Recent Cases
Murray & Murray has been noted for its successes in jury trials on behalf of the physically and financially injured. These have included many jury trials representing individuals and in class actions in the areas of:
The Ohio Supreme Court will Hear an Unconscionable Mortgage Fee Case Brought by Murray & Murray
Murray & Murray represents a proposed class of individuals who have been charged bogus fees by HomEq Servicing and had their payments applied to fees when they should have first been applied to interest, principal, and escrow items. The Ohio Supreme Court will answer the question: are mortgage servicers subject to the law in Ohio that protects consumers from deceptive acts and allows businesses to compete in a fair and transparent marketplace; or, are they exempt and free to treat Ohio consumers unfairly, deceptively and unconscionably? The case before the Ohio Supreme Court is entitled Anderson v. Barclays Capital Real Estate Inc. d/b/a HomEq Servicing et al.
Murray & Murray Negotiates a Settlement for Injured Motorcyclist
The construction company responsible for setting up a work zone on a highway entrance ramp agreed to settle a negligence lawsuit with a motorcyclist who was severely injured when attempting to merge onto the highway. The improperly set up work zone result in a four-inch lip on the surface of the roadway that caused the motorcyclist's injuries. The settlement funds will provide the motorcyclist the support he needs to deal with permanent head trauma suffered as a result of the construction company's negligence. The attorneys at Murray & Murray have the experience and skill necessary to protect the interests of those who have been injured as a result of improper and negligent road construction.
Murray & Murray Recovers $3.25 Million on Behalf of a Victim of Negligent Medical Treatment
A two-year old boy suffered a severe brain injury when a rural hospital emergency room was unable to adequately provide him the medical care he needed. This lack of care left the boy in a chronic vegetative state. This tragic situation highlights the inadequacies in medical care that many rural Americans are faced with.
Murray & Murray Keeps Fraudulent Hospital Collection Practices Case in Huron County
This case involves a hospital and their collection agency who is fraudulently seeking to collect the full retail rate for the medical treatment a patient received at the hospital even when a contract required the hospital to bill the patient's medical insurance company at a lower, negotiated rate. The federal district court for the Northern District of Ohio agreed with Murray & Murray that this case should remain in state court. This ruling prevents the hospital and its collection agency from using the court system to advance their agenda. Instead, because the hospital and the collection agency were using the state courts to collect from patients, they must remain in the same forum for this action. The case is pending in the Huron County Court of Common Pleas and is entitled Bellevue Hospital v. Peterson, Case No. CVH20110572.
Murray & Murray Wins in the Appellate Court, Again, on a Class Action Against Sprint
The Sixth District Court of Appeals has ruled-for a second time-that a class of individuals may proceed with litigation against Sprint for allowing "cramming" on its customer's local telephone bills. "Cramming" is the practice of placing unauthorized charges on a customer's local telephone account. "Crammers" take advantage of the fact that providers of local telephone service, such as Sprint, have opened their billing to third parties who can have their charges placed on the telephone bill. Murray & Murray represents a class of Sprint customers who are victims of crammers placing unauthorized charges on their local telephone accounts. The case is entitled Stammco, LLC v. United Telephone Co. of Ohio, Case No. 05CV000150.
Murray and Murray Wins in the Appeals Court on a Class Action Against Crain Communications
The Appellate Court upheld a Decision in the Ottawa County trial court allowing Mr. Pevets to pursue his claims against Crain Communications as a class action. Crain Communications publishes the magazine AutoWeek and distributes the magazine to its subscribers. Crain unilaterally changed the terms of the subscription and now only gives subscribers half of the number of magazines they paid for. The Sixth District Court of Appeals held that the claims against Crain for this conduct can go forward as a National Class Action. Michael Pevets v. Crain Communications, Inc. Decision in Sixth Dist. Court of Appeals.
Murray and Murray wins for Single Mother in Bad-Faith Insurance and Breach of Contract Case
Our firm recently recovered for a single mother who was wrongfully denied insurance proceeds after her home was completely destroyed in a fire. The insurance company accused the homeowner of arson. Murray and Murray made claims for breach of contract and insurance bad faith. The firm was able to demonstrate that the insurance company did not have a reasonable basis for denying the claim and recovered proceeds in excess of the insurance policy.
Murray and Murray obtains substantial recovery in Nursing Home Sexual Abuse case
Murray and Murray recently obtained a substantial recovery for several families whose loved ones were sexually abused while residents of a nursing home. The nursing home claimed it was not aware of any past issues with the employee who committed the assaults. Murray and Murray uncovered evidence that the perpetrator had engaged in similar conduct in the past and demonstrated that the nursing home should have implemented policies to prevent such abuse.
Katrina Jail Lawsuit: Jury Awards Tourists $650K
A federal jury on Thursday awarded more than $650,000 to two Ohio tourists who were arrested in New Orleans on public drunkenness charges two days before Hurricane Katrina and jailed for more than a month in the storm's chaotic aftermath.
