I tell my clients this can happen, but they usually just do not believe me. Good cases do sometimes lose at trial. Look at what happened in Wei v. Southwest Research Institute No. 12-CV-00872 (W.D. Tex. 2015). Qiang Wei is from China. He speaks Chinese. It seems obvious that a Chinese person might speak Chinese,
Plaintiff Loses Spilled Hot Coffee Trial
The McDonald’s coffee cup case from New Mexico some 20 years ago is often cited by folks alleging lawsuit abuse. What those folks do not know is the coffee was kept at a very high temperature (above 160 degrees) despite many complaints, the lady suffered third degree burns on her inner thigh and the McDonald’s
Witness Indicted for Perjury
People lie in civil cases. They really do. Unlike what you see on TV, witnesses can usually lie in non-criminal cases and get away with it. Prosecutors just are not interested in going after folks who lie in a civil case. They have too many more serious cases to deal with. But, one woman in
Schlumberger Seeks to Overturn Jury Verdict
Schlumberger cannot accept its loss in a recent jury trial. The large oil field service company has asked U.S. District Judge Lamberth for a judgment notwithstanding the verdict. That is, it has asked the judge to toss the jury verdict saying the verdict lacked evidentiary support. See San Antonio Express News report (account required). The
Former Law Firm Associate Wins Less than Hoped for
In a high profile lawsuit, a young female lawyer sued her former employer, Faruqi and Faruqi, a large national law firm, for sex harassment. Alexandra Marchuk obviously hoped for more, but the jury only awarded her $140,000. The award included $90,000 in compensatory damages (i.e, emotional suffering), and $50,000 in punitive damages. See Above the
Jury Finds in Favor of Veteran and “Goldie”
The jury in Alonzo-Miranda v. Schlumberger Technology has returned a verdict. The jury found in favor of the veteran and awarded him $29,000 in total damages. That amount includes $5,386.50 in lost overtime wages and $23,205 in compensatory damages (emotional suffering type damages). The jury declined to award punitive damages. The jury deliberated for about
Jury Continues to Deliberate in Veteran’s Case
The jury in Iraq veteran Juan Alonzo-Miranda’s case deliberated all day Friday and still could not reach a verdict. At one point, they sent the judge a note saying they could not reach a unanimous agreement. Judge Lamberth, however, told them to continue deliberating. The two opposing lawyers agreed they would accept a 7-1 verdict.
Veteran’s Case Goes to Jury
The jury will decide whether Juan Alonzo-Miranda needed a dog at work to deal with his PTSD. The testimony wrapped up yesterday in the trial regarding his request for an accommodation. Schlumberger hired a psychiatrist to testify. Dr. Seth Silverman never examined Mr. Alonzo-Miranda. All he knows is what he learned by reading documents. But,
Schlumberger Tried to do All It Could to Accommodate
On the third day of Juan Alonzo-Miranda’s trial, he was cross-examined by the defense lawyer. The lawyer elicited testimony from the mechanic that when he was evacuated by ambulance to the VA hospital in May, 2012, the emergency room examination revealed problems with his wife and that he was contemplating suicide. But, the report did
Veteran Tried to Satisfy Employer’s Requirements
Every victim of discrimination experiences what Juan Alonzo-Miranda experienced. After he requested the use of a service dog at work, his employer treated him like the “enemy.” Instead of helping him become a better worker, the employer treated him like the enemy. Crying at times, he described his ordeal in trying to satisfy the employer’s