Plaintiffs’ attorneys see notable successes in ’24

By Kallie Cox

Plaintiff wins stole the show in civil actions in the state in 2024, resulting in multimillion-dollar awards for wrongful deaths, motor vehicle collisions, gruesome injuries, safety hazards and wrongful incarceration.

North Carolina Lawyers Weekly has analyzed the verdicts, settlements, arbitrations and judgments submitted by attorneys throughout the state.

Overall, these submissions of settlement and award amounts range from multimillion-dollar cases — including an eight-figure settlement for a man who was wrongfully incarcerated — to a $109,000 victory for a plaintiff arguing a government agency unduly delayed the development of a subdivision.

Among the top verdicts and settlements emerged a trend of unusual accidents and injury cases and numerous motor-vehicle collisions resulting in multimillion-dollar settlements based on damages and liability.

The most prolific firms who submitted their wins were MacRae & Whitley, Taylor Law Office and Gray Legal Group.

The top verdict in the state, as submitted to Lawyers Weekly, was a $38.23 million win obtained by Devlin K. Horton of Horton & Mendez. The award was for a plaintiff who was left paralyzed after a rear-end crash at a crosswalk.

Attorneys Chris Olson of Olson Law and David Rudolf and Sonya Pfeiffer of Pfeiffer Rudolf obtained one of the more significant settlements of the year — $25 million — for a man who was wrongfully incarcerated. This is one of the larger settlements for a wrongfully incarcerated person in the country.

The plaintiff in the case, a Black man who was 20 years old when he was convicted in 1976, was charged with the rape of a white widow at her home in Concord. No physical evidence linked him to the crime, and he was convicted by an all-white jury.

“The case was built upon the purported identification of plaintiff after a contrived and highly suggestive courtroom ID procedure,” his attorneys told Lawyers Weekly.

Now 68, the plaintiff reached the combined settlement with the city of Concord, its police department and the State Bureau of Investigation. The settlement included a formal apology.

The more common types of verdicts and settlements in this year’s round-up included motor vehicle accidents, wrongful deaths and personal injury cases. These included a 5-year-old who drowned in an unsecured swimming pool, a sleeping woman who was killed when a drunken driver crashed into her home and a woman who was killed by a clerk when attempting to steal beer from his store.

Additionally, though it did not rank in the top verdicts or settlements for the year, one interesting case argued by Gary Shipman, Tom Harvey and James Moore of Shipman & Wright for the plaintiff, led to a $109,000 verdict.

The plaintiff, a developer, argued that the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality unduly delayed their development of a subdivision. A judge sided with the plaintiff requiring the department to reimburse their legal fees.

Whether arguing a case about who is liable for an apartment shooting or a fire or fighting for a client who was severely injured in a motor vehicle crash, North Carolina attorneys can boast major wins for their clients this year.

The top verdicts and settlements for 2024 are:

1. Rear-end crash at crosswalk leaves driver largely paralyzed

Action: $38.23 million verdict

Date: June 28, 2024

Special damages: Rule 414 medical expenses of about $500,000 and future care cost of $8.7 million

Case name: Harris v. Glynn, North Carolina Department of Transportation

Court: Pitt County Superior Court

Tried before: Judge Jeffrey B. Foster

Attorneys: Devlin K. Horton of Horton & Mendez, Wilmington (for the plaintiff); Stuart Stroud, of Wallace, Morris & Barwick, Kinston, and David Larson of North Carolina Department of Justice, Raleigh (for the defendant)

The plaintiff in this case stopped her vehicle on a Greenville street in front of a midblock crosswalk to allow a pedestrian to pass. The crosswalk had painted markings and a sign but no flashing lights or beacons, which the plaintiff’s attorneys claimed the state had the authority to install.

The defendants in the case are a driver and the North Carolina Department of Transportation. The defendant driver testified they were checking their mirrors and blind spot before the crash and didn’t realize the pedestrian was crossing.

The plaintiff driver was rear-ended and paralyzed from the mid-torso and below. The plaintiff and the driver defendant both argued that the state should have placed the enhanced safety features of flashing lights because the crosswalk was in the middle of the block. Expert witnesses for the plaintiff also testified that the flashing lights may have prevented the crash.

