams in educational institutions. This move is expected to prompt team reconfigurations and spark legal challenges as student-athletes gain the ability to pursue legal action against schools allegedly denying them “athletic opportunities.” Striking a balance between fairness and protecting the rights of all athletes, including transgender individuals, will be essential, making continuous monitoring and thoughtful dialogue imperative to shape a more inclusive and equitable sporting environment in the state.

CONSERVATIVE

KANSAS

LIBERAL MODERATE

16

USLAW NETWORK

KY

STATE JUDICIAL PROFILE BY COUNTY

In Lawson v. Ribeiro, __ S.W.3d___ (Ky. 2021), the Kentucky Supreme Court held that the Kentucky Court of Appeals exceeded the statutory basis for vacating an arbitration award. The Court of Appeals vacated an arbitration award in favor of a real estate agent who had been sued by her former client for breach of fiduciary duty. The Supreme Court’s decision reaffirmed a long-standing policy in Kentucky that a court’s review of an arbitrator’s award is limited. An arbitration award can only be vacated for the five grounds set forth in KRS 417.160, none of which were present in this case.

In Watson v. United States Liability Insurance Company – 2019-SC-475 – the Kentucky Supreme Court held that bad faith claims accrue when parties to litigation reach a settlement agreement because that is when the insurer becomes obligated to pay.

In Miller v. House of Boom Kentucky, LLC – 2018-SC-625 – the Kentucky Supreme Court held that pre-injury waivers for minors are not enforceable even if signed by a parent/guardian.

BOONE KENTON CAMPBELL GALLATIN PENDLETON BRACKEN CARROLL GRANT MASON TRIMBLE GREENUP OWEN ROBERTSON LEWIS HENRY HARRISON OLDHAM FLEMING NICHOLAS BOYD CARTER SCOTT FRANKLIN ROWAN JEFFERSON BOURBON SHELBY BATH ELLIOTT WOODFORD LAWRENCE FAYETTE MONTGOMERY SPENCER ANDERSON MEADE CLARK BULLITT MENIFEE MORGAN HANCOCK JESSAMINE JOHNSON NELSON POWELL MARTIN MERCER HENDERSON BRECKINRIDGE WOLFE WASHINGTON MADISON MAGOFFIN DAVIES HARDIN ESTILL UNION BOYLE GARRARD LEE FLOYD MARION BREATHITT WEBSTER LARUE MCLEAN PIKE LINCOLN OHIO GRAYSON JACKSON OWSLEY CRITTENDEN ROCKCASTLE TAYLOR KNOTT CASEY HART HOPKINS GREEN PERRY LIVINGSTON BUTLER EDMONSON MUHLENBERG CLAY LETCHER PULASKI LESLIE LAUREL ADAIR CALDWELL LYON RUSSELL BALLARD MCCRACKEN WARREN BARREN METCALFE KNOX HARLAN MARSHALL CHRISTIAN CARLISLE LOGAN TODD CUMBERLAND WAYNE TRIGG WHITLEY SIMPSON ALLEN BELL MCCREARY MONROE HICKMAN GRAVES CLINTON CALLOWAY FULTON

CONSERVATIVE

KENTUCKY

LIBERAL MODERATE

17

USLAW NETWORK

CADDO

WEBSTER BOSSIER

MOREHOUSE

UNION

CLAIBORNE

WEST CARROLL EAST CARROLL

LINCOLN RICHLAND

OUACHITA BIENVILLE DE SOTO

LA

STATE JUDICIAL PROFILE BY COUNTY

MADISON

JACKSON

RED RIVER

CALDWELL

FRANKLIN

TENSAS

WINN CATAHOULA

NATCHITOCHES SABINE

GRANT

LA SALLE CONCORDIA

RAPIDES VERNON

AVOYELLES WEST FELICIANA

BEAUREGARD

CALCASIEU

ALLEN

JEFFERSON DAVIS

EVANGELINE ST. LANDRY

EAST FELICIANA ST. HELENA

POINTE COUPEE

WASHINGTON

EAST BATON ROUGE TANGIPAHOA WEST ST. TAMMANY LIVINGSTON BATON ROUGE

ACADIA ST. MARTIN LAFAYETTE

IBERIA

CAMERON VERMILION

IBERVILLE

ASCENSION

ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST ORLEANS ST. JAMES JEFFERSON ASSUMPTION ST. CHARLES ST. BERNARD ST. MARTIN

ST. MARY

LAFOURCHE TERREBONNE PLAQUEMINES

CONSERVATIVE

LOUISIANA

LIBERAL MODERATE

18

USLAW NETWORK

ME

STATE JUDICIAL PROFILE BY COUNTY

AROOSTOOK

PISCATAQUIS

SOMERSET

.... . . . .

.

PENOBSCOT

WASHINGTON

FRANKLIN

HANCOCK

WALDO

OXFORD

KENNEBEC

ANDROSCOGGIN SAGADAHOC

KNOX

LINCOLN

In November 2016, a Penobscot County jury awarded a utility company more than $13.6 million in lost profits in a breach of contract lawsuit against a defendant company and four of its subsidiaries. This is a contract case so it does not necessarily remove Penobscot County from the list of conservative jurisdictions.

CUMBERLAND

YORK

CONSERVATIVE

MAINE

LIBERAL MODERATE

19

MD

STATE JUDICIAL PROFILE BY COUNTY

. . . .. . ......

USLAW NETWORK

$1.2M for rear-end collision in jurisdiction known for low verdicts

WASHINGTON

ALLEGANY

...

...

Verdicts of $44M for a fertility related case and $16.5M for a failed abortion case demonstrate that sensitive issues command high verdicts in all kinds of jurisdictions

HARFORD

CARROLL

...

GARRETT

... ...

Three recent lead paint verdicts exceeding $1.63M to $3M continue a trend of high verdicts in lead paint cases

FREDERICK

CECIL

BALTIMORE

BALTIMORE CITY

KENT

ANNE ARUNDEL

QUEEN ANNE'S

HOWARD MONTGOMERY

CAROLINE PRINCE GEORGE'S

CHARLES

TALBOT

CALVERT DORCHESTER ST. MARY'S

WICOMICO

WORCESTER SOMERSET

CONSERVATIVE

MARYLAND

LIBERAL MODERATE

20

MA

STATE JUDICIAL PROFILE BY COUNTY

...

Massachusetts courts have enacted new rules governing collection of consumer credit card debt. Consumers now enjoy greater protection as commercial debt collectors face additional hurdles before filing collection complaints. This will also have a positive effect on the courts’ caseloads.

...

The Massachusetts Legislature recently enacted a new law governing non-competition agreements. The new law allows such agreements, but imposes strict requirements before they can be enforced. This will have a major impact on local businesses and will be the subject of much written case law in the coming months/ years.

Multiple multimillion dollar jury verdicts across state for brain injuries relating to births. $12.8 million jury verdict for brain injury suffered by child after delivery for negligent newborn care in Essex. $29.9 million jury verdict for brain injuries caused by birth complications in Hampden County. Both within the top 5 highest verdicts of the year, and both tried by the same plaintiff’s firm.

...

USLAW NETWORK

ESSEX

FRANKLIN MIDDLESEX BERKSHIRE HAMPSHIRE

WORCESTER SUFFOLK

NORFOLK

.... . . . .

.

HAMPDEN

$32.3 million wrongful death jury verdict against a convenience store chain for woman killed by driver who suffered stroke and struck woman while entering one of defendant’s stores. The verdict is believed to have been the highest ever in Hampden County. In subsequent proceedings, the trial judge reduced the award to $20 million, which was still double what the decedent’s family had requested. Although Hampden County is relatively conservative, the jury award seems to reflect a trend toward more generous awards in the county.

PLYMOUTH BRISTOL

BARNSTABLE

DUKES NANTUCKET

CONSERVATIVE

MASSACHUSETTS

LIBERAL MODERATE

21

USLAW NETWORK

MI

STATE JUDICIAL PROFILE BY COUNTY

Michigan Court of Appeals decision: The Court of Appeals of Michigan ruled that a plaintiff can make a claim for loss of earning capacity of an infant under the Michigan Wrongful Death Act, but denied the claim because the damages were too speculative to be recoverable. Sutherland v. Klarr, No. 360059, 2023 WL 478317, at *4 (Mich. Ct. App. Jan. 26, 2023), appeal dismissed, 989 N.W.2d 243 (Mich. 2023).

Supreme Court of Michigan: On July 28, 2023, the Supreme Court of Michigan has effectively eliminated the open and obvious defense in premises liability case by holding that an open and obvious hazard no longer relieves the property owner from duty of reasonable care to plaintiff, overturning decades of precedent. Kandil-Elsayed v. F & E Oil, Inc., No. 162907, 2023 WL 4845611, at *5 (Mich. July 28, 2023).

KEWEENAW

HOUGHTON

ONTONAGON

BARAGA MARQUETTE

GOGEBIC IRON

LUCE CHIPPEWA

ALGER SCHOOLCRAFT

DICKINSON

MACKINAC

DELTA

MENOMINEE

EMMET

CHEBOYGAN PRESQUE ISLE

CHARLEVOIX ANTRIM LEELANAU

GRAND KALKASKACRAWFORD OSCODA TRAVERSE

BENZIE

WEXFORD

MANISTEE MASON

MONTMORENCY ALPENA

OTSEGO

LAKE

MISSAUKEE OGEMAW ROSCOMMON

OSCEOLA

GLADWIN

CLARE

ALCONA IOSCO

ARENAC HURON

.... . . . .

In November 2019, an Ingham County jury awarded $17 million in a medical malpractice case involving a 73-year-old plaintiff who was paralyzed from the waist down after what was supposed to be a routine procedure to improve blood flow. This was the largest verdict in 2019. Kathleen J. Bashore v.

