Several Brown & James attorneys were honored for their top defense verdicts as part of the 2025 Missouri Lawyers Awards this month at the Missouri Athletic Club in St. Louis. Justin Hardin received an award for the No. 6 verdict for his work on Andrew Martinez v. Roberts Sinto Corporation. Corey Kraushaar and Thomas Felman received two top 20 defense verdicts. Hardin, David Perron, Steve Schwartz, Rebecca Verble, and Philip Willman received other top verdicts.
In the Martinez case, the plaintiff asked the jury for $9.97 million. Hardin secured a unanimous defense verdict when the federal jury rejected the product liability claim from a man who lost his hand in an industrial accident.
In Doris Grebas v. Western Anesthesia Associates, Inc., Tadros Medical, LLC, Hardin and Perron secured a defense verdict in a case involving a below-the-knee amputation. Plaintiff requested $4.2 million in closing.
In Janet Roby v. Branson’s Wild World, Kraushaar and Felman received a defense verdict in in a slip and fall case at an animal attraction park. Plaintiff requested $750,000 in damages from the jury.
In Thomas Ward v. Frisella Nursery, Inc., Jose Bocanegra Gonzalez, Kraushaar and Felman received a complete defense verdict in a traumatic brain injury case. Plaintiff asked for $4 million in damages from the jury.
In Allison Miller, Copper Tan LLC v. L3 Corporation, Steve Schwartz and Rebecca Verble secured a defense verdict in a professional liability case against a commercial real estate broker in St. Louis County.
In Sean Boren v. UFM Operations, LLC, d/b/a U-City Forest Manor, Philip Willman secured a defense verdict for his nursing home client in St. Louis County in a case in which a resident died from a disputed cause of death.
View the list of Top Defense Verdicts here.