The DOT argued it met the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices’ requirements for the crosswalk and that defendant driver was the sole cause of plaintiff’s injuries.

The jury rejected DOT’s arguments and rendered a verdict for plaintiff.

2. City pays wrongfully imprisoned man eight-figure settlement

Action: $25 million settlement

Date: Jan. 9, 2024

Case name: Long v. City of Concord, et al

Court: U.S. District Court, Eastern District of North Carolina

Tried before: Judge James C. Dever III

Attorneys: Attorneys: Chris Olson, of Olson Law, and David Rudolf and Sonya Pfeiffer, of Pfeiffer Rudolf (for the plaintiff)

The plaintiff is a Black man who was 20 years old when he was wrongfully convicted in 1976 for the rape of a white widow in her Concord home.

“No physical evidence linked him to the crime,” his attorneys said. “The case was built upon the purported identification of plaintiff after a contrived and highly suggestive courtroom ID procedure.”

Exculpatory evidence was collected but withheld by investigators and would slowly “trickle out” over the next 40 years, leading to the plaintiff’s exoneration in 2020, according to his attorneys.

A 2021 lawsuit against the city of Concord and several of its police officers and later personnel with the State Bureau of Investigation resulted in a $25 million settlement and a formal apology from the city to the plaintiff and his family.

The SBI defendants resolved the claims for $3 million, and the city and police defendants settled for $22 million.

3. Drunken rapist allowed access to woman’s motel room

Action: $16 million verdict

Date: Oct. 24, 2024

Case name: Juateria Hall vs. Marriott International, Inc., et al.

Court: Forsyth County Superior Court

Tried before: Judge Lora Cubbage

Attorneys: Chimeaka L. White, of The White Law Firm, and Chris Stewart and Daedrea Fenwick, of Stewart Miller Simmons Trial Attorneys (for the plaintiff); Ken Kyre, of Pinto Coates Kyre Bowers, and Katie Hartzog and Daniel Mullins, of Hartzog Law Group (for the defendant)

The plaintiff was a hotel guest at the Residence Inn in Winston-Salem when she was sexually assaulted in her hotel room in 2020. Her rapist was a “drunk and disorderly” visitor of the hotel, according to her attorneys.

The man gave his ID to the clerk of the hotel for a keycard to the plaintiff’s room. Despite the man’s ID not matching the registered guest and not being listed as a key card recipient, he was able to access plaintiff’s room and rape her.

In a five-day trial plaintiff’s counsel argued that the hotel defendant had not properly trained the clerk, and that the clerk should not have been working alone the night of the incident.

Counsel for the hotel argued the clerk was negligent in giving out the key card, but that the key card was not used by the rapist to enter the room, and it was not foreseeable that a rape would occur.

Jurors returned a $16 million verdict for plaintiff, and the rapist pleaded guilty to second-degree forcible rape.

4. Plaintiff survives being shot, run over at apartment complex

Action: $15 million settlement

Date: April 16, 2024

Special damages: Medical expenses of about $625,000

Case name: Withheld

Court: Withheld

Tried before: Withheld

Attorneys: James A. Roberts III and Matthew D. Quinn, of Lewis & Roberts, and Michael S. Petty, of Law Offices of Michael S. Petty (for the plaintiff)

The plaintiff, who was 20 at the time of the incident, was a resident of the defendant apartment complex, which specialized in student housing. After returning to his apartment in the afternoon, he was attacked by three armed men who shot him multiple times and ran over him in the common area of the complex. The attack was captured on surveillance video.

Plaintiff’s attorneys say discovery revealed a pattern of criminal activity at the complex, including shootings, home invasions, drug use and vandalism.

“Despite defendants’ knowledge of the serious criminal activity, security at the complex was reduced for budgetary reasons,” plaintiff’s counsel said.

Plaintiff’s counsel also argued that the defendant apartment complex failed to implement reasonable security measures for the safety of residents, and as a result, that it was reasonably foreseeable that a resident would be killed or seriously injured by the criminal conduct of third parties.

The injuries required plaintiff to undergo multiple surgeries and be hospitalized for about six weeks. After physical therapy, the plaintiff suffered no paralysis and was able to make a remarkable recovery.

The plaintiff was awarded a $15 million settlement and medical damages.