Sparrow Health System, Ingham County Circuit Court, Case No. 17-000273-NH.

NEWAYGO

MECOSTA ISABELLA MONTCALM

MUSKEGON

OTTAWA

KENT

IONIA

ALLEGAN

BARRY

CASS

BERRIEN

LIBERAL MODERATE

GENESEE CLINTON SHIAWASSEE

LAPEER

OAKLAND INGHAM LIVINGSTON

JACKSON

ST. CLAIR

MACOMB

WASHTENAW WAYNE

ST. JOSEPH BRANCH HILLSDALE LENAWEE MONROE

Wayne County: In April 2023, a jury awarded $96 million to a woman whose husband and 20-year-old son were rear-ended and killed by a truck driver who was taking medication for Parkinson’s disease, making him unable to drive safely.

Attianese v. Nogueras, et. al., Wayne County Circuit Court, Case No. 365523.

22

.

CONSERVATIVE

SAGINAW

.. ....

KALAMAZOO

SANILAC

TUSCOLA

GRATIOT

EATON

CALHOUN

VAN BUREN

MIDLAND

.

OCEANA

BAY

MICHIGAN

USLAW NETWORK

MN

STATE JUDICIAL PROFILE BY COUNTY

ROSEAU

KITTSON

LAKE OF THE WOODS MARSHALL KOOCHICHING PENNINGTON RED LAKE

COOK

BELTRAMI

POLK

CLEARWATER

NORMAN

LAKE

ITASCA ST. LOUIS

MAHNOMEN HUBBARD BECKER

CASS

CLAY

WADENA

OTTER TAIL WILKIN

TODD

DOUGLAS

MORRISON

GRANT TRAVERSE BIG STONE

AITKIN

CROW WING

CARLTON

PINE

MILLE LACS KANABEC

BENTON STEVENS

POPE

STEARNS

SHERBURNE

SWIFT

ANOKA MEEKER

WRIGHT

CHIPPEWA KANDIYOHI

LAC QUI PARLE

RENVILLE

LYON

REDWOOD

WASHINGTON

CARVER

SIBLEY LINCOLN

CHISAGO

HENNEPIN RAMSEY MCLEOD

YELLOW MEDICINE

ISANTI

SCOTT

NICOLLET LE SUEUR

DAKOTA

RICE

GOODHUE WABASHA

BROWN

BLUE EARTH PIPESTONE MURRAY COTTONWOOD WASECA STEELE DODGE OLMSTED WATONWAN ROCK

NOBLES

JACKSON

MARTIN

FARIBAULT

FREEBORN

MOWER

WINONA

FILLMORE

HOUSTON

CONSERVATIVE

MINNESOTA

LIBERAL MODERATE

23

MS

STATE JUDICIAL PROFILE BY COUNTY

...

...

In this historically conservative venue, a verdict just under $5M was returned by a state court jury in a disputed liability trucking case with the largest component being $2.5M for non-economic damages (before reduction per statutory cap).

...

USLAW NETWORK

ALCORN TISHOMINGO

TIPPAH

MARSHALL TATE

TUNICA

COAHOMA

BENTON

DESOTO

PRENTISS UNION

PANOLA

LAFAYETTE ITAWAMBA

LEE

PONTOTOC QUITMAN YALOBUSHA TALLAHATCHIE

BOLIVAR

CHICKASAW

CALHOUN

MONROE

GRENADA

SUNFLOWER LEFLORE

MONTGOMERY CARROLL CHOCTAW

WASHINGTON HUMPHREYS

CLAY

WEBSTER

HOLMES

ATTALA

OKTIBBEHA

WINSTON

LOWNDES

NOXUBEE

SHARKEY YAZOO ISSAQUENA

LEAKE

NESHOBA

KEMPER

MADISON

NEWTON

SCOTT

WARREN HINDS

RANKIN SMITH

CLAIBORNE COPIAH

LAUDERDALE

JASPER

CLARKE

SIMPSON

JEFFERSON

ADAMS

AMITE

MARION

PIKE WALTHALL

JONES

WAYNE

LAMAR FORREST PERRY

GREENE

...

WILKINSON

FRANKLIN

LINCOLN

COVINGTON JEFFERSON DAVIS

...

LAWRENCE

After originating with Hurricane Katrina claims, Mississippi coastal juries remain angry with insurers in property claims. In what is believed to be the last Katrina lawsuit, a Jackson County jury awarded $10 million in punitive damages in 2022.

STONE

HARRISON HANCOCK

CONSERVATIVE

GEORGE

JACKSON

...

PEARL RIVER

MISSISSIPPI

LIBERAL MODERATE

24

USLAW NETWORK

MO

STATE JUDICIAL PROFILE BY COUNTY

Jackson County Legislature on Monday, April 3, 2023, voted unanimously to become the first county government in Missouri to ban anti-LGBT conversion therapy.

(Originated in Scott County) - On March 2, 2021, the Missouri Supreme Court affirmed an $870,000 verdict, including $300,000 in punitive damages against a medical center in a suit accusing health care providers of causing a patient’s death. The Court held that although the conduct was not “a complete indifference to or in conscious disregard for the rights or safety of others,” punitive damages were allowed because there was sufficient evidence that the health care providers exhibited a reckless indifference or conscious disregard of the patient’s well-being.

On November 8, 2022, Missouri voters approved Amendment 3 by a 53–47 margin.

Possession of cannabis for adults 21 and over became legal on December 8, 2022. The first licensed sales of recreational cannabis occurred on February 3, 2023. On the April 4, 2023 election, many counties and cities in Missouri approved the additional sales tax of 3%.

HB 1878 - Modifies provisions regarding election law: requires all registered voters in Missouri to provide a photo ID to vote and repeals the use of mail-in ballots. Additionally, prohibits the use of ballot drop boxes for absentee ballots.

Also on March 2, 2021, the Missouri Supreme Court adopted the Missouri Legislature’s changes to Rules 56.01, 57.01, 57.03, 57.04, 58.01, 59.01 and 61.01. SB 224 (2019).

These changes, which are effective September 2, 2021, amend Missouri’s discovery rules to more closely resemble the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.

In 2020, the Missouri Legislature passed legislation that makes significant reforms to the law governing the award of punitive damages. SB 591 (2020); Section 510.261 RSMo.

ATCHISON

WORTH NODAWAY

PUTNAM

MERCER

HARRISON GENTRY

SULLIVAN

GRUNDY

HOLT ANDREW DEKALB

SCHUYLER SCOTLAND CLARK ADAIR

KNOX

DAVIESS LINN

MACON

SHELBY

LIVINGSTON BUCHANAN

LEWIS

MARION

CLINTON CALDWELL CHARITON

PLATTE

CLAY

JACKSON

RAY

RANDOLPH

CARROLL

PIKE AUDRAIN

HOWARD

SALINE

LAFAYETTE

JOHNSON

LINCOLN

BOONE

MONTGOMERY CALLAWAY

COOPER CASS

WARREN ST. CHARLES

PETTIS MONITEAU

BATES

BENTON

MARIES

CAMDEN

HICKORY

PULASKI CEDAR POLK

DALLAS

PHELPS

CRAWFORD WASHINGTON

LACLEDE DENT

DADE WEBSTER WRIGHT

SHANNON CHRISTIAN

BARRY

TANEY

BOLLINGER SCOTT

CARTER

DOUGLAS

OZARK

CAPE GIRARDEAU

MADISON

WAYNE

STODDARD

HOWELL STONE

STE. GENEVIEVE ST. FRANCOIS PERRY

TEXAS

LAWRENCE NEWTON

IRON

REYNOLDS GREENE

JASPER

MCDONALD

FRANKLIN JEFFERSON

VERNON

BARTON

GASCONADE OSAGE

MORGAN MILLER

ST. CLAIR

ST. LOUIS CITY

ST. LOUIS COLE

HENRY

RALLS

MONROE

OREGON

RIPLEY

MISSISSIPPI

BUTLER NEW MADRID

PEMISCOT

CONSERVATIVE

DUNKLIN

MISSOURI

LIBERAL MODERATE

25

USLAW NETWORK

MT

STATE JUDICIAL PROFILE BY COUNTY

GLACIER

LINCOLN

DANIELS

TOOLE

HILL

LIBERTY

BLAINE

FLATHEAD

PONDERA

ROOSEVELT

PHILLIPS

TETON

RICHLAND

CHOUTEAU

LAKE

SANDERS

SHERIDAN

VALLEY

MCCONE CASCADE

MINERAL MISSOULA

POWELL

JUDITH BASIN

LEWIS AND CLARK

FERGUS

GARFIELD

DAWSON

PETROLEUM PRAIRIE

MEAGHER GRANITE RAVALLI

WHEATLAND

BROADWATER

GOLDEN VALLEY

JEFFERSON DEER LODGE SILVER

WIBAUX

MUSSELSHELL TREASURE

ROSEBUD

FALLON CUSTER

YELLOWSTONE

BOW

SWEET GRASS STILLWATER

GALLATIN

...

PARK

BIG HORN

MADISON

...

BEAVERHEAD

POWDER RIVER

CARTER

CARBON

YELLOWSTONE NP

... $52 million jury verdict (including $10 million punitive) in suit against outof-state bank for alleged breach of commercial loan agreement in Silver Bow County. New trial ordered on appeal based on trial court wrongfully applying MT law contrary to choice-oflaw provision in contract.

