A Hinds County, Mississippi, jury has ordered the well-known law firm of Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell & Berkowitz to pay $595,000 in compensatory and $750,000 in punitive damages to 34-year-old Jack Muirhead, Jr. The case began when Muirhead, who had been attending an employee meeting, got into a brawl in a hotel parking lot which resulted in a $2,900 jury verdict against him. An insurer for Muirhead’s employer denied coverage on the advice of the Baker, Donelson firm that the altercation was not employment-related, and Muirhead sued, first winning a $500,000 bad faith settlement against the insurer and then cooperating with it to sue the law firm. After the latest verdict, the attorney for Baker Donelson noted that the plaintiff “has gotten $1.845 million for a parking lot brawl. The guy who lost the fight got $2,900.” (Jimmie E. Gates, “‘Wrong’ advice nets damages”, Jackson Clarion-Ledger, Feb. 12; “Law firm hit with $595,000 judgment”, Feb. 11). Says an editorial in the Greenwood Commonwealth: “Pundits have argued that real tort reform will only come when the lawyers start suing the other lawyers…. that time has arrived.” (“Lawyers feel sting of absurd verdict”, Feb. 15)

Filed under: Mississippi