August 19, 2022, Scott D. Festin obtained summary judgment for BBG Specialty Foods, Inc., d/b/a Taco Bell (“BBG”). The plaintiff alleged she fell ill within hours of consuming food from BBG’s restaurant, and the food caused her to fall ill. The plaintiff admitted the food tasted, smelled, and appeared normal. She attributed her illness to the food solely because of the proximity in time between consumption and illness. BBG argued her claims failed as a matter of law because she failed offer proof of breach of duty beyond mere consumption and subsequent illness, and, in addition, there was no foodborne pathogen that could cause the types of symptoms she experienced within a matter of hours. The Circuit Court agreed reasoning the plaintiff failed to provide medical evidence or opinion that the alleged illness was caused by the food purchased from BBG.
On October 26, 2021, attorney Eric E. Holman obtained summary judgment for DM&E in a grade crossing from the District Court in Dodge County, Minnesota (Court File No. 20-CV-20-447). The case was then appealed, which Mr. Holman briefed and argued in early 2022. On July 25, 2022, the Minnesota Court of Appeals affirmed the District Court’s summary judgment order. See Lance G. Cariveau, Appellant, v. Dakota, Minnesota & E. R.R. Corp., Respondent., A21-1718, 2022 WL 2913664 (Minn. Ct. App. July 25, 2022).
On February 28, 2018, attorneys Julius W. Gernes and Eric E. Holman obtained summary judgment for Union Pacific in the grade crossing case of Jordan Nutt, et al v. Union Pacific, et al (St. Croix County, WI, Cir. Ct. No. 2015CV000230.) On February 5, 2019, the Wisconsin Court of Appeals (Appeal No. 2018AP695) affirmed the Circuit Court’s summary judgment order and adopted – many times verbatim – our appellate brief’s legal arguments and analysis. See 386 Wis.2d 352 (Wis. Ct. App. 2019).
In November 2021, attorneys Eric E. Holman and Julius W. Gernes obtained a very favorable verdict in an admitted liability train v. train collision case brought by WCL engineer Joseph Sheridan in the Western District of Wisconsin. After a four-day trial that included testimony from a dozen expert witnesses, Sheridan’s counsel asked the jury to award $9,300,000 in damages during closing arguments. The jurors, however, reportedly appreciated the focus and persuasiveness of our defense presentation, theories, and themes. Ultimately, the jury awarded a net total of only $250,000 in this admitted liability case (less than 1/37th of what Sheridan’s counsel requested in closing arguments).
Dan Gendreau and Eric Holman won summary judgment for ADT in a case where plaintiff sustained very serious orthopedic injuries to his lower extremities when an ADT employee struck him with his car in a job-site parking lot, and pinned him between the front of his vehicle and the rear bumper of plaintiff’s pick up truck. The ADT driver passed away shortly after suit was filed, and was not available to testify. ADT argued that the driver was not within the course and scope of his employment at the time of the accident, because all evidence and witness testimony showed the driver was on his personal lunch break when the accident occurred, and had not conducted any activity in furtherance of the company’s interests during his break.
Dan Gendreau and Scott Festin won summary judgment on behalf of Tacala, LLC on the grounds that the plaintiff failed to prove the existence of any defective condition on the premises that may have caused her injury, or that Tacala had actual or constructive notice of such a condition. Plaintiff was standing in line to order food at Defendant’s Taco Bell restaurant, when a ceiling tile fell and struck her in the head. The Court ruled that plaintiff failed to establish the existence of a defective condition that would have caused it to fall or that Tacala knew or should have known of any such condition.