CONSERVATIVE

MONTANA

LIBERAL MODERATE

26

USLAW NETWORK

NE

STATE JUDICIAL PROFILE BY COUNTY

BOYD

KEYA PAHA DAWES

KNOX

CEDAR

CHERRY

SIOUX

SHERIDAN

BROWN

ROCK

BOX BUTTE

HOLT PIERCE

ANTELOPE GRANT

HOOKER

ARTHUR

MCPHERSON

SCOTTS BLUFF MORRILL BANNER

GARDEN

THOMAS

LOUP

BLAINE

VALLEY

GREELEY

CUSTER CHEYENNE KIMBALL

KEITH

WAYNE

THURSTON

MADISON STANTON CUMING

GARFIELD WHEELER BOONE

LOGAN

DIXON DAKOTA

PLATTE

COLFAX

BURT

DODGE WASHINGTON

NANCE SHERMAN HOWARD

DEUEL

MERRICK

POLK

BUTLER

HAMILTON

YORK

SEWARD

DOUGLAS

SAUNDERS

SARPY

LINCOLN DAWSON

PERKINS

BUFFALO

HALL

CASS LANCASTER

CHASE

HAYES

FRONTIER

GOSPER

PHELPS

KEARNEY

ADAMS

CLAY

FILLMORE

GAGE DUNDY

HITCHCOCK RED WILLOW

FURNAS

OTOE

SALINE

HARLAN FRANKLIN WEBSTER THAYER JEFFERSON NUCKOLLS

JOHNSON NEMAHA PAWNEE RICHARDSON

CONSERVATIVE

NEBRASKA

LIBERAL MODERATE

27

USLAW NETWORK

NV

STATE JUDICIAL PROFILE BY COUNTY

HUMBOLDT ELKO

WASHOE PERSHING

LANDER

EUREKA

CHURCHILL

WHITE PINE

STOREY

CARSON CITY DOUGLAS

LYON

MINERAL NYE

A guest at a major hotel claimed he sustained an electrical injury while plugging in an iron. He claimed a burn to the hand, as well as a below-knee amputation due to an exit wound in the heel. Pre-trial negotiations included a $4.9 million Offer of Judgment from Plaintiff and a $1.5 million settlement offer by the hotel. After a 3-week trial, the jury was out 4 hours and returned a $21 million award for Plaintiff.

ESMERALDA

LINCOLN

In the first of several lawsuits against a Las Vegas-based water bottling company, a jury awarded 12 Plaintiffs, which included the family of a 69-year-old woman who died from liver failure and the family of a 7-month-old boy who was hospitalized with severe liver failure, a total of $28.5 million in compensatory damages against the bottling company and two other Defendants (manufacturers of the meters the bottling company used to measure chemical contents of water) and $200 million punitive damages against the bottling company.

CLARK

A jury awarded $38.8 million to the family of an 11-year-old girl who was killed in a crosswalk by a garbage truck. Video surveillance obtained by Plaintiff showed that the truck never fully stopped at the intersection. The driver of the garbage truck had received several write-ups in the years before the accident and had also been fired and re-hired.

CONSERVATIVE

NEVADA

LIBERAL MODERATE

28

USLAW NETWORK

NH

STATE JUDICIAL PROFILE BY COUNTY

COOS

. . ... .

In 2018, the New Hampshire Supreme Court affirmed a $900,000 jury award (including $400,000 for attorneys’ fees) in a trade secret case. Defendants, a group of utility brokerage firms, secretly hired a sales manager from one of the plaintiffs, several energy supply and consulting services. Defendants then conspired with the sales manager to misappropriate Plaintiffs’ confidential customer lists and pricing information and use that information to compete against the Plaintiffs.

• In 2018, a Rockingham County jury awarded plaintiff and her husband $9 million in damages following an accident where she was struck by a car while walking down the street. The jury awarded $8.5 million to the plaintiff for medical bills, pain and suffering, and loss of enjoyment of life, and $500,000 to plaintiff’s husband for loss of consortium.

The verdict is notable, as it is one of the highest jury awards rendered in New Hampshire in recent years.

GRAFTON

• In 2022, a Rockingham County jury awarded plaintiff and his wife $4,700,000 after he walked through a snow and icecovered parking lot to enter his place of employment. Plaintiff slipped and fell at the top of a stairway, resulting in injuries to his left wrist, shoulder, neck, and lower back, and his wife asserted a claim for loss of consortium.

...

...

CARROLL

SULLIVAN MERRIMACK

...

BELKNAP

...

STRAFFORD

ROCKINGHAM

CHESHIRE

HILLSBOROUGH

CONSERVATIVE

NEW HAMPSHIRE

LIBERAL MODERATE

29

USLAW NETWORK

NJ

STATE JUDICIAL PROFILE BY COUNTY

SUSSEX PASSAIC

BERGEN

WARREN

MORRIS ESSEX

HUDSON

UNION SOMERSET HUNTERDON

MIDDLESEX MERCER MONMOUTH

BURLINGTON

GLOUCESTER

OCEAN

CAMDEN

SALEM ATLANTIC

CUMBERLAND

CONSERVATIVE

CAPE MAY

NEW JERSEY

LIBERAL MODERATE

30

USLAW NETWORK

NM

STATE JUDICIAL PROFILE BY COUNTY

...

In Santa Fe County, a jury awarded $165.5 million in a trucking matter involving the death of a mother and daughter. The jury verdict did not include any punitive damages. Santa Fe is long considered to be a very liberal venue. The notable aspect of this case was that the theme presented by Plaintiffs’ lawyers was largely the negligence of the Defendant. However, the jury did not award punitive damages, which is to be expected with a verdict this large, and with the Plaintiff’s attorneys pushing for justice. Rather, it appears the verdict was intended to reflect the overall tragedy of the case.

TAOS

RIO ARRIBA

...

SAN JUAN

UNION

COLFAX

MORA HARDING

...

LOS ALAMOS

SANDOVAL

MCKINLEY

SANTA FE

SAN MIGUEL

QUAY

BERNALILLO CIBOLA

GUADALUPE VALENCIA

CURRY

TORRANCE DE BACA SOCORRO

ROOSEVELT

CATRON LINCOLN

CHAVES

SIERRA GRANT

LEA

DONA ANA

OTERO

EDDY

LUNA

HIDALGO

CONSERVATIVE

NEW MEXICO

LIBERAL MODERATE

31

USLAW NETWORK

NY

STATE JUDICIAL PROFILE BY COUNTY

CLINTON

FRANKLIN ST. LAWRENCE

JEFFERSON

ESSEX

LEWIS HERKIMER

HAMILTON WARREN

OSWEGO NIAGARA

ORLEANS

ONEIDA

WASHINGTON

WAYNE

FULTON

MONROE GENESEE

ERIE

ONONDAGA

WYOMING

SCHENECTADY

SENECA

LIVINGSTON

SCHUYLER CHAUTAUQUA

CATTARAUGUS

RENSSELAER

OTSEGO

YATES CORTLAND

ALLEGANY

MONTGOMERY

MADISON

CAYUGA

ONTARIO

SARATOGA

ALBANY

SCHOHARIE

CHENANGO

TOMPKINS GREENE

STEUBEN CHEMUNG

TIOGA

BROOME

COLUMBIA

DELAWARE

ULSTER DUTCHESS SULLIVAN

ORANGE

PUTNAM

WESTCHESTER ROCKLAND

NEW YORK BRONX

RICHMOND

SUFFOLK

QUEENSNASSAU KINGS

CONSERVATIVE

NEW YORK

LIBERAL MODERATE

32

USLAW NETWORK

NC

STATE JUDICIAL PROFILE BY COUNTY

Mary Dotson v. Katherine H. Yancey, M.D. and Regional Surgical Specialists, 2019-CVS-2557, Buncombe County Superior Court (Bradley B. Letts, J.) (Trial Date: June 1, 2022). A jury returned a defense verdict ($0) in a medical malpractice / wrongful death case. The decedent, a 59-year-old female, died from acute hemorrhage and blood loss due to a lacerated aortic arterial branch that reportedly occurred during elective laparoscopic paraoesophageal hernia surgery performed by the defendant Katherine H. Yancey, M.D.. The plaintiff alleged Dr. Yancey was negligent in failing to discontinue dissection during surgery when she was in an area posterior to the aorta, failing to stop the elective surgery when she was in an area of the body with a high likelihood of damage, and approaching the repair procedure from the wrong surgical plane. The defendants denied negligence, contending Dr. Yancey was performing the surgical dissection in the correct surgical plane anterior to the aorta when she encountered bleeding that ultimately resulted in the decedent’s death. The decedent was survived by three adult children.

WATAUGA

...

AVERY MITCHELL

MADISON

YANCEY

BUNCOMBE

SWAIN GRAHAM CHEROKEE

CLAY

SURRY

STOKES

YADKIN

FORSYTH

CALDWELL ALEXANDER IREDELL

MCDOWELL BURKE

HAYWOOD RUTHERFORD

HENDERSON POLK JACKSON TRANSYLVANIA MACON

WILKES

...

ALLEGHANY

ASHE

CATAWBA

PERSON

DAVIDSON ROWAN

GUILFORD

WARREN

FRANKLIN

DURHAM

CHATHAM LEE

CABARRUSSTANLY GASTON MECKLENBURG

NASH EDGECOMBE

JOHNSTON

GREENE

HARNETT WAYNE

LENOIR

HOKE

BERTIE

CHOWAN

GATES

MARTIN WASHINGTONTYRRELL

DARE

WILSON

MOORE

ANSON RICHMOND

HERTFORD

CURRITUCK CAMDEN PASQUOTANK PERQUIMANS

NORTHAMPTON

HALIFAX

WAKE

RANDOLPH

MONTGOMERY

UNION

VANCE GRANVILLE

ORANGE

ALAMANCE

DAVIE

LINCOLN

CLEVELAND

ROCKINGHAM CASWELL

...

...

...

...

