In its newly published “Top 100 Verdicts of 2014,” The National Law Journal noted four breach-of-contract cases that resulted in verdicts of more than $100 million each.
Doug Scribner, partner and co-chair of Alston & Bird’s Litigation & Trial Practice Group, attributed the size of the verdicts to corporations’ ability to predict the cost of bringing a case because of alternative billing arrangements, including contingency fees.
“We see in-house legal departments that have become far more sophisticated in evaluating and pursuing commercial plaintiffs cases,” said Scribner. “These cases are fully evaluated by these companies on the front end, and the company places a value on its claims. And if the defendants don’t pay full value, the case will go to verdict.”
Doug Scribner, partner and co-chair of Alston & Bird’s Litigation & Trial Practice Group, attributed the size of the verdicts to corporations’ ability to predict the cost of bringing a case because of alternative billing arrangements, including contingency fees.
“We see in-house legal departments that have become far more sophisticated in evaluating and pursuing commercial plaintiffs cases,” said Scribner. “These cases are fully evaluated by these companies on the front end, and the company places a value on its claims. And if the defendants don’t pay full value, the case will go to verdict.”