News

John Elrod, Kerri Kobbeman and Vicki Bronson successfully represented one of the country's top ten privately held poultry processors in a lawsuit involving allegations that arsenic found in chicken litter caused leukemia.  The successful defense verdict was received after a two week trial in which the Plaintiff was seeking millions of dollars in damages.  The jury deliberated less than two hours before returning the favorable verdict.

Rick Funk and Jed Isbell received a favorable jury verdict in United States District Court for the Western District of Arkansas for one of the largest independently owned southern pine manufacturers in the United States.  The case involved a dispute arising out of a construction project for the replacement of a steam turbine generator at the client's facility.  The Plaintiff was seeking $2,000,000 on a breach of contract claim.  Despite Mr. Funk exposing significant overcharges by the Plaintiff during discovery, the Plaintiff continued to seek nearly $900,000 at the time of trial.  After the three day trial, the jury not only returned a favorable verdict for the Defendant but also awarded Defendant $200,000 on its counterclaims.  The client was very pleased with the result.  After reading the jury's verdict, Judge Robert T. Dawson commented, "This has also been a well-tried case.  The attorneys in this matter have all represented their clients well.  It's been my privilege to have had those attorneys in court.  I think if you sat on a hundred juries, I don't believe you would see a better prepared or presented case than this one."

Additionally, the Conner & Winters team was able to negotiate a favorable settlement with the third party defendant immediately before trial for claims arising out of the same construction project.

For the third consecutive year, Conner & Winters has proudly supported Tulsa University College of Law's Minority Law Awareness Day.  As a part of the day-long program, Anne Sublett arranged for the participating students from surrounding high schools and junior colleges to tour the Conner & Winters offices and meet with several of the firm's attorneys.  For many, this was their first exposure to a law office.  The students were given the opportunity to meet with many of the firm's younger associates.  The associates answered questions and discussed their backgrounds and current practice areas.  Click here for more information about Tulsa University College of Law's Minority Law Awareness Day.

Following oral argument before the Supreme Court of South Carolina, Mark Dreyer obtained a reversal of an appellate court's adverse judgment against the Firm's client, a major underwriter of supplemental liability rental automobile insurance.  The client had issued a primary liability insurance policy to a car rental company that provided minimum financial responsibility limits to renters who were not parties to separate corporate rate agreement with the rental company that would have otherwise provided the renter with increased limits up to $100,000/$300,000.  A renter who was not a corporate account holder was involved in an accident that allegedly caused personal injuries potentially exceeding minimum financial responsibility limits.  The rental car company successfully argued before both the trial and intermediate appellate courts that the renter's purchase of supplemental liability coverage at the time of the rental triggered the higher limits of the client's policy.  After the Supreme Court granted the client's petition for writ of certiorari, the Court reversed the appellate court, and held that the unambiguous terms of the rental agreement and policy limited the client's liability to minimum financial responsibility limits.  Garnett v. Philadelphia Indemnity Insurance Company, et al., 669 S.E.2d 591 (S.C. 2008).

View the Supreme Court opinion here.

Mark Dreyer obtained a dismissal on behalf of an excess insurer and producing agent who were defendants in a suit filed in New Jersey alleging claims for declaratory relief and numerous counts of negligence and fraud.  The claims arose out of a vehicle rental in New Jersey and subsequent single car accident in Canada that caused catastrophic injuries to the renter's wife and other family members.  As part of the rental agreement, the renter had accepted supplemental liability insurance underwritten by the insurer and marketed by the producing agent.  After filing a motion for summary judgment that argued the policy's family member exclusion was valid under New Jersey law, additional discovery determined that the rental car company's own excess coverage provided several million dollars of coverage for the benefit of the renter. Consequently, the Plaintiffs voluntarily dismissed both the excess insurer and the producing agent from the suit.

On behalf of a nationwide food service franchisor, Mark Dreyer obtained a voluntary dismissal of the Plaintiff's claims for negligence, breach of warranty, strict products liability, and intentional infliction of emotional distress.  Plaintiff filed suit after she became ill shortly after eating at a restaurant owned and operated by a franchisee.  In addition to showing that there was a complete lack of any medical evidence establishing a causal link between consumption of the franchisee's food and the Plaintiff's illness, counsel also argued that the franchisor was not vicariously liable for any conduct of its franchisee.