Harris v. Enuol, 2018-CVS-12019, Wake County Superior Court (James P. Hill Jr., J.) (Trial Date: Mar. 10, 2022). A jury returned a defense verdict ($0) in a negligence case arising from a motor vehicle accident. The plaintiff was driving northbound on a four-lane highway when he was struck by a southbound vehicle operated by defendant. The plaintiff allegedly suffered multilevel disc and facet degeneration throughout the cervical spine, cervical radiculopathy, right shoulder impingement syndrome, facial contusions, and muscle spasms in his back when the vehicle he was driving northbound on a four-lane highway was struck by a southbound vehicle operated by defendant. The plaintiff alleged the defendant was negligent when he crossed the center line of the highway and entered the plaintiff’s lane of travel. The defendant alleged the plaintiff was looking down when the accident occurred and if the plaintiff had reacted more quickly, the collision could have been avoided. A jury found that the plaintiff’s own negligence contributed to his injury and judgment was entered in favor of the defendant.

CUMBERLAND SAMPSON

SCOTLAND

PITT

HYDE

CRAVEN JONES

PAMLICO

DUPLIN ONSLOW

ROBESON

BEAUFORT

CARTERET

BLADEN PENDER

...

COLUMBUS

NEW HANOVER

BRUNSWICK

...

...

Weldon Moore v. Richmen Enterprises LLC d/b/a Darth Vapor, Joyetech, USA Inc. and Midwest Goods Inc., 2020-CVS-3997, New Hanover County Superior Court (G. Frank Jones, J.) (Verdict Date: Mar. 22, 2023). A jury returned a plaintiff’s verdict of $1.63 million. The plaintiff suffered third-degree burns on his right leg after his vaping device blew up in his pocket while he was at a jobsite. Contributory negligence and other statutory defenses, including the sealed-container defense, were charged on the verdict form.

CONSERVATIVE

NORTH CAROLINA

LIBERAL MODERATE

33

USLAW NETWORK

DIVIDE

ND

STATE JUDICIAL PROFILE BY COUNTY

BURKE

BOTTINEAU

ROLETTE

RENVILLE

CAVALIER

TOWNER

PEMBINA

WILLIAMS

WALSH MOUNTRAIL

PIERCE

MCHENRY

WARD

RAMSEY BENSON NELSON

MCKENZIE

MCLEAN

DUNN

EDDY SHERIDAN

WELLS FOSTER

MERCER

BILLINGS

GRIGGS

BURLEIGH STARK

TRAILL

KIDDER

STUTSMAN

BARNES

LOGAN

HETTINGER

ADAMS

CASS

MORTON

GRANT

BOWMAN

STEELE

OLIVER

GOLDEN VALLEY

SLOPE

GRAND FORKS

LA MOURE

RANSOM

EMMONS

RICHLAND MCINTOSH

SIOUX

DICKEY

SARGENT

CONSERVATIVE

NORTH DAKOTA

LIBERAL MODERATE

34

. . . .. .

While Trumbull County is typically more moderate-toconservative, a recent $28.7 million verdict for parents of a newborn who was diagnosed with cerebral palsy due to the negligence of a hospital demonstrates that sensitive issues can command high verdicts in any kind of jurisdiction.

LAKE

LUCAS

FULTON

WILLIAMS

OTTAWA ERIE

SANDUSKY

WOOD

HENRY

LORAIN

HURON

SENECA

PAULDING

PUTNAM

WYANDOT

ASHLAND

CRAWFORD RICHLAND

...

ALLEN

HARDIN

AUGLAIZE

MERCER

MARION

SHELBY

UNION

DARKE

WAYNE

SUMMIT

PORTAGE

STARK

KNOX

MAHONING

COLUMBIANA

TUSCARAWAS

JEFFERSON

HARRISON

COSHOCTON

DELAWARE

TRUMBULL

CARROLL

HOLMES

MORROW

LOGAN

CHAMPAIGN LICKING

MIAMI

GUERNSEY

BELMONT

...

MADISON

MONTGOMERY

FAIRFIELD

CLINTON

HOCKING

ROSS

VINTON

HIGHLAND

...

CLERMONT

WASHINGTON

ATHENS

....

HAMILTON

MONROE

MORGAN

...

FAYETTE WARREN

NOBLE

PERRY

PICKAWAY

GREENE BUTLER

MUSKINGUM

FRANKLIN

CLARK

PREBLE

MEDINA

HANCOCK

VAN WERT

GEAUGA

CUYAHOGA

ASHTABULA

..

A recent verdict of $34 million in a personal injury case was surprising for a venue that has been considered to be conservative.

DEFIANCE

OH

STATE JUDICIAL PROFILE BY COUNTY

.. . . . . .

USLAW NETWORK

MEIGS

PIKE

JACKSON

...

BROWN

ADAMS

SCIOTO

GALLIA

LAWRENCE

...

CONSERVATIVE LIBERAL MODERATE

A recent $27.8 million negligence verdict highlights a trend of plaintiff-friendly verdicts, rendering Hamilton County more of a liberal venue than in previous years.

A $21.5 million verdict in a domestic abuse case solidifies Franklin County as a liberal venue in Ohio.

35

OHIO

OK

STATE JUDICIAL PROFILE BY COUNTY

Recent $5 million verdict in a medical negligence action alleging damage to tissue during a surgery and a failed attempt to repair without informed consent ultimately resulting in an above the knee amputation. The Jury awarded $3 million in actual damages and $2 million in punitive damages

. . ... . ......

USLAW NETWORK

Recent $5 million verdict against a tractor manufacturer in which the operator was killed when the tractor tipped and rolled over. The Jury awarded $3 million in actual damages and $2 million in punitive damages.

WASHINGTON

DEWEY

ROGER MILLS

BECKHAM

GREER

HARMON

JACKSON

CUSTER

NOBLE

GARFIELD

MAJOR

OTTAWA

CADDO

GRADY

COMANCHE

LINCOLN

OKLAHOMA

OKMULGEE

ADAIR

MUSKOGEE SEQUOYAH

MACINTOSH

POTTAWATOMIE

HASKELL

SEMINOLE HUGHES

MCCLAIN

COTTON

WAGONER CHEROKEE

OKFUSKEE

CLEVELAND

STEPHENS

MAYES DELAWARE

TULSA

CREEK

LOGAN

CANADIAN

TILLMAN

ROGERS

PAWNEE

PAYNE

BLAINE KINGFISHER

WASHITA

KIOWA

CRAIG

NOWATA

KAY

OSAGE

...

ELLIS

GRANT

...

WOODWARD

Two recent verdicts against a large retail discount chain. A slip and fall on ice in the parking ­lot resulted in an $850,000 verdict. An unrelated dram shop fatality case resulted in an $11.9 million verdict, including $5.7 million in punitive damages for selling beer to a minor for off­premises consumption.

ALFALFA

WOODS

...

HARPER

...

TEXAS

BEAVER

...

CIMARRON

PITTSBURG

LATIMER

LE FLORE

PONTOTOC

GARVIN

COAL MURRAY CARTER

JOHNSTON

ATOKA

PUSHMATAHA MCCURTAIN

JEFFERSON LOVE

CHOCTAW

MARSHALL BRYAN

CONSERVATIVE

OKLAHOMA

LIBERAL MODERATE

36

USLAW NETWORK

OR

STATE JUDICIAL PROFILE BY COUNTY

COLUMBIA

...

CLATSOP

...

...

In Multnomah County, on January 27, 2017, a $10.5 Million jury award for pain and suffering to a man whose leg was severed by a garbage truck was reduced to $500,000 under a 2016 Oregon Supreme Court decision which allowed the existing statutory cap on non-economic damages to be constitutionally applied to all cases.

In two Multnomah County verdicts jurors rejected claims of alternate responsibility. On May 11, 2017, after an eight-day trial, jurors awarded a woman’s estate zero dollars in a wrongful death lawsuit against a psychiatrist blamed for not warning others about potential suicide. On Feb. 27, 2017, after a five-day trial, jurors determined that a social host was not liable when a drunk guest shot another guest at a party.

In December 2016 the Oregon Supreme Court rejected the “impact rule” which had required actual physical impact before witness to an injury to another could recover in tort recovery. The Court substituted a rule allowing bystander recovery if there was (1) a sudden serious physical injury to a close family member, (2) contemporaneously observed, which (3) caused the bystander “serious” emotional distress.

TILLAMOOK

WASHINGTON

UMATILLA

HOOD RIVER GILLIAM

CLACKAMAS

UNION

WASCO

MARION WHEELER

BAKER

JEFFERSON LINCOLN

WALLOWA

MORROW

SHERMAN

YAMHILL

POLK

MULTNOMAH

LINN

BENTON

GRANT

CROOK

LANE

DESCHUTES

DOUGLAS

MALHEUR

COOS

HARNEY LAKE KLAMATH JACKSON

CURRY JOSEPHINE

CONSERVATIVE

OREGON

LIBERAL MODERATE

37

USLAW NETWORK

PA

STATE JUDICIAL PROFILE BY COUNTY

Effective April 1, 2019, the Pennsylvania Rules of Civil Procedure permit Unknown Defendant/John Doe pleading. The pleading requirements are set forth in Rule 2005, and the actual name of the party must be substituted within 20 days of identification. Due diligence in identifying the actual name is required.

In Spencer v. Johnson, 2021 WL 1035175 (Pa. Super. 2021), the Pennsylvania Superior Court limited the Faire Share Act (42 Pa.C.S. §7102) to lawsuits where the plaintiff’s negligence is at issue. The Fair Share Act was enacted to change joint and several liability so a defendant is only responsible to pay the part of a judgment equal to the percentage of liability assigned by the jury. If it stands (it is expected that the decision will be appealed to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court), Spencer will materially change the trial strategy pursued in personal injury litigation involving multiple parties.

