Rise of Nuclear Verdicts

Nuclear verdicts – a term used to refer to jury awards that exceed $10 million or more levied against defendants for an alleged wrongdoing – are on the rise. These verdicts are often talked about in conjunction with social inflation, which occurs when juries and courts side with plaintiffs in claims against corporations.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce Institute for Legal Reform published a paper analyzing 1,288 nuclear verdicts delivered between January 1, 2013, and December 31, 2022. The study revealed that there is an upward trend in nuclear verdicts. Illinois was among the top 10 states for nuclear verdicts, and the study suggests that the state “is moving in a direction that will make the state more prone to nuclear verdicts.”  For instance, a jury in Champaign County returned a $535 million verdict against Pavilion Behavioral Health Center in March 2024. The jury awarded $60 million in compensatory damages and $475 million in punitive damages relating to a sexual assault.

A California jury awarded $102.5 million in 2022 to two women who sued a Northern California school district for failure to stop a middle school teacher from grooming and abusing them as minors. More recently, a Los Angeles jury awarded $900 million to a plaintiff who sued a defendant for sexual assault, sexual harassment, and rape.

Click here to read the full article, which is featured in the IASBO Update Magazine, by Rick Capra, Charles LeMoine, and Rosa Tumialán.

About Rick Capra

Rick is Chair of Tressler’s Litigation Practice Group. Rick focuses his practice on the defense of insureds/insurers in the areas of transportation, products liability, toxic tort, and governmental tort immunity. Due to his in-house legal background and corporate insurance experience, Rick brings a deep knowledge of insurance programs and coverages. He provides insurance coverage counseling, and litigation services for a wide range of clients. Rick has successfully defended an extensive number of lawsuits involving fatalities, amputations, and serious bodily injuries. He also has significant experience in the defense of mass tort events. Rick has trial and appellate experience in both state and federal courts. He currently holds the Chartered Property Casualty Underwriter (CPCU) certification in commercial insurance, a professional designation held by less than 5% of all property and casualty insurance professionals. Click here to read Rick’s full attorney bio. 

About Charles LeMoine

Charles “Chuck” is a partner who provides client services in both Tressler’s Government and Litigation Practice Groups. He has a wide range of experience in representing school districts and other public entities in all aspects of federal and state litigation, arbitration, and other forms of dispute resolution. These include FOIA, OMA, breach of contract, civil rights, sexual abuse, premises liability, vehicular liability, construction-related claims, and insurance, employee benefits, and worker’s compensation, to name just a few. Chuck was asked to counsel clients on a number of unique issues facing school districts during the COVID crisis. He was directly involved in representing more than 25 Illinois school districts in connection with the Mask Mandate Class Action litigation that was finally resolved in 2022. Chuck regularly counsels school districts on risk management topics and accident prevention and has been invited to speak to school staff on the prevention of staff-on-student sexual abuse. Chuck is also a regular speaker for the annual IASBO Risk Management Academy on the topic of construction contracts for School Board Officials. Click here to read Charles’ full attorney bio.

About Rosa M. Tumialán

Rosa is a partner and Co-Chair of Tressler’s Insurance Practice Group, Chair of the Appellate Team, and a member of the firm’s national Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee. Rosa focuses her practice on insurance coverage and litigation. She is an accomplished defense attorney with more than twenty years of experience. Rosa’s insurer-related services include coverage opinion analysis and representing insurers in complex coverage disputes relating to personal and commercial lines, third-party claims, surplus lines, as well as claims handling practices and extracontractual liability. She has also litigated environmental coverage disputes throughout the Midwest for various insurers relating to superfund sites. Rosa assists with drafting coverage documents for insurance pools and counsels clients in the administration of the same. Her practice also includes serving as national coordinating coverage counsel for insurance clients who rely on her to develop and implement strategies nationwide in response to pattern litigation. Rosa is an accomplished class action defense lawyer and appellate practitioner, having appeared and argued in both state and federal courts nationwide. Click here to read Rosa’s full attorney bio.