On June 25, after four days of trial against State Farm, in Dallas, Texas, State Farm decided that it had enough.
On the heels of having one of its own outside adjusters, the prior day, admit from the witness stand that he had violated company policies, State Farm announced in front of the jury that it would pay our client, Ms. Smith-Manning, every penny of her last demand. State Farm knew what was coming. After polling the twelve jurors, eleven of them said they were about to teach State Farm a lesson. Probably the same lesson a Harris County jury delivered last May, when our firm secured another trial victory against State Farm.
When our lawyers tell a Defendant that they are willing to go to trial – even on small cases – they mean it. State Farm tried several times, during trial, to settle Ms. Smith-Manning’s case for less than our client’s final demand. Each time, we refused, and continued our trial preparations with the same determination we had on day one.
Our hard work and determination paid off. Again.
Our lawyers go to trial when insurers refuse to act reasonably. We do it often, and we do it well. Having lawyers that know how to try cases makes a difference. While most cases settle, having skilled trial counsel levels the playing field and encourages insurance companies or corporate defendants to behave reasonably. As a result, our cases are more valuable than those of lawyers that merely threaten trial, or that do not have the skills to go to toe-to-toe with the insurer’s limitless resources.