In Sullivan v. Werner Co., 2023 Pa.LEXIS 1717 (Pa. 2023), the Pennsylvania Supreme Court held that a manufacturer’s compliance with governmental regulations or industry standards is inadmissible in design defect cases to show a product is not defective under the risk-utility theory. The Court did not determine whether such evidence is admissible where the plaintiff proceeds under the consumer expectations theory.

ERIE WARREN

MCKEAN

SUSQUEHANNA

BRADFORD

TIOGA

POTTER

WAYNE

CRAWFORD FOREST

CAMERON

ELK

VENANGO

WYOMING

SULLIVAN

LACKAWANNA

LYCOMING

PIKE

MERCER CLINTON

CLARION

LUZERNE

JEFFERSON UNION

CENTRE

BUTLER

MONTOUR CARBON

ARMSTRONG BEAVER

MONROE

COLUMBIA CLEARFIELD

LAWRENCE

SNYDER

NORTHUMBERLAND

MIFFLIN

INDIANA

NORTHAMPTON

SCHUYLKILL

JUNIATA

LEHIGH

CAMBRIA ALLEGHENY

BLAIR

PERRY

DAUPHIN

BERKS LEBANON BUCKS

HUNTINGDON

WESTMORELAND WASHINGTON

MONTGOMERY

CUMBERLAND LANCASTER FAYETTE

GREENE

SOMERSET

CHESTER

BEDFORD FULTON

FRANKLIN

ADAMS

YORK

PHILADELPHIA DELAWARE

CONSERVATIVE

PENNSYLVANIA

LIBERAL MODERATE

38

USLAW NETWORK

RI

STATE JUDICIAL PROFILE BY COUNTY

PROVIDENCE

BRISTOL KENT

NEWPORT WASHINGTON

CONSERVATIVE

RHODE ISLAND

LIBERAL MODERATE

39

USLAW NETWORK

SC

STATE JUDICIAL PROFILE BY COUNTY

CHEROKEE

GREENVILLE

YORK

SPARTANBURG

PICKENS

The South Carolina Court of Appeals addressed the sufficiency of evidence in constructive notice cases. Specifically, the Court held that a premises owner had constructive notice of a syringe in the parking lot even though there was no direct evidence of the exact length of time. Additionally, the opinion provides that testimony of how long the syringe had been in the parking lot because of its “weathered” appearance was not speculative, but instead was a reasonable inference. Overall, the case provides that a defendant will have constructive notice of a dangerous or defective condition whenever it appears that the condition has existed for such a length of time before the injury, based on reasonable inferences drawn from the evidence. To this point, the law has been that some evidence of timing must be shown in constructive notice cases. Although the Court of Appeals has not changed that principle, the sufficiency of evidence to establish it may now be a lower bar to overcome.

OCONEE LANCASTER

CHESTER

UNION

CHESTERFIELD MARLBORO

ANDERSON LAURENS FAIRFIELD

KERSHAW

DILLON

DARLINGTON

NEWBERRY ABBEVILLE

LEE GREENWOOD

FLORENCE

SALUDA

RICHLAND

LEXINGTON

MCCORMICK

MARION HORRY

SUMTER

EDGEFIELD CALHOUN

CLARENDON WILLIAMSBURG

AIKEN

GEORGETOWN

ORANGEBURG ORANGEBURG BARNWELL BAMBERG DORCHESTER

BERKELEY CHARLESTON

ALLENDALE

COLLETON HAMPTON

CHARLESTON

BEAUFORT JASPER

BEAUFORT

CONSERVATIVE

SOUTH CAROLINA

LIBERAL MODERATE

40

USLAW NETWORK

SD

STATE JUDICIAL PROFILE BY COUNTY

CAMPBELL

CORSON

MARSHALL

MCPHERSON

ROBERTS

BROWN

PERKINS

HARDING

WALWORTH

EDMUNDS

POTTER

FAULK

DAY

DEWEY BUTTE

GRANT SPINK CODINGTON

ZIEBACH

CLARK DEUEL HAMLIN

SULLY HYDE

MEADE STANLEY

LAWRENCE

HAND

HUGHES

BEADLE

BUFFALO PENNINGTON

JONES

BRULE

AURORA DAVISON

MELLETTE

DOUGLAS

SHANNON FALL RIVER

SANBORN

BENNETT

MOODY

LAKE

MINER

LYMAN

JACKSON

CUSTER

JERAULD

BROOKINGS

KINGSBURY

HAAKON

TRIPP

TODD

GREGORY

HANSON

HUTCHINSON

CHARLES MIX BON HOMME

MINNEHAHA

MCCOOK

TURNER

LINCOLN

YANKTON CLAY

UNION

CONSERVATIVE

SOUTH DAKOTA

LIBERAL MODERATE

41

USLAW NETWORK

TN

STATE JUDICIAL PROFILE BY COUNTY

The Supreme Court of Tennessee upheld the statutory cap on non-economic damages, holding that the cap did not violate the Tennessee Constitution on several grounds. The Supreme Court of Tennessee also clarified the applicability of two statutory laws as issues of first impression. First, the Court held that the statutory rebuttable presumption of acceptance of coverage by payment of premium in an insurance contract applies to actions against insurance agents for claims of negligent failure to procure a policy.

Second, the Court held that a health care provider is subject to the Tennessee Consumer Protection Act when it acts in its business capacity rather than its professional capacity.

LAKE

STEWART

OBION WEAKLEY

HENRY

BENTON

DYER

GIBSON

MONTGOMERY

ROBERTSON

CHEATHAM

HOUSTON

SHELBY

HENDERSON

CHESTER

FAYETTE

PUTNAM

WILSON

HARDEMAN MCNAIRY

MORGAN

WARREN LEWIS

DECATUR

MAURY

ANDERSON

BEDFORD

COFFEE

MARSHALL HARDIN

LOUDON

WAYNE

LAWRENCE

BLEDSOE RHEA MEIGS

GRUNDY

MCMINN

SULLIVAN JOHNSON

HAWKINS

JEFFERSON

ROANE

VAN BUREN PERRY

HANCOCK

KNOX

WHITE

RUTHERFORD CANNON

CLAIBORNE

UNION GRAINGER HAMBLEN

DE KALB WILLIAMSON

TIPTON

CAMPBELL

CUMBERLAND

HICKMAN

MADISON

JACKSON

SCOTT

OVERTON FENTRESS

SMITH DAVIDSON

DICKSON

CARROLL

LAUDERDALE

PICKETT

CLAY

MACON TROUSDALE

HUMPHREYS

CROCKETT

HAYWOOD

SUMNER

WASHINGTON GREENE

CARTER

UNICOI

COCKE SEVIER

BLOUNT

MONROE

SEQUATCHIE

MOORE

GILES LINCOLN

FRANKLIN

MARION

HAMILTON

BRADLEY

POLK

CONSERVATIVE

TENNESSEE

LIBERAL MODERATE

42

TX

STATE JUDICIAL PROFILE BY COUNTY

July 2023 – A Dallas County jury awarded $7 billion to the family of an elderly woman who was stabbed to death by an off-duty cable installer. The award was later reduced to $1.15 billion by the judge.

SHERMAN HANSFORD OCHILTREE LIPSCOMB

. . .. ...

DALLAM

HEMPHILL

GRAY

WHEELER

HALL

CHILDRESS

PARMER

CASTRO

SWISHER

BRISCOE

BAILEY

LAMB

HALE

FLOYD

MOTLEY

COTTLE

CROSBY

DICKENS

KING

HARDEMAN

HUDSPETH

REEVES

TERRY

LYNN

GAINES

DAWSON

ANDREWS

WINKLER WARD

CULBERSON

ECTOR

CRANE

MARTIN

GARZA

BORDEN

KENT

SCURRY

UPTON

KNOX

STONEWALL

HASKELL

BAYLOR

BREWSTER

COOKE

GRAYSON

FANNIN

COLLIN

JACK

THROCKMORTON YOUNG

WISE

HUNT

DENTON

ROCKWALL

PALO PINTO PARKER TARRANT SHACKLEFORD JONES STEPHENS

FISHER

HOWARD

MITCHELL

TAYLOR CALLAHAN EASTLAND

NOLAN

COKE

RUNNELS

ERATH SOMERVELL

BOSQUE

TOM GREEN CONCHO

ELLIS

CROCKETT

MASON SUTTON

KIMBLE GILLESPIE

VAL VERDE

BURNET

LLANO

KERR

COMAL

BANDERA

LEON

TRINITY

MILAM

BRAZOS

WASHINGTON WALLERMONTGOMERY AUSTIN

FAYETTE

GUADALUPE GONZALES

FRIO

ATASCOSA

DIMMIT

LA SALLE MCMULLEN LIVE OAK

WEBB

DUVAL

JIM WELLS

BEE

NUECES

...

MODERATE

...

LIBERAL

43

BROOKS KENEDY

...

CONSERVATIVE

The Rio Grande Valley and Gulf Coast areas of Texas continue to live up to their reputation as the best place to be for plaintiffs bringing personal injury lawsuits in Texas. Juries in these areas, for whatever reason, tend to empathize more with injured parties and award plaintiffs large judgments.

JIM HOGG

STARR

WILLACY

HIDALGO

CAMERON

VICTORIA CALHOUN

REFUGIO

SAN PATRICIO

KLEBERG

ZAPATA

GALVESTON

BRAZORIA JACKSON

GOLIAD

ORANGE

JEFFERSON CHAMBERS

FORT BEND

WHARTON DE WITT

KARNES

LIBERTY

ARANSAS

MATAGORDA

...

ZAVALA MAVERICK

HARRIS

LAVACA

BEXAR

TYLER

SAN JACINTO HARDIN

LEE BASTROP

CALDWELL

POLK

WALKER GRIMES

BURLESON

WILSON

NEWTON JASPER

...

