Covington’s Record of Trial Wins Covington approaches every lawsuit it handles with the expectation that the case will be tried. By developing case themes early, focusing our discovery efforts on the key issues, and demonstrating the ability and drive to take the case to the courtroom, we put our clients in the best position to win -- whether at trial, on summary judgment, or through a negotiated resolution.
Our senior trial lawyers have tried hundreds of cases in state and federal courtrooms across the country. Our highly diverse ranks include six members of the prestigious American College of Trial Lawyers, and nearly three dozen former federal and state prosecutors and government trial attorneys.
While we pride ourselves on devising strategies that lead to early resolution of cases, we also take a large number of cases to trial. In 2010-2011 alone, Covington has won 28 trials, including 14 jury trials, 7 bench trials and 7 victories after full evidentiary hearings such as TRO/PI hearings. The following examples highlight our ability to win high-stakes trials.
Representative Matters
- Following a month-long jury trial in state court in New Jersey, the jury concluded that our client AstraZeneca gave proper warnings about the risk of diabetes in connection with its antipsychotic medication Seroquel. This has been the only case in the nation, among more than 10,000 Seroquel cases, to go to trial. (Baker v. AstraZeneca)
- Following a three-week trial in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, and after less than two hours of deliberations, the jury returned a defense verdict for our client Merck in a suit brought by a woman claiming that Merck’s osteoporosis drug Fosamax caused her to develop osteonecrosis of the jaw. (Graves v. Merck)
- Following a five-day trial, and less than a year after the plaintiff brought its patent infringement action, a jury in the U.S. District Court for Delaware returned a verdict in favor of our client AK Steel Corporation, finding that AK Steel had not infringed the asserted claims of plaintiff ArcelorMittal’s patent, and that each of the claims was invalid as anticipated and obvious. (ArcelorMittal France and ArcelorMittal Atlantique et Lorraine v. AK Steel Corp.)
- A Covington litigation team won both phases of a two-phase bench trial in an Ohio state court, in which firm client Chiquita sought insurance coverage for Covington’s defense of the company in thousands of wrongful death lawsuits under the Alien Tort Statute. In Phase 1, the court upheld the reasonableness of Chiquita’s defense costs. In Phase 2, the court agreed with Chiquita’s position that the underlying tort lawsuits arise out of a single occurrence and rejected the insurer’s position, which would have required Chiquita to pay the equivalent of thousands of deductibles instead of one. (Chiquita v. National Union)
- Following a bench trial in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, a Covington trial team obtained the dismissal of all claims asserted against our clients, a real estate marketing firm and its principals, in a lawsuit in which a hedge fund investor sought $28 million in damages. (Bernard National Loan Investors, Ltd. v. Traditions Management LLC)
- Following a two-week bench trial, Covington obtained a favorable ruling from a Missouri state court, which found that two insurance companies owed full coverage to Covington client Extended Stay Hotels in connection with defective windows that had been installed at 252 hotels, resulting in rainwater entering the hotels and causing substantial property damage. (Extended Stay Inc. v. American Automobile Insurance Company)
- In an environmental insurance coverage case, a Massachusetts state court jury issued a verdict favorable to our client Narragansett Electric Company on all issues, rejecting arguments marshaled by the insurer, Century Indemnity Company, regarding whether the policies in question were triggered, whether the client’s remedial actions were reasonable, and whether the latent environmental damage was objectively discoverable during the policy periods. (Narragansett Elec. Co. v. Century Indemnity Co.)
- A Massachusetts state court jury found that our client Narragansett Electric Company, which is faced with environmental liabilities at several sites in Rhode Island, had successfully proved the material terms of insurance policies that had been purchased by Narragansett’s predecessor in the 1940s, though the policies and placing slips had gone missing in the intervening years. (Narragansett Elec. Co. v. Certain Underwriters at Lloyd's, London)
- Following a year of contentious litigation and a hard-fought two-week trial, a Maryland state court jury returned a verdict in favor of firm clients RCC, Inc. and Heidi Cortese, concluding that the defendants, which had partnered with RCC in developing Leisure World of Maryland in Silver Spring, had breached contracts with RCC and had breached fiduciary duties owed to our clients. (RCC, Inc. v. Giusseppe Cecchi)
- Following a six-week jury trial in New Jersey state court, Covington and its co-counsel obtained the first two defense verdicts in cases alleging that Roche’s acne medicine Accutane caused plaintiffs to develop inflammatory bowel disease. (Greenblatt and Andrews v. Hoffmann-La Roche)
|
|