5. Wrong-way highway driver leaves plaintiff with lifelong injuries

Action: $13.78 million verdict

Date: July 23, 2024

Special damages: Future medical expenses of $830,000 to $870,000 and past medical expenses of $42,334

Case name: Harper Jewell Morgan v. Stephen Jeremy Early and Philips North America

Court: Wake County Superior Court

Tried before: Judge John W. Smith

Attorneys: Isaac Thorp, of Thorp Law, and Stephanie Gibbs, of Gailor, Hunt, Davis, Taylor and Gibbs, (for the plaintiff); Rob Wilson, of Hedrick Gardner (for defendant driver), and Brian Manikowsky, of Hall Booth Smith, (for defendant corporation)

Defendant driver caused a multivehicle collision by driving the wrong way on Interstate 40 at 100 mph for about one mile during the Memorial Day rush hour.

Plaintiff, then 20, was driving on this interstate when the defendant’s vehicle struck several oncoming vehicles, including plaintiff’s, forcing her vehicle to go airborne and then nosedive back onto the interstate and land passenger side down.

“The plaintiff was initially trapped inside but was eventually able to crawl out of the sunroof with the help of first responders. Realizing her cat was still inside, plaintiff crawled back into her vehicle to rescue him, only to have to sit beside the road and cradle him as he died of his injuries,” according to plaintiff’s counsel.

The defendant was driving while severely impaired by dextromethorphan, an ingredient found in some cough syrups. Plaintiff’s toxicologist, Dr. David Eagerton, testified that the defendant likely consumed 2½ to 3½ bottles of cough syrup shortly before the collision, likely causing him to hallucinate and disassociate from reality.

Defendant corporation argued that Early, a medical equipment repair technician, was in the course and scope of his employment when the crash occurred. The defendants chose not to put on evidence at trial.

Plaintiff suffer a traumatic brain injury and internal pelvic organ injuries. An expert witness testified that she was likely to experience chronic migraines for the rest of her life and would need medical treatment to manage them. Another medical expert testified that plaintiff likely sustained microscopic tears to her pelvic floor muscles and organs and would need lifetime medical treatment to help manage the pelvic pain, which is especially painful during sexual intercourse.

A third expert witness testified that the plaintiff’s projected future medical expenses are about $830,000 to $870,000, the bulk of which is for monthly headache medication injections. Her past medical expenses totaled $42,334.

The jury returned a verdict of $6.78 million for compensatory damages and $7 million for punitive damages.

6. Tractor trailer crash leaves plaintiff hospitalized for 3 months

Action: $6.99 million settlement

Date: May 29, 2024

Special damages: Medical expenses of about $1.2 million

Case name: Withheld

Court: Withheld

Attorneys: R. Bradley Van Laningham, of Bradley Law Group (for the plaintiff)

A tractor trailer crash left the plaintiff injured and hospitalized for about three months.

The first tractor trailer was merging onto Interstate 95 when it struck a second tractor trailer that was parked in the merge lane after breaking down.

The collision trapped the plaintiff in the first tractor trailer, and she had to be extricated.

“She was initially flown by helicopter to Grand Strand Medical Center at Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, and then flown to the Medical University of South Carolina at Charleston, South Carolina,” according to her counsel. “She was a patient there for a month before being released to a rehabilitation facility, where she was a patient for two months before being able to return to her home in North Carolina.”

Plaintiff sued both truck drivers and their trucking companies. All defendants denied liability. In discovery plaintiff’s counsel said it was revealed that the second tractor trailer that had broken down had not had its fuel filter replaced in a timely manner.

Both trucks had $1 million liability policies, and one truck had a $5 million umbrella policy. In addition to the plaintiff’s claim, there were multiple subrogation claims for property damage, towing, storage, workers’ compensation and environmental cleanup, the plaintiff’s counsel said.

7. Nurse offers key evidence in death of vehicle’s passenger

Action: $5 million settlement

Date: July 16, 2024

Special damages: Rule 414 medical expenses of $32,017 and funeral expenses of $15,162 for older plaintiff; Rule 414 medical expenses of $23,070 for younger plaintiff.