KINNEY

MEDINA

SAN AUGUSTINE SABINE ANGELINA

MADISON

COLORADO UVALDE

HOUSTON

ROBERTSON

WILLIAMSON

HAYS

SHELBY NACOGDOCHES

...

REAL

PANOLA RUSK

ANDERSON CHEROKEE FREESTONE

FALLS

TRAVIS

BLANCO

KENDALL

EDWARDS

HARRISON GREGG

MCLENNAN LIMESTONE

LAMPASAS

MENARD

UPSHUR

VAN ZANDT

CASS MARION

HENDERSON

HILL

BELL SCHLEICHER

WOOD

SMITH

CORYELL MCCULLOCHSAN SABA

BOWIE

HOPKINS FRANKLIN MORRIS CAMP

RAINS

KAUFMAN

COLEMAN MILLS

IRION

RED RIVER

TITUS

DALLAS

JOHNSON

HAMILTON

REAGAN

LAMAR

DELTA

NAVARRO

COMANCHE BROWN

TERRELL

PRESIDIO

MONTAGUE

ARCHER

HOOD

MIDLAND GLASSCOCK STERLING

PECOS

JEFF DAVIS

WILBARGER WICHITA

..

YOAKUM

..

LOVING

EL PASO

FOARD

CLAY

COCHRAN HOCKLEY LUBBOCK

... .. . .

March 2022 – A Reagan County (west Texas) jury awarded $120M to the wife and four children of a man killed in a motor vehicle accident.

December 2021 – A Titus County (east Texas) jury awarded $730 million to the family of an elderly (73 years old) woman killed in a trucking accident.

April 2023 – A Dallas County jury awarded $860M to the family of a woman who was killed when a crane collapsed and fell into her apartment.

RANDALL ARMSTRONG DONLEY COLLINGSWORTH

DEAF SMITH

...

CARSON

POTTER

OLDHAM

December 2023 – A Dallas County jury awarded $105M to family of man killed in a trucking accident involving an Amazon subcontractor.

...

MOORE HUTCHINSON ROBERTS

HARTLEY

...

USLAW NETWORK

October 2021 – A Harris County jury awarded $352M to the family of a man who was struck by the driver of an aviation fuel truck on the tarmac of George Bush Intercontinental Airport, leaving him paralyzed.

July 2023 – A Harris County (Houston) jury awards $209M to the family of a man who contracted the Hantavirus, a virus transmitted by rodents, on the job.

TEXAS

USLAW NETWORK

UT

STATE JUDICIAL PROFILE BY COUNTY

CACHE RICH

BOX ELDER

WEBER MORGAN DAVIS

DAGGETT SUMMIT

SALT LAKE TOOELE

WASATCH

DUCHESNE UINTAH

UTAH

JUAB

CARBON SANPETE

MILLARD EMERY

GRAND

SEVIER

BEAVER

PIUTE

IRON

WAYNE

GARFIELD

SAN JUAN

WASHINGTON

KANE

CONSERVATIVE

UTAH

LIBERAL MODERATE

44

USLAW NETWORK

VT

STATE JUDICIAL PROFILE BY COUNTY

FRANKLIN

GRAND ISLE

ORLEANS ESSEX

LAMOILLE

CHITTENDEN

CALEDONIA

WASHINGTON

ORANGE

ADDISON

RUTLAND

BENNINGTON

WINDSOR

WINDHAM

CONSERVATIVE

VERMONT

LIBERAL MODERATE

45

VA

STATE JUDICIAL PROFILE BY COUNTY

A jury awarded a $2,550,000 verdict for a patient who claimed a spinal surgeon inserted instruments too deeply during surgery causing lacerated blood vessels.

This case is notable in that it perhaps indicates that the conservative Stafford County is becoming more liberal.

. .... ..

USLAW NETWORK

.... . . . .

...

LOUDOUN

SHENANDOAH

CULPEPER MADISON

STAFFORD

HIGHLAND

KING GEORGE

GREENE

ORANGE SPOTSYLVANIA

ALBEMARLE

ROCKBRIDGE

BUCKINGHAM

CRAIG

AMHERST

GILES

BUCHANAN DICKENSON WISE

TAZEWELL

SCOTT

RUSSELL

WASHINGTON

MONTGOMERY PULASKI

CAMPBELL

FLOYD

WYTHE CARROLL

PATRICK

AMELIA

PRINCE EDWARD

NOTTOWAY

HALIFAX

NORTHUMBERLAND

LANCASTER

ACCOMACK MIDDLESEX

NEW KENT CHARLES CITY

PRINCE GEORGE

DINWIDDIE

BRUNSWICK

MECKLENBURG

HENRY

RICHMOND ESSEX

KING WILLIAM KING AND QUEEN

HENRICO

CHESTERFIELD

GLOUCESTER

MATHEWS

JAMES CITY

SURRY

ISLE OF WIGHT

SOUTHAMPTON

SUFFOLK CHESAPEAKE

GREENSVILLE

NORTHAMPTON

YORK NEWPORT NEWS HAMPTON

SUSSEX

LUNENBURG

PITTSYLVANIA

GRAYSON

HANOVER

GOOCHLAND

CHARLOTTE

FRANKLIN SMYTH

LEE

BLAND

ROANOKE

LOUISA

POWHATAN CUMBERLAND

APPOMATTOX

BEDFORD

CAROLINE

FLUVANNA

NELSON

WESTMORELAND

...

AUGUSTA

BATH

ARLINGTON

FAIRFAX FAUQUIER RAPPAHANNOCK PRINCE WILLIAM

...

PAGE

ROCKINGHAM

BOTETOURT

.

FREDERICK CLARKE WARREN

ALLEGHANY

A jury handed down a Defense verdict in a medical malpractice failure to diagnose and treat case. Notable in that Richmond is usually a plaintifffriendly forum.

..

In Fairfax County, an unusually plaintiff-friendly jury awarded a $12M verdict to the family of a woman who died from a rare presentation of deepvein thrombosis after undergoing a surgical procedure.

VIRGINIA BEACH

CONSERVATIVE

VIRGINIA

LIBERAL MODERATE

46

USLAW NETWORK

WA

STATE JUDICIAL PROFILE BY COUNTY

...

In a case filed in King County, the Supreme Court of Washington held for the first time that punitive damages are available for general maritime unseaworthiness claims. This case is a landmark victory for fishermen, fish processors, deckhands, and seaman.

WHATCOM

SAN JUAN

OKANOGAN

PEND OREILLE

FERRY

...

SKAGIT

STEVENS

ISLAND

...

SNOHOMISH

CLALLAM

JEFFERSON KITSAP

CHELAN

DOUGLAS LINCOLN

KING

SPOKANE

MASON GRAYS HARBOR

KITTITAS GRANT

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LEWIS

...

PACIFIC

ADAMS

PIERCE

THURSTON

FRANKLIN

YAKIMA

WAHKIAKUM COWLITZ

BENTON

WALLA WALLA

WHITMAN

GARFIELD COLUMBIA

ASOTIN

SKAMANIA

...

KLICKITAT

CLARK

CONSERVATIVE LIBERAL

In April 2017, a Washington jury awarded $81.5 million in a wrongful death mesothelioma case. Trial was held in Pierce County and included allegations of exposure to friction products and asbestos cement pipe. The $81.5 million verdict is among the largest verdicts ever awarded in Washington and highlights the power of sensitive emotional facts in Pierce County.

MODERATE

47

WASHINGTON

USLAW NETWORK

WV

STATE JUDICIAL PROFILE BY COUNTY

Tri-County Towing, LLC v. City of Lewisburg, No. 21-0920 (Appeal from the Circuit Court of Greenbrier County) In reviewing the appropriateness of the Circuit Court’s dismissal, the WVSCA needed to analyze the provisions of Tri-County’s complaint, but the complaint was not included in the appellate appendix record—only the Circuit Court’s order was included for review. Accepting as “non[-]existing all facts that do not appear in the [appendix] record” and not presuming error that was not evident from the record, the WVSCA affirmed the Circuit Court’s dismissal of TriCounty’s complaint.

HANCOCK

Ransom v. Guardian Rehab. Servs., Inc., No. 22-0094 (Appeal from the Circuit Court of Marion County) In analyzing The Business Liability Protection Act, located at West Virginia Code § 61-7-14(d)(3) (2018), in the context of an employee fired for having a gun in plain view in his vehicle at work in violation of company policy, the WVSCA held that no employer may condition employment on an agreement with an employee or a prospective employee prohibiting him/ her from keeping a legal firearm locked inside, or locked to, a motor vehicle in the company’s parking lot when the firearm was maintained for lawful purposes.

BROOKE

OHIO

MARSHALL MONONGALIA

WETZEL

PLEASANTS

RITCHIE

PRESTON

WIRT

TUCKER

ROANE

JEFFERSON

GRANT HARDY

LEWIS CALHOUN

MASON

HAMPSHIRE

DODDRIDGE BARBOUR

JACKSON

BERKELEY MINERAL

TAYLOR

HARRISON WOOD

MORGAN

MARION

TYLER

GILMER UPSHUR

RANDOLPH

BRAXTON

PUTNAM

PENDLETON WEBSTER

CABELL

CLAY KANAWHA NICHOLAS

WAYNE

POCAHONTAS

LINCOLN BOONE

FAYETTE GREENBRIER

LOGAN RALEIGH

MINGO WYOMING

MCDOWELL

SUMMERS

MONROE

MERCER

CONSERVATIVE

WEST VIRGINIA

LIBERAL MODERATE

48

USLAW NETWORK

WI

STATE JUDICIAL PROFILE BY COUNTY

Milwaukee County has returned two multi-million-dollar asbestos verdicts in recent years. In March 2022, a jury returned a $26.5 million verdict in a wrongful death on behalf of a Wisconsin grandfather who died from mesothelioma after being exposed to asbestos while working in the Bottle House at Pabst’s Milwaukee Brewery in the 1970s. The jury awarded $6.545 million in actual damages and $20 million in punitive damages. The case is currently in the appeals process.