The jury unanimously concluded that Orleans Parish Sheriff Marlin Gusman falsely imprisoned Robie Waganfeald and Paul Kunkel Jr., both of Toledo, Ohio, and awarded them a total of $459,300 for those claims. The jury awarded an additional $200,000 for violating the men’s constitutional rights More information
We are currently are seeking individuals, who have been sued in a California Court by a debt collection company using the name of Midland Credit Management, Midland Funding or Midland Receivables during the approximate period from July 2, 2007 until March, 2009. Read more...
We are currently litigating in Fremont against the owner of B&W Welding Inc. for faulty and defective construction that does not meet the standards of the Ohio Building Code. Dave Michaels used, his company, B & W Welding to weld pillars and beams resulting in violations of Ohio law. We represent the homeowner in a case against Dave Michaels for his defective construction. Plaintiff is concerned that the defects make the home unsafe. Plaintiff is concerned that the defective beam may collapse the roof of the foundation causing injury.
Murray and Murray recovered favorable compensation for a teenage boy who suffered a compartment fracture in his right forearm while playing on an inflatable amusement ride. Murray and Murray argued on behalf of the client that the ride operator and owner failed to properly instruct participants on how to properly use the inflatable.
A jury recently awarded Murray and Murray's client approximately ten times what the defendant's insurance company offered prior to the start of trial. The injured party hurt his knee in an automobile accident caused by the defendant. The defendant attempted to argue that the plaintiff's on going pain and disability was a result of arthritis and not the car accident. The jury disagreed. Murray and Murray is pursuing prejudgment interest against the insurance company for their failure to negotiate the case in good faith.
Murray and Murray successfully recovered compensation for employees who claimed they were discriminated against based on race. The plaintiff employees were forced to consistently perform menial tasks that their white counterparts with equal job status were not required to perform on a regular basis. Murray and Murray was able to use the employer's manufacturing records to substantiate the claim and resolve the case to the satisfaction of the employee clients.
We successfully litigated a claim on behalf of a client for breach of contract. The client had contracted to purchase a lawn care business from the defendant. The defendant attempted to renege on the contract after our client had spent a substantial sum of money and energy improving the business. The jury award of $376,000.00 was the exact amount we requested for compensation in closing argument.
We successfully negotiated a wrongful death settlement for the family of a farmer who was killed when his tractor was struck by the defendant's semi-truck. The defendant truck driver stated that the farmer pulled out in front of his semi-truck. We used an accident Reconstructionist to demonstrate that the truck driver's story was untruthful. We also uncovered the fact the truck driver's logs indicated he was not in compliance with regulations dictating how long a trucker can operate his tractor-trailer during any given time period.
On behalf of two badly injured clients Murray and Murray recovered substantial compensation from a tavern for serving a noticeably intoxicated patron who caused a serious car accident on his way home from the bar. We filed what is known as a dram shop action on behalf of the injured parties to recover from the liquor establishment. One of the plaintiffs suffered partial paralysis as a result of the accident. The bar patron who caused the accident had a blood alcohol level over three times the limit permitted in the state of Ohio.
Murray and Murray recovered favorable compensation for two individuals injured when the boat on which they were passengers struck the Cedar point break wall.
Murray and Murray successfully resolved a Long Shoreman's case on behalf of a worker who suffered a shoulder dislocation and rotator cuff tear when he fell at the Sandusky Coal Docks.
We recently recovered substantial compensation for a tug boat captain who was injured when he fell from an elevated pilot house. Murray and Murray filed a Jones Act case against the captain's employer alleging that the pilot house was deficient due to its lack of safety devices.
Murray and Murray recovered considerable compensation for a railroad employee who suffered a closed head injury and multiple fractures. The railroad employee was injured while riding in a company van from a job site to the rail yard. We filed a Federal Employers Liability Act (FELA) case against the railroad who claimed they were not liable because the employee was not engaged in an "operational activity" at the time of the accident. We successfully litigated the "operational activity" issue in the United States District Court.
Class Actions
We recently received an appellate court affirmation of class action status for the recovery of damages for automobile repairs on the undercarriage due to a design flaw resulting in front end clip damages because of a defect in the bumper due to contact with curbs and curb stops.
Commercial
We recently recovered several million dollars on behalf of a union fund for ERISA claims following investment decisions that violated investment standards.
Consumer Protection
A federal judge granted summary judgment in favor of our client for violations of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act against a NASDAQ listed company for abusive debt collection tactics including failure to send the required statutory notices.
Consumer Protection
We recently participated in a national class action settlement for cellular telephone subscribers who had fixed-rate contracts which the company sought to avoid.
