LA Superior Court among nation's top venues for billion-dollar verdicts, report finds

Los Angeles County Superior Court ranked among the nation's most consequential venues for civil litigation, with plaintiffs winning more than $2.4 billion in principal damages through jury verdicts between 2023 and 2025, according to a report released Tuesday by legal analytics company LexisNexis.

The report, based on data compiled through LexisNexis' Lex Machina platform, identified Los Angeles County as a hub for high-exposure civil litigation, driven in large part by two verdicts that each approached $1 billion.

In Moore v. Johnson & Johnson et al., a Los Angeles jury awarded approximately $16 million in compensatory damages and $950 million in punitive damages in a wrongful death lawsuit involving mesothelioma. The report identified Dean Omar Branham Shirley, which represented the plaintiff, as the top-ranking plaintiffs' firm by total award amount, with roughly $966 million in verdicts during the reporting period.

Another major contributor was Solar Eclipse Investment Fund III LLC et al. v. CohnReznick LLP et al., in which a jury awarded more than $950 million in 2024 in litigation stemming from an alleged fraudulent investment scheme involving mobile solar generators.

Several other plaintiffs' firms also secured significant verdicts in Los Angeles County during the period. According to the report, Parris Law Firm obtained approximately $161 million in jury awards, followed by Greenberg Gross with $160 million and Dordick Law Corp. with $125 million.

The report also examined trial activity on the defense side. The California Department of Justice participated in 118 trials during the reporting period, more than any other entity identified in the analysis. Most were bench trials involving state agencies and enforcement actions.

Among private firms, the Law Offices of Robert S. Gitmeid & Associates recorded the highest trial volume, appearing in 69 matters. According to the report, those proceedings were nonjury cases involving debt collection and creditor-rights disputes.

National firms also maintained a substantial presence in Los Angeles County Superior Court. Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith participated in 60 trials across practice areas including insurance and employment litigation, while Mark R. Weiner & Associates handled 51 jury trials, among the highest jury-trial totals reported.

The report reflects the continued concentration of high-value civil litigation in Los Angeles County, one of the busiest trial court systems in the nation.