Thomas Dupree Jr., Gibson Dunn & Crutcher, argues before the Supreme Court of Georgia in the case of Chrysler Group, LLC v Walden ET AL. The court held session at the University of Georgia School of Law.

Chrysler's lead appellate counsel Thomas Dupree Jr., a Washington, D.C.-based partner with Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, faced a hot bench Tuesday at the Georgia Supreme Court special session at the University of Georgia School of Law in Athens.

Dupree hung his oral argument for granting Chrysler a new trial on the company's objection to his opponent bringing up CEO Sergio Marchionne's $68 million-a-year compensation. Dupree noted that opposing counsel Jim Butler Jr. of Butler Wooten & Peak wrote that figure on a “giant” board. Then Butler asked the jury in closing arguments to award $120 million for the loss of Remi Walden's life in a burning Jeep after its rear-positioned gas tank ruptured on impact. The jury awarded the $120 million, plus $30 million for pain and suffering, though the amount was subsequently reduced significantly.

It turns out that Chrysler's lawyers didn't exactly make that objection at the trial, as Justice Nels Peterson was the first to point out.