Cole.Nuclear

Question 1

6 Reasons of nuclear verdict

Answer 1

1. Plaintiff is young, suffer serious injuries and have high income
2. Plaintiff’s attorney utilize the reptile tactics to convince juror that the safest possible standard should be applied rather than the proper legal standard
3. The trial is at the state court which may favor the plaintiff
4. There are stealth juror that have biases against defendant and are selected
5. Defendant attorney focuses more on preserving a record on appeal and less effort on the trial, causing higher verdict award.Defendant may have a strong basis to argue in higher court such as federal court.
6. Defendant has egregious conduct against the plaintiff

Question 2

Why federal court is more favorable of defendant?

Answer 2

Juries are selected from a wider group, which may be less favorable of plaintiff
Judges are likely coming from different places than plaintiff
Court may dismiss the entire case
Court may resolve the case such as look for settlement before the trial

Question 3

Impact of Nuclear Verdict (BIDDS)

Answer 3

Bankruptcy on small companies such as trucking companies
Increased cost of insurance
Decreased availability of insurance
Decreased innovation and product development
Shadow effect on the settlement before the trial , people are more likely to settle because verdict award is always higher

Question 4

Defense strategy

Answer 4

Pre trial
1. Use supplement questionnare to identify stealth juror
2. Defendant offer to confess, a form of pre-trial settlement. If plaintiff refuses and the verdict award is lower than it, plaintiff needs to cover legal cost of defendant
During the trial
3. Defendant can limit the questions that utilize the reptile tactic
4. Using the modified comparative fault defense
If the plaintiff is >50% at fault, no compensation, otherwise pro-rated compensation
After the trial
5. Defendant can appeal the verdict

Question 5

State and Federal legislation

Answer 5

State with more liability cases and lawyers adopt the tort reform to reduce the litigation cost
Some state cap the punitive damage amount, at a fixed amount or a ratio over the compensatory amount
Some state may have specific rules on the punitive damage of some cases such as produt liability.
Some state cap the punitive damage based on defendant’s income or net worth
Federal enacted the Stop Underriding Act, aim to improve the truck safety to reduce the occurrence of nuclear verdict