We have been successful in litigation for cramming by a telephone company as to unauthorized third party charges. The cellular phone company was adding unauthorzed cell phone charges to customers' bills. These bogus charges resulted in phony telephone bills.
We have successfully defended motion practice as to a national bank's charges to customer checking accounts.
Breach of Contract
We completed litigation as lead counsel for a national class action and recovered tens of millions of dollars for insurance policy purchasers of life insurance who were victims of life insurance sales scams. The life insurance company made false representations to the consumer in order to sell them ever increasing premium policy charges.
Toxic Torts and Environmental Pollution
In Kentucky, a jury returned a verdict of $218,000,000 for the intentional pollution of the property of class plaintiffs adjacent to a river.
We just completed an environmental litigation case on behalf of a class which started in 1983. After the commencement of two trials, one on liability and damages, and the other on insurance company liability, this matter was finally resolved with a total recovery of more than $30,000,000.
Wrongful Death
We recently recovered jury verdicts against the railroad companies in the amount of $25,000,000; $10,000,000; $3,000,000; $4,900,000; $2,800,000; $1,875,000 and $2,000,000. A jury returned a punitive damage award in one of our railroad cases for $15,000,000.
We recovered over $6,900,000 in a wrongful death case for a laborer.
At the date scheduled for a jury trial in Federal District Court, we settled a wrongful death action last year for the entire policy limits, together with all net equity in a trucking company for $1,750,000.
Serious Personal Injury
We recovered in Oklahoma City on a jury verdict in the Federal District Court on behalf of an injured party in the sum of $17,750,000.
We recovered $7,850,000 in a personal injury, traffic accident case based upon a jury award.
We recently recovered $3,750,000 on behalf of an employee who was injured by the intentional misconduct of his employer.
We recovered on a jury verdict against the manufacturer of an amusement ride in the sum of $2,600,000.
Commercial
In a contract action, we recovered in excess of $20,000,000 for a shareholder.
We successfully maintained ERISA litigation against a medical insurer on behalf of the class of individuals and recovered in 1999, more than $13,000,000 as a result of wrongful discounting practices.
We participated in the recovery of over $20,000,000 on behalf of borrowers using automobiles for collateral from a major automobile manufacturing company.
We recently recovered over $4,000,000 for a class of a group of executives who contended that the company met the target for certain incentive compensation. The case turned on the resolution of a series of complex accounting issues.
A jury recently returned a $5,000,000 punitive damage award against a major automobile manufacturer for abusing the borrower's rights.
In cases against banks, we recently recovered over $25,000,000 for borrowers in one case, and we recovered in excess of $2,500,000 from a bond indenture trustee for failure to monitor a construction project jeopardizing the value of the bonds.
Recently we recovered against a polluter and its insurance company for a temporary fouling of a beach, in the approximate sum of $2,000,000.
Securities- Stocks, Bonds, etc.
We have successfully recovered in many security class action cases on behalf of a class of plaintiffs, including going private transactions of approximately $6,000,000 and of $3,350,000; for penny security violations in the amount of $1,400,000; for proxy fraud in the amount of $5,700,000.
We participated in a recovery of more than $600,000,000 on behalf of shareholders in a security buyout case.
Bad Faith Insurance
After twenty years of arduous litigation, we just completed an interesting action. We had offered to settle a case for $2,000,000 at the time of a successful Ohio jury trial on the issue of liability and damages. A jury returned a $10,000,000 verdict. After an assignment of the causes of action, the subsequent bad faith insurance litigation resulted in a jury verdict of more than $15,000,000. With interest and attorney fees, more than $34,000,000 was finally recovered.
Food Borne Illness
We successfully worked with nationally recognized counsel in a botulism case on behalf of a Ohio client who was sickened by canned food. The manufacturer recalled the product several weeks after our client fell ill, so it was too late to administer an anti-toxin otherwise available from the Center for Disease Control (CDC). As a result of the delay in the recall, this individual continues to suffer from the effects of the poison. We were able to identify the specific neuromuscular test that identified the long-term effects of the poison, which was not detected by physical examination.
Medical Negligence
Our client underwent surgery for what was considered a routine and elective procedure. But an error by the pharmacy at the hospital led to the wrong product being used. As a result of the malpractice by the pharmacy technician, the patient suffered permanent injury. We were able to prove that a software system and a programming error caused the technician to incorrectly believe the product she chose was a generically equivalent. The hospital agreed to compensate our client for the significant loss.
Murray & Murray has litigated cases in federal and state courts throughout the State of Ohio and in federal courts in other areas of the country. Murray & Murray has a very active appellate practice, including a total of over 45 cases before the Ohio Supreme Court. These cases frequently include issues of great social and public importance. Murray & Murray attorneys appear regularly not only in the Supreme Court of Ohio, but also in all appellate districts in the State of Ohio and the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals of the United States of America, as well as in state courts throughout the United States.