In May 2023, a jury also awarded a $9.7 million verdict in a secondary exposure of asbestos case where the named plaintiff died in 2019 of mesothelioma. She was exposed as a child when her stepfather, who worked as a sheet-metal mechanic, unknowingly brought home asbestos fibers on his clothing after working with asbestos-containing products at various job sites in the Milwaukee area. The appeal was denied.

In February 2020, a Racine jury reached a $38.1 million verdict in a products liability case. The plaintiff suffered significant injuries when he was rear-ended while driving a 2013 Hyundai Elantra. Plaintiff argued a defect within the front seat headrest and seatback caused the injuries, and absent the defect, the plaintiff would have walked away from the accident. The Court of Appeals affirmed the decision and the Wisconsin Supreme Court denied petition to review case.

BAYFIELD

DOUGLAS

ASHLAND

IRON VILAS

BURNETT

WASHBURN

SAWYER

FLORENCE ONEIDA

PRICE

FOREST POLK

BARRON

RUSK

MARINETTE LINCOLN

LANGLADE

TAYLOR ST. CROIX

DUNN

CHIPPEWA

MENOMINEE

OCONTO

DOOR

MARATHON PIERCE PEPIN

SHAWANO

CLARK

EAU CLAIRE

KEWAUNEE BUFFALO

PORTAGE

WOOD TREMPEALEAU

WAUPACA

OUTAGAMIE

BROWN

JACKSON MANITOWOC

WAUSHARA LA CROSSE

MONROE

JUNEAU

WINNEBAGO CALUMET

ADAMS MARQUETTE GREEN LAKE

FOND DU LAC

SHEBOYGAN

VERNON RICHLAND

COLUMBIA

SAUK

OZAUKEE

DODGE

WASHINGTON

CRAWFORD

CONSERVATIVE LIBERAL MODERATE

...

LAFAYETTE

...

GRANT

DANE

GREEN

JEFFERSON WAUKESHA

ROCK

WALWORTH

Typically a conservative venue; however, in January 2008 a jury returned a $35,314,585 verdict against Waukesha Memorial Hospital in a medical malpractice action involving allegations that a nurse at Waukesha Memorial introduced air into an IV line during a blood transfusion to a 2-week old, premature infant and that the air then travelled to the infant’s brain causing permanent brain damage. This verdict is particularly notable because although Waukesha County is typically conservative, this is the largest medical malpractice verdict obtained in the state of Wisconsin to date. The parties ultimately settled after trial but Waukesha Memorial was still on the hook for $27 million.

49

...

IOWA

MILWAUKEE

RACINE

KENOSHA

WISCONSIN

USLAW NETWORK

WY

STATE JUDICIAL PROFILE BY COUNTY

In March 2019, the Wyoming Legislature created a Chancery Court in Wyoming. See Wyo. Stat. § 5-13-101 et seq. Its purpose is to provide a forum for streamlined resolution of commercial, business, trust and similar issues. Its jurisdiction will be over actions seeking declaratory or injunctive relief and actions seeking money recovery over $50,000.00 that arise from claims including breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty, fraud, derivative actions, the Uniform Commercial Code, and the Uniform Trust Code. While the Chancery Court is still in the process of being established, it will significantly change Wyoming’s legal landscape going forward.

SHERIDAN CROOK

BIG HORN

PARK

CAMPBELL JOHNSON WASHAKIE

TETON

WESTON

HOT SPRINGS

FREMONT

NATRONA

CONVERSE

NIOBRARA

SUBLETTE

...

...

PLATTE

LINCOLN

...

SWEETWATER

GOSHEN

CARBON

ALBANY

LARAMIE

UINTA

A Wyoming district court case resulted in a verdict for $2.2 million in a wrongful death case. The case involved traffic control put in place through a construction zone. The decedent was riding a motorcycle when he was struck by another vehicle. It was alleged that the other driver was confused by the traffic control and turned in front of the decedent. The jury apportioned fault between the construction company, traffic control company, and the encroaching driver with the majority of fault being apportioned to the construction company and traffic control company. The verdict amount was more than the amount plaintiffs’ counsel asked for in his closing, and it seems to represent an emerging trend in Wyoming for larger jury verdicts in traditionally moderate and conservative counties.

CONSERVATIVE

WYOMING

LIBERAL MODERATE

50

2024 USLAW NETWORK

MEMBERS

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ALABAMA | BIRMINGHAM Carr Allison Charles F. Carr............................ (251) 626-9340 ccarr@carrallison.com

MASSACHUSETTS | BOSTON Rubin and Rudman LLP John J. McGivney........................ (617) 330-7000 jmcgivney@rubinrudman.com

TEXAS | HOUSTON MehaffyWeber Barbara J. Barron........................ (713) 655-1200 BarbaraBarron@mehaffyweber.com

ESTONIA LEXTAL Urmas Ustav............................... +372 50 48 341 urmas.ustav@lextal.ee

ARIZONA | PHOENIX Jones, Skelton & Hochuli, P.L.C. Phillip H. Stanfield..................... (602) 263-1745 pstanfield@jshfirm.com

MINNESOTA | ST. PAUL Larson • King, LLP Mark A. Solheim......................... (651) 312-6503 msolheim@larsonking.com

UTAH | SALT LAKE CITY Strong & Hanni, PC Kristin A. VanOrman.................. (801) 323-2020 kvanorman@strongandhanni.com

FINLAND Lexia Attorneys Ltd. Markus Myhrberg.................... +358 10 4244200 markus.myhrberg@lexia.fi

ARKANSAS | LITTLE ROCK Quattlebaum, Grooms & Tull PLLC John E. Tull, III............................ (501) 379-1705 jtull@qgtlaw.com

MISSISSIPPI | SOUTHERN MISSISSIPPI Carr Allison Nicole M. Harlan........................ (228) 678-1009 nharlan@carrallison.com

VIRGINIA | RICHMOND Moran Reeves & Conn PC C. Dewayne Lonas...................... (804) 864-4820 dlonas@moranreevesconn.com

FRANCE Delsol Avocats Emmanuel Kaeppelin.........+33(0)4 72 10 20 30 ekaeppelin@delsolavocats.com

CALIFORNIA | LOS ANGELES Murchison & Cumming LLP Dan L. Longo............................... (714) 953-2244 dlongo@murchisonlaw.com

MISSISSIPPI | RIDGELAND Copeland, Cook, Taylor & Bush, P.A. James R. Moore, Jr...................... (601) 427-1301 jmoore@cctb.com

WASHINGTON | SEATTLE Williams Kastner Rodney L. Umberger.................. (206) 628-2421 rumberger@williamskastner.com

GERMANY Buse Jasper Hagenberg..................... +49 30 327942 0 hagenberg@buse.de

CALIFORNIA | SAN DIEGO Klinedinst PC John D. Klinedinst...................... (619) 239-8131 jklinedinst@klinedinstlaw.com

MISSOURI | ST. LOUIS Lashly & Baer, P.C. Stephen L. Beimdiek.................. (314) 436-8303 sbeim@lashlybaer.com

WEST VIRGINIA | CHARLESTON Flaherty Sensabaugh Bonasso PLLC Peter T. DeMasters..................... (304) 225-3058 pdemasters@flahertylegal.com

CALIFORNIA | SAN FRANCISCO Hanson Bridgett LLP Merton A. Howard...................... (415) 995-5033 mhoward@hansonbridgett.com

MONTANA | GREAT FALLS Davis, Hatley, Haffeman & Tighe, P.C. Maxon R. Davis........................... (406) 761-5243 max.davis@dhhtlaw.com

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CALIFORNIA | SANTA BARBARA Snyder Burnett Egerer, LLP Sean R. Burnett........................... (805) 683-7758 sburnett@sbelaw.com

NEBRASKA | OMAHA Baird Holm LLP Jennifer D. Tricker...................... (402) 636-8348 jtricker@bairdholm.com

WYOMING | CASPER Williams, Porter, Day and Neville PC Scott E. Ortiz............................... (307) 265-0700 sortiz@wpdn.net

CALIFORNIA | ROSEVILLE Coleman, Chavez & Associates, LLP

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USLAW International

– FOR WORKERS’ COMPENSATION ONLY Richard Chavez.......................... (916) 787-2300 rchavez@cca-law.com COLORADO | DENVER Lewis Roca Jessica L. Fuller........................... (303) 628-9527 Jfuller@lewisroca.com CONNECTICUT | HARTFORD Hinckley Allen Noble F. Allen............................. (860) 725-6237 nallen@hinckleyallen.com DELAWARE | WILMINGTON Cooch and Taylor P.A. C. Scott Reese.............................. (302) 984-3811 sreese@coochtaylor.com FLORIDA | CENTRAL FLORIDA Wicker Smith Richards H. Ford......................... (407) 843-3939 rford@wickersmith.com FLORIDA | SOUTH FLORIDA Wicker Smith Nicholas E. Christin.................... (305) 448-3939 nchristin@wickersmith.com FLORIDA | NORTHWEST FLORIDA Carr Allison Christopher Barkas..................... (850) 222-2107 cbarkas@carrallison.com GEORGIA | ATLANTA Bovis Kyle Burch & Medlin LLC Kim M. Jackson........................... (678) 338-3975 kjackson@boviskyle.com HAWAII | HONOLULU Goodsill Anderson Quinn & Stifel LLP Edmund K. Saffery...................... (808) 547-5736 esaffery@goodsill.com

