Cases
Representative Cases: John Fitz Fitzpatrick has tried over 220 cases to verdict in more than 40 states, winning defense verdicts in the vast majority of them. He is a true generalist trial lawyer, having won for sophisticated clients in major trials across a broad range of industries. Fitz is one of only three lawyers in the nation specifically ranked by Chambers USA for asbestos toxic torts.
Asbestos / Toxic Torts
Bancroft v. Dana (Penn. Philadelphia C.P. 2013) - Brought in just three weeks before jury selection, WTO won a complete defense verdict on behalf of Dana Corporation in an asbestos wrongful-death trial in Philadelphia.
Mulcahy v. Rapid American (Ill. Cook Cnty. Cir.Ct.) - Won a jury verdict in Cook County, Illinois, for General Electric in an asbestos duty to warn case involving power plant l
turbines.
Pelletier v. Alfa Laval (Cal. Sup.Ct.) - Won a defense jury verdict for Leslie Controls, the sole remaining defendant at trial after other defendants settled. A jury deliberated for just 20 minutes before deciding our client was not liable for the plaintiff's mesothelioma.
Won defense verdicts in simultaneous trials for Foster Wheeler in Los Angeles, CA,
Iowa City, IA.
Won a defense verdict after five weeks of trial in Massachusetts in a living mesothelioma case, the first asbestos case tried to verdict in Boston in 10 years.
Obtained the first defense verdict for Foster Wheeler in an asbestos personal injury case in California.
Won the first asbestos wrongful death defense verdict for General Electric in Madison County, IL, one of the top judicial hellholes for corporate America as featured in The Wall Street Journal. Personal Injury
Sparta Insurance v. Garfias (E.D. Wash. 2014) - Won a defense verdict in federal court in Spokane, Washington, for Easterday Farms in a $12 million personal injury case involving an explosive collision between two tractor-trailers.
Kelly-Williams v. AT&T (La. 9th Jud. Dist. Ct.) - Won a jury defense verdict in Louisiana in a premises liability case in which a sign in an AT&T store fell
injured a child.
Shaw v. Pizza Hut (M.D. Fla. 2009) - Won a defense verdict for Pizza Hut/Yum! Br
s in liability case stemming from an automobile accident involving a delivery driver.
Fletcher v. Pizza Hut (E.D. Va. 2009) - Won a defense verdict for Pizza Hut/Yum! Br
s in a liability case involving traumatic brain injury
over $3.5 million in damages following an accident involving a Pizza Hut delivery vehicle. Medical Malpractice
Won a complete defense verdict for a Wyoming hospital
codefendant physicians facing allegations of negligence brought by a plaintiff who suffered a stroke following emergency room treatment for a head wound. During mediation, the plaintiff dem
ed over $19 million, non-negotiable. At closing arguments, the plaintiff came down to $12 million as a good faith gesture. The jury found for WTO's client
the codefendants on all claims,
punitive damages claims against the hospital were dismissed.
Defended the appeal to the District of Columbia Court of Appeals of a 2011 medical malpractice defense jury verdict that WTO won for a hospital in a case involving a baby born with brain damage.
Won a defense decision for a Philadelphia psychiatric hospital in a two-day medical malpractice arbitration involving the death of a patient killed in an auto accident hours after being discharged.
Won a complete defense verdict for a Florida hospital in a three-week medical malpractice trial. The case involved a baby who suffered cerebral palsy after a rare delivery complication. The plaintiff sued the hospital for $7 million, claiming complications could have been avoided had a C-section been performed. The WTO team successfully argued the complication was unpredictable
unpreventable,
the doctors actually saved the mother
child.
Won a defense verdict for a Washington D.C. hospital in a $40 million medical malpractice lawsuit that involved a baby born with severe brain damage.
Affirmed on appeal to the D.C. Court of Appeals WTO's unanimous defense jury verdict for a hospital after a three-week trial in Washington, D.C. The plaintiffs alleged the doctor provided less than the st
ard of care, resulting in an infant's cerebral palsy. WTO established the child's condition was attributable to his 14-week premature birth.
Represented a hospital in a four-week trial in California involving special damages in excess of $10 million in claims relating to the care of an adult male with brain damage. The jury returned a verdict of $6 million, but also found the plaintiff 75% contributory negligent. After the setoff from settling the defendant, WTO's client owed only $37,000.
Won a defense verdict in a medical malpractice case in Florida involving permanent brain injury to a well-known plaintiff's lawyer. WTO was asked to take over the case two weeks into trial
after both local
regional defense counsel recommended settling the case for $12-15 million.
Obtained a defense verdict in a New Hampshire trial involving the death of a 63-year-old man following complications from gall bladder surgery. With just two weeks' notice, WTO demonstrated that an empty oxygen tank, which the decedent used for supplemental oxygen shortly before his cardiac arrest, did not cause his death. Ultimately, the jury agreed.
Successfully defended a spine surgeon in a two-week trial in South Carolina brought by a paralyzed plaintiff who blamed the surgeon for not recognizing the early signs of paralysis. Product Liability
Hadjih v. Evenflo (D. Colo. 2015) - Won a complete defense jury verdict in federal court for Evenflo in a $15 million failure-to-warn trial arising out of permanent injuries to a child involved in an accident while riding in an Evenflo infant seat. This was the retrial of one claim from a 2012 case, which WTO won on the issues of design defect
consumer expectation. Failure-to-warn was taken from the jury on directed verdict, then appealed to the Tenth Circuit
sent back to the trial court for jury consideration.
Hadjih v. Evenflo (D. Colo. 2012) - Won a unanimous jury defense verdict in federal court in Colorado on behalf of Evenflo Company in a two-week trial involving liability for permanent injuries to a child strapped into an Evenflo car seat during an auto accident. Ultimately, the jury agreed with our argument that the seat saved the child's life rather than caused the child's injuries. Commercial Litigation
King v. Allstate Insurance (D. Colo. 2013) - Won a complete defense verdict on behalf of Allstate Insurance Company in an insurance bad faith case brought in the United States District Court for the District of Colorado.
Stoney v. Cingular Wireless (10th Cir. 2012) - Defended the appeal to the Tenth Circuit of a 2010 jury verdict WTO won on behalf of AT&T in a high-profile whistleblower case. Law Week Colorado called the underlying trial court victory one of the Top Defense Verdicts of 2010.
Successfully defended a financial services firm in a five-day trial in Richmond, Virginia, involving claims of breach of contract, fraud,
unjust enrichment.
