Litigator of the Week: The Georgia Lawyer Who Hit Ford With a $1.7 Billion Product Liability Verdict
The punitive damages win last week by Jim Butler of Butler Prather for the family of a couple who died after the roof of their F-250 pickup collapsed in a rollover crash marked his eighth verdict of more than $100 million.
August 26, 2022 at 07:30 AM
6 minute read
James E. "Jim" Butler Jr. of Butler Prather. Courtesy photoJim Butler of Butler Prather had a clear message last week at the end of a three-week product liability trial he led for the family of a couple who died after the roof of their Ford F-250 pickup collapsed in a rollover crash more than eight years ago.
"A punitive damages award in this case heard round the world will save lives," Butler told the jury during closing arguments in the trial's second punitive damages phase.
Butler wasn't wrong about that "heard round the world" part. Jurors hit Ford Motor Co. with a $1.7 billion dollar punitive damages award on Aug. 19, after having awarded plaintiffs $24 million in the earlier phase of the case.
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