Case name: William D. Perry and Joanna Haakinson, Co-Executors of the Estate of Patsy T. Perry, and Joanna Haakinson, Individually, v. Jason Chad Pierce

Court: Wilson County Superior Court

Mediator: Melinda Evans

Attorneys: W. Earl Taylor Jr., of Taylor Law Office, Wilson (for the plaintiff)

After a car accident that left an older plaintiff dead, a nurse was able to provide expert testimony leading to a $5 million settlement for both the older plaintiff and the younger plaintiff injured in the crash.

The expert witness performed an independent medical examination of the younger plaintiff, who was the daughter of the older plaintiff and documented permanent partial impairment to her right upper extremity.

The settlement also included Rule 414 medical expenses of $32,017 and funeral expenses of $15,162 for the older plaintiff and Rule 414 medical expenses of $23,070 for younger plaintiff.

8. Funds support construction worker hurt in job accident

Action: $4.55 million settlement

Date: Jan. 29, 2024

Case name: Withheld

Court: N.C. Industrial Commission

Mediator: Gillie Spratt

Attorneys: Rick Anderson, of Sumwalt Anderson

Plaintiff, 39, a roofer, was rendered an incomplete quadriplegic after a fall from a rooftop. The insurance carrier accepted the plaintiff’s claim and paid all medical bills from the date of injury through settlement.

The carrier also initiated indemnity compensation immediately after plaintiff’s injury at a compensation rate of $400 per week. Plaintiff’s counsel disputed the calculation of plaintiff’s average weekly wage and compensation rate. After extensive discovery, the parties entered into a consent order agreeing to an average weekly wage of $1,000 per week and a compensation rate of $666.67 per week.

The $4.55 million settlement was composed of a $1.34 million lump sum cash payment at the time of settlement and the purchase of annuities costing $3.21 million.

9. (tie) Infant dies, firefighters rescue mother from blaze at apartment

Action: $4.5 million settlement

Date: May 14, 2024

Case name: Withheld

Court: Withheld

Mediator: Jason James

Attorneys: Greg Whitley, of MacRae & Whitley, (for the plaintiff)

A fire at an apartment complex forced a mother and her 9-month-old child to seek shelter in a bathtub while waiting for rescue.

When firefighters reached the plaintiff and her child, both were unconscious. The infant died of smoke inhalation, and the plaintiff suffered burns as she was carried out by firefighters.

Experts said that the fire started from the ignition of combustible products such as trash or cardboard outside of the apartment units. The cause most likely was an improperly discarded cigarette.

Plaintiff’s counsel argued that the accumulation of trash on the premises was a known problem, that there were many smokers in the complex and that it was foreseeable that such a fire could occur.

9. (tie) Mother dies when out-of-control tractor trailer spills cargo

Action: $4.5 million settlement

Date: March 18, 2024

Case name: A. Haynes, as Admin. of the Est. Of April M. Hill, Plaintiff, v. Jeffrey D. McManus, Stone Wheel Trucking LLC, Church & Church Lumber, LLC, et al

Court: Surry County Superior Court

Tried before: Judges Craig Croon and Alyson Grine

Attorneys: Kirk Sanders, of Kurtz Whitley Guy Sanders & Rainey, and Joseph Williams, of Lowe & Williams (for the plaintiff); Jeremy A. Kosin, of Teague, Rotenstreich, Stanaland, Fox & Holt; Allen C. Smith, of Hedrick Gardner Kincheloe and Garofalo; Todd King, of Cranfill Sumner; and Christopher Skinner of McAngus, Goudelock & Courrie (for the defendants)

A logging tractor trailer was being driven at dawn on a foggy morning on a two-lane state highway in Surry County en route from Wilkesboro to West Virginia when it came into a curve at a too-high speed, braked hard, crossed the center line and swerved. The securement straps holding the logs it was carrying failed, and the logs crushed an approaching car driven by the decedent. She and her son, 4, died at the scene.

While the criminal case awaited prosecution, counsel for decedent and her son filed a joint motion for release of the North Carolina Highway Patrol fatality investigation per NCGS 132-1.4. This showed that the owner of the trailer was an administratively dissolved LLC whose individual owner also owned the lumber company where the logs were loaded. The trailer was loaned to the transportation company, Stone Wheel Trucking LLC, by the lumber company.

Liability issues included unsafe driving, defective securement straps, overloaded trailer, exceeding driving hour limits, falsification of logbooks, violations of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Act, piercing the corporate veil, and joint venture-enterprise between the defendants. The trailer was not weighed before the driver picked it up after midnight, and the lumber company did not keep weight records before the wreck.