NEW JERSEY | ROSELAND Connell Foley LLP Kevin R. Gardner........................ (973) 840-2415 kgardner@connellfoley.com NEW MEXICO | ALBUQUERQUE Modrall Sperling Jennifer G. Anderson.................. (505) 848-1809 Jennifer.Anderson@modrall.com NEW YORK | UNIONDALE Rivkin Radler LLP David S. Wilck............................. (516) 357-3347 David.Wilck@rivkin.com NORTH CAROLINA | RALEIGH Poyner Spruill LLP Deborah E. Sperati..................... (252) 972-7095 dsperati@poynerspruill.com OHIO | CLEVELAND Roetzel & Andress Bradley A. Wright........................ (330) 849-6629 bwright@ralaw.com OKLAHOMA | OKLAHOMA CITY Pierce Couch Hendrickson Baysinger & Green, L.L.P. Gerald P. Green........................... (405) 552-5271 jgreen@piercecouch.com

CHINA | SHANGHAI Duan&Duan George Wang.............................. 8621 6219 1103 george@duanduan.com MEXICO | MEXICO CITY EC Rubio René Mauricio Alva................ +52 55 5251 5023 ralva@ecrubio.com

AUSTRIA Oberhammer Rechtsanwälte GmbH Christian Pindeus........................ +43 1 5033000 c.pindeus@oberhammer.co.at

RHODE ISLAND | PROVIDENCE Adler Pollock & Sheehan P.C. Richard R. Beretta, Jr.................. (401) 427-6228 rberetta@apslaw.com

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SOUTH CAROLINA | COLUMBIA Sweeny, Wingate & Barrow, P.A. Mark S. Barrow........................... (803) 256-2233 msb@swblaw.com

MARYLAND | BALTIMORE Franklin & Prokopik, PC Albert B. Randall, Jr.................... (410) 230-3622 arandall@fandpnet.com

CANADA | QUEBEC | MONTREAL Therrien Couture Joli-Coeur Douglas W. Clarke...................... (450) 462-8555 douglas.clarke@groupetcj.ca

PENNSYLVANIA | PHILADELPHIA Sweeney & Sheehan, P.C. J. Michael Kunsch....................... (215) 963-2481 michael.kunsch@sweeneyfirm.com

ILLINOIS | CHICAGO AmundsenDavis LLC Lew R.C. Bricker.......................... (312) 894-3224 lbricker@amundsendavislaw.com

Dysart Taylor Michael Judy............................... (816) 714-3031 mjudy@dysarttaylor.com

CANADA | ONTARIO | OTTAWA Kelly Santini Lisa Langevin................. (613) 238-6321 ext 276 llangevin@kellysantini.com

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BRAZIL | SÃO PAULO Mundie e Advogados Rodolpho Protasio................. (55 11) 3040-2923 rofp@mundie.com

OREGON | PORTLAND Williams Kastner Thomas A. Ped............................ (503) 944-6988 tped@williamskastner.com

IDAHO | BOISE Duke Evett, PLLC Keely E. Duke.............................. (208) 342-3310 ked@dukeevett.com

KANSAS/WESTERN MISSOURI |

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SOUTH DAKOTA | PIERRE Riter Rogers, LLP Lindsey L. Riter-Rapp................. (605) 224-5825 l.riter-rapp@riterlaw.com TENNESSEE | MEMPHIS Martin, Tate, Morrow & Marston, P.C. Lee L. Piovarcy............................ (901) 522-9000 lpiovarcy@martintate.com TEXAS | DALLAS Fee, Smith & Sharp, L.L.P. Michael P. Sharp......................... (972) 980-3255 msharp@feesmith.com

BELGIUM Delsol Avocats Sébastien Popijn......................+33 1 53 70 69 69 spopijn@delsolavocats.com CYPRUS Demetrios A. Demetriades LLC Demetrios A. Demetriades...... +357 22 769 000 dadlaw@dadlaw.com.cy CZECH REPUBLIC Vyskocil, Kroslak & spol.

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GREECE Corina Fassouli-Grafanaki & Associates Law Firm Korina FassouliGrafanaki...........................(+30) 210-3628512 korina.grafanaki@lawofmf.gr HUNGARY Bihary Balassa & Partners Attorneys at Law Agnes Balassa............................. +36 1 391 44 91 agnes.balassa@biharybalassa.hu IRELAND Kane Tuohy Solicitors Hugh Kane..................(+353) 1 6722233 hkane@kanetuohy.ie ITALY RPLT RP legalitax Andrea Rescigno...................... +39 02 45381201 andrea.rescigno@rplt.it LATVIA RER Lextal Janis Esenvalds........................ +371 26 458 754 esenvalds@rer.legal LITHUANIA iLAW Lextal Lina SikSniute-Vaitiekuniene... +370 652 135 93 lina.vaitiekuniene@ilaw.legal LUXEMBOURG Tabery & Wauthier Véronique Wauthier...............(00352) 251 51 51 avocats@tabery.eu NETHERLANDS Dirkzwager Karen A. Verkerk...................... +31 26 365 55 57 Verkerk@dirkzwager.nl NORWAY Advokatfirmaet Sverdrup DA Tom Eivind Haug.......................... +47 90653609 haug@sverdruplaw.no POLAND GWW Aldona Leszczyńska-Mikulska........ +48 22 212 00 00 warszawa@gww.pl PORTUGAL Carvalho, Matias & Associados Antonio Alfaia de Carvalho.....(351) 21 8855440 acarvalho@cmasa.pt SLOVAKIA Alianciaadvokátov Gerta Sámelová Flassiková.... +421 2 57101313 flassikova@aliancia.sk SPAIN Adarve Abogados SLP Juan José García....................... +34 91 591 30 60 Juanjose.garcia@adarve.com SWEDEN Wesslau Söderqvist Advokatbyrå Max Bjorkbom........................... +46 8 407 88 00 max.bjorkbom@hsa.se SWITZERLAND Meyerlustenberger Lachenal Nadine von Büren-Maier........ +41 22 737 10 00 nadine.vonburen-maier@mll-legal.com

a bout

uslaw network 2001. The Start of Something Better.

Mega-firms...big, impersonal bastions of legal tradition, encumbered by bureaucracy and often slow to react. The need for an alternative was obvious. A vision of a network of smaller, regionally based, independent firms with the capability to respond quickly, efficiently and economically to client needs from Atlantic City to Pacific Grove was born. In its infancy, it was little more than a possibility, discussed around a small table and dreamed about by a handful of visionaries. But the idea proved too good to leave on the drawing board. Instead, with the support of some of the country’s brightest legal minds, USLAW NETWORK became a reality.

Fast forward to today.

The commitment remains the same as originally envisioned. To provide the highest quality legal representation and seamless cross-jurisdictional service to major corporations, insurance carriers, and to both large and small businesses alike, through a network of professional, innovative law firms dedicated to their client’s legal success. Now as a diverse network with more than 6,000 attorneys from more than 80 independent, full practice firms across the U.S., Canada, Latin America and Asia, and with affiliations with TELFA in Europe, USLAW NETWORK remains a responsive, agile legal alternative to the mega-firms.

Home Field Advantage.

USLAW NETWORK offers what it calls The Home Field Advantage which comes from knowing and understanding the venue in a way that allows a competitive advantage – a truism in both sports and business.

Jurisdictional awareness is a key ingredient to successfully operating throughout the United States and abroad. Knowing the local rules, the judge, and the local business and legal environment provides our firms’ clients this advantage. The strength and power of an international presence combined with the understanding of a respected local firm makes for a winning line-up.

A Legal Network for Purchasers of Legal Services.

USLAW NETWORK firms go way beyond providing quality legal services to their clients. Unlike other legal networks, USLAW is organized around client expectations, not around the member law firms. Clients receive ongoing educational opportunities, online resources, including webinars, jurisdictional updates, and resource libraries. We also

provide USLAW Magazine and numerous compendia of law. To ensure our goals are the same as the clients our member firms serve, our Client Leadership Council and Practice Group Client Advisors are directly involved in the development of our programs and services. This communication pipeline is vital to our success and allows us to better monitor and meet client needs and expectations.

USLAW in Europe.

Just as legal issues seldom follow state borders, they often extend beyond U.S. boundaries as well. In 2007, USLAW established a relationship with the TransEuropean Law Firms Alliance (TELFA), a network of more than 20 independent law firms representing more than 1,000 lawyers through Europe to further our service and reach.

How USLAW NETWORK Membership is Determined.

Firms are admitted to the NETWORK by invitation only and only after they are fully vetted through a rigorous review process.

Many firms have been reviewed over the years, but only a small percentage were eventually invited to join. The search for quality member firms is a continuous and ongoing effort. Firms admitted must possess broad commercial legal capabilities and have substantial litigation and trial experience. In addition, USLAW NETWORK members must subscribe to a high level of service standards and are continuously evaluated to ensure these standards of quality and expertise are met.

USLAW in Review.

• All vetted firms with demonstrated, robust practices and specialties • Organized around client expectations • Efficient use of legal budgets, providing maximum return on legal services investments • Seamless, cross-jurisdictional service • Responsive and flexible • Multitude of educational opportunities and online resources • Team approach to legal services The USLAW Success Story.

The reality of our success is simple: we succeed because our member firms’ clients succeed. Our member firms provide high-quality legal results through the efficient use of legal budgets. We provide cross-jurisdictional services eliminating the time and expense of securing adequate representation in different regions. We provide trusted and experienced specialists quickly.

When a difficult legal matter emerges – whether it’s in a single jurisdiction, nationwide or internationally – USLAW is there.

For more information, please contact Roger M. Yaffe, USLAW CEO, at (800) 231-9110 or roger@uslaw.org

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USLAW NETWORK, Inc. • 11555 Heron Bay Blvd., Suite 200 • Coral Springs, FL 33076 (800) 231-9110 • www.uslaw.org 01/24