Conal Doyle was part of the trial team that obtained a verdict of $79,092,133.12 for the former CEO of Matterport, Inc., a Silicon Valley Tech Company that provides 3D spatial mapping to the real estate and hospitality industries. After pre-judgment interest, the verdict exceeds $90 million. In Phase I of the case, the Vice Chancellor ruled that Matterport improperly restricted Mr. Brown from trading his Matterport stock after the company went public through a de-SPAC transaction in July 2021. This ruling was affirmed by the Delaware Supreme Court in 2022. Phase II of the case centered around whether Mr. Brown suffered damages as a result of Matterport’s conduct. After a five-day trial, the Vice Chancellor found that Matterport was liable to Mr. Brown for more than $90 million, including pre-judgment interest. Matterport has appealed this ruling to the Delaware Supreme Court. To date, this has been a “zero offer” case-Matterport has not made any settlement offers.
Archives: Verdicts
McKnight v. Spain, Record Setting $26.8 Million Jury Verdict in Medical Malpractice Case
In December 2013, Conal Doyle obtained the highest medical malpractice jury verdict in the history of Kern County, California. The $26.8 million verdict was recognized by California’s legal newspaper, The Daily Journal, as one of the Top Ten Verdicts of 2013.
In McKnight, the plaintiff brought a lawsuit against two intraoperative neurodiagnostic monitors who caused her paralysis by failing to do their jobs during a complex spine surgery.
The plaintiff, Charlene McKnight, underwent a spinal surgery on February 23, 2009, and was rendered a paraplegic when a bone fragment was thrust into her spinal cord during surgery. The defendants were supposed to be monitoring the electrical signal of Ms. McKnight’s spinal cord, but neglected to inform the surgeon of an “interruption in signal” which signified compression to the cord. This deprived the surgeon of the opportunity to take corrective action and remove the bone fragment before permanent paralysis ensued.
Significantly, Mr. Doyle was able to obtain a pre-trial ruling that MICRA, California’s medical malpractice tort reform statute, does not apply. Therefore, the defendants, who are not licensed health care providers, do not have the protection of damages caps. Therefore, the entirety of the verdict is recoverable.
Sipple, et al. v. City Of Hayward, et al, $24 Million Settlement in Unlawful Tax Collection Case (March 2016)
Conal Doyle represented New Cingular Wireless PCS LLC in an action against more than 100 California public entities that unlawfully collected internet usage taxes from New Cingular Wireless (AT&T Mobility) customers. The case resulted in a published appellate court decision that made new law on the issue of “standing” in tax refund cases. Sipple v. City of Hayward, 225 Cal.App.4th 349 (2014). All of the public entities sued agreed to refund the vast majority of the erroneously paid tax after years of litigation. The total recovery for all plaintiff taxpayers was just under $24,000,000.
$13.3 Million Settlement Medical Malpractice-Quadrilateral Amputation
Conal Doyle was lead trial counsel in this medical malpractice case that settled in March 2015. The plaintiff went into septic shock after she received inadequate treatment for a urinary tract infection and kidney stone obstruction. As a result, all four of her limbs were amputated. This case was governed by MICRA, the California law that limits non-economic damages to $250,000 for “pain and suffering.” Consequently, the settlement amount represented the cost of future medical care and was one of the largest actual recoveries by a medical malpractice plaintiff in California history. Conal Doyle used his intimate knowledge of prosthetics to ensure that the future Life Care Plan represented full and fair compensation for the plaintiff.
$11.5 Million Settlement-Traumatic Brain Injury
Conal