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Virginia Lawyers Weekly is pleased to present the “Virginia’s Largest Verdicts of 2009,” our annual compilation of big jury verdicts from across the commonwealth.

As in past years, our criteria for the list are simple:

1. The verdict must be for at least $1 million.

2. The verdict was returned by a jury in Virginia - not a judge.

3. The verdict was returned in calendar year 2009.

The 2009 survey features 21 verdicts, up from the 15 million-dollar verdicts in last year’s compilation, and 20 million-dollar verdicts the year before.
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  Amount Name of Case Type of Case
1 $13.5 Million PBM Products LLC v. Mead Johnson & Co. False Advertising
2 $9 Million Royal v. Campbell County Environmental Damange
3 $8 Million Lo v. Greater Richmond Transit Co. Personal Injury
4 $7.4 Million Cox v. Gamache Medical Malpractice
5 $7 Million Butler v. Trivedi Medical Malpractice
6 $5.265 Million Aichs v. Don B. Swisher Trucking Corp. Personal Injury
7 $5 Million Whitaker v. Henrich Schepers GMBH & Co. KG Personal Injury
8 $4.3 Million Commonwealth Transportation Commissioner v. Spinner Eminent Domain
9 $4 Million Thorne v. Glick Medical Malpractice
10 $3.8 Million Sanders v. John Crane Inc. Product Liability
11 $3.7 Million Martin v. Wills Medical Malpractice
12 $3.2 Million Zeng v. IKEA Virginia LLC Premises Liability
13 $2.25 Million Drake v. Walter Medical Malpractice
14 $2 Million Gross v. Favret Defamation
15 $1.75 Million Williams v. Jones Medical Malpractice
16 $1.27 Million Commonwealth Transportation Commissioner v. Bodnar Eminent Domain
17 $1.25 Million Confidential Personal Injury
18 $1.2 Million Harrison v. Bittler Assault
19 $1.2 Million Garza v. Beta Theta Pi Premises Liability
20  $1.07 Million Confidential Medical Malpractice
21  $1.01 Million Commonwealth Transportation Commissioner v. Shadyac Eminent Domain

If we have missed any million-dollar verdicts from 2009, please let us know. We’ll be glad to add that information to the online version of the story so it can be complete as possible.

And during the coming year, we would greatly appreciate hearing about verdicts that will make it on next year’s list.

Today's Top Opinion

Civil Rights - 4CA Announces New Rule on Social Worker Liability
The 4th Circuit says "deliberate indifference" by social workers to a child’s welfare may lead to § 1983 liability; because this is a new standard, the social worker in this case has qualified immunity in a child’s lawsuit alleging harm from her foster care placement with her biological brother, her alleged sexual abuser.
Doe v. S.C. Dep’t of Social Servs. (VLW 010-2-063) (43 pp.)

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