NEW YORKERS ELISA
BARNES AND DENISE DUNLEAVY WIN 1999 TRIAL LAWYER OF
THE YEAR AWARD FOR LANDMARK HANDGUN
LAWSUIT
Elisa Barnes
of New York and Denise Dunleavy of Weitz & Luxenberg in
New York were awarded the 1999 Trial Lawyer of the Year Award by
The Trial Lawyers for Public Justice (TLPJ) Foundation at its 17th
annual party July 20 in San Francisco, for their work on Hamilton
v. Accu-Tek. The nationally prestigious award is bestowed
annually upon the trial lawyer or lawyers who have made the
greatest contribution to the public interest by trying or settling
a precedent-setting case.
Elisa Barnes |
Denise Dunleavy |
"These attorneys exemplify how trial
lawyers use their skills and determination to create a more just
society," said TLPJ Foundation President Joseph A. Power Jr. of
Chicago’s Power, Rogers & Smith. "They serve as inspiring
models for us all."
Barnes and Dunleavy achieved their
precedent-setting victory in Hamilton v. Accu-Tek when a jury
held gun manufacturers liable on a novel theory of market share
liability for negligently distributing handguns in the New York
area.
Barnes brought the case in 1995 on behalf of
seven victims of gun violence and their families against 25 gun
manufacturers. Barnes alleged that the manufacturers were liable for
the injuries and deaths because they had negligently and excessively
distributed handguns.
Barnes litigated the case by herself for four
years and survived three summary judgment motions and the collective
battle tactics of all 25 firearms manufacturers. At trial, the jury
found 15 of the 25 manufacturer defendants negligent in the
marketing and distribution of their products, and eight of the
manufacturers responsible for three deaths as a result of their
negligent marketing. The jury awarded damages to one plaintiff,
Steven Fox, who survived a gunshot wound to the head. The legal
precedent set by the judge’s decision on the negligent
distribution theory, along with the jury’s verdict, helped form
the basis for lawsuits filed by municipalities around the country
against the firearms industry.
• The 1998
Public Justice Achievement Award also was presented to Lynette
Labinger of Providence’s Roney & Labinger, Amato DeLuca
of Providence’s DeLuca & Weizenbaum, Ray A. Marcaccio
of Providence’s Blish & Cavanaugh, and Sandra L. Duggan
of Philadelphia,
who successfully battled against Brown
University more than six years, finally winning equal
opportunities for Brown’s women athletes in Cohen
v. Brown University.
The other finalists for the 1999 Trial Lawyer
of the Year Award were also honored at the gala for their
contributions:
•Fred Baron and
Lisa Blue of Baron & Budd in Dallas; Mike Kaeske and Kay
Reeves of Kaeske and Reeves in Dallas, and Bill Caroselli
of Caroselli, Spagnolli & Beachler in Pittsburgh, who won a
great verdict for radiation victims in Hall
v. Babcock & Wilcox Company.
•Michael Bidart
of Shernoff, Bidart, Darras & Dillon in Claremont, California,
for his landmark wrongful death verdict against an HMO in Goodrich
v. Aetna U.S. Healthcare of California, Inc.
•Madelyn Chaber
of Wartnick, Chaber, Harowitz, Smith & Tigerman in San
Francisco, who won the biggest verdict ever against Big Tobacco in Henley
v. Philip Morris, Inc. and then helped other nominees for this
award win an even bigger one.
•Morris Dees, Richard Cohen
and Marcia (MAR-SEE-UH) Bull Stadeker of the Southern Poverty
Law Center in Montgomery, Alabama, who held the Ku Klux Klan
accountable for church burning in Macedonia
Baptist Church v. Christian Knights of the Ku Klux Klan –
Invisible Empire, Inc.
•Bill Gaylord
of Gaylord & Eyerman, Ray Thomas and Jim Coon of
Swanson, Thomas & Coon, and Chuck Tauman of Bennett,
Hartman & Reynolds, all in Portland, Oregon, who won the largest
verdict yet against Big Tobacco, in Williams
v. Philip Morris, Inc.
•Timothy Kaine, Rhonda Harmon
and Thomas Wolf of Mezullo & McCandlish of Richmond,
Virginia, who exposed and corrected racial discrimination in housing
in Housing Opportunities Made Equal v.
Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company.
•Jan Eric Peterson, Fred Zeder
and Chris Young of Peterson, Young, Putra, Fletcher &
Zeder in Seattle, who were victorious against the swimming pool
industry for dangerous standards in Meneely
v. National Spa and Pool Institute.
•Dianne Jay Weaver
and Mike Ryan of Krupnick, Campbell, Malone, Roselli, Buser,
Slama, Hancock, McNelis, Lieberman & McKee in Fort Lauderdale,
who in Wynn v. Tower won the biggest civil rights verdict in
Florida history for a brain-injured patient mistreated in state
hospitals.
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Trial Lawyers for Public Justice is
the only national public interest law firm dedicated to using trial
lawyers’ skills and resources to advance the public good. Founded
in 1982, TLPJ utilizes a nationwide network of more than 2,700 trial
lawyers to pursue precedent-setting and socially significant
litigation. It has a wide-ranging litigation docket in the areas of
civil rights and liberties, consumer rights, worker safety, toxic
torts, environmental protection, and access to the courts. TLPJ is
the principal project of The TLPJ Foundation, a not-for-profit
membership organization. It has offices in Washington, DC, and
Oakland, CA. The TLPJ web site address is www.tlpj.org.
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