The parties held early mediation after the first round of discovery and turned down $2 million to be distributed between the two estates. Thereafter, an undisclosed $4 million excess policy was provided by one defendant that ultimately covered the underlying insurance policy on the trailer.

The initial demand from plaintiff’s counsel was $6 million.

11. Cyberattacks lead to judgments for doctors, patients

Action: $3.06 million total settlements

Date: June 27, 2024

Special damages: Credits to ECL Group customers for future services (a value up to $5.5 million); cessation of collection efforts by ECL for unpaid invoices during periods with service interruptions; the ability of plaintiffs to terminate their contracts with ECL early and without penalty with cooperation by ECL to obtain data and transition to a new provider; the assignment of two insurance policies to the physician class; and legal release avoiding liability for any data breach claims brought by patients of the physician practices.

Case name: Alliance Ophthalmology PLLC et al. v. ECL Group LLC and Farley v. Eye Care Leaders Holdings, LLC

Court: U.S. District Court, Middle District of North Carolina

Tried before: Judge Catherine C. Eagles

Attorneys: Russ Ferguson, Matthew F. Tilley and Patrick G. Spaugh, of Womble Bond Dickinson (ophthalmology practice class plaintiffs); Gary M. Klinger, of Milberg Coleman Bryson Phillips Grossman, Jean Sutton Martin of Morgan & Morgan Complex Litigation Group, and Gary E. Mason, of Mason LLP (patient class plaintiffs)

The physician plaintiffs sued after ransomware attacks in 2021 impacted their practices’ patient recordkeeping and billing services provided by ECL Group. The lawsuit alleged that ECL failed to keep patient data secure, to provide contractually required discounts while ECL’s services were unavailable and that ECL made misrepresentations about the ransomware attack and engaged in unfair and deceptive trade practices.

Alongside the physicians’ claims, a patient class brought a claim, alleging its members’ data was exposed.

Before the settlement was finalized, ECL filed for bankruptcy and put itself up for sale.

The complex class-action litigation involving the consolidated cases resulted in special damages and $3.06 million in settlement funds.

12. Apartment resident dies in shooting at troubled complex

Action: $2.75 million settlement

Date: June 4, 2024

Case name: Withheld

Court name: Withheld

Tried before: Withheld

Attorneys: Chimeaka L. White, of The White Law Firm, and Harry M. Daniels, of Law Offices of Harry M. Daniels (for the plaintiff); Michael Rothrock, of Wilson Elser, and Camilla DeBoard, of Bovis Kyle (for the defendant)

The decedent was caught in the crossfire of a shooting and died when the defendants in the case came to his apartment to rob his roommates.

The apartment complex had a history of robberies, burglaries, thefts and gun violence, advertised “24-hour security.” However, security was not at the post on the night of the shooting.

Named in the action were the defendants, the apartment complex, landowners and management and security companies.

The case resulted in a $2.75 million settlement for plaintiffs.

13. Plaintiff faces multiple surgeries in wake of head-on collision

Action: $2.25 million settlement

Date: Oct. 12, 2024

Special damages: Past medical expenses not claimed

Case name: Withheld

Court: Withheld

Tried before: Withheld

Attorneys: Adrienne Blocker, of DeMayo Law Offices (for the plaintiff).

A plaintiff is facing multiple surgeries after a head-on collision with the defendant’s vehicle left him with numerous injuries. They include a right supracondylar femur fracture; right midshaft comminuted femur fracture; bucket handle tear of terminal ileum with mesenteric defect extending to the cecum; serosal tear to the midsigmoid colon; manubrium fracture; multiple rib fractures; pulmonary embolism; ventral hernia; displaced fracture of the clavicle; right knee medial meniscus tear; short bowel and dumping syndrome.

The accident occurred when the defendant’s pickup truck crossed the centerline and struck the plaintiff’s SUV head-on near Hickory.

The plaintiff spent two weeks in the hospital and underwent multiple surgeries. He suffers from ongoing medical issues that must be treated by medication.

The defendant’s counsel did not argue liability but did dispute the gravity of plaintiff’s injuries.

The case resulted in a $2.25 million settlement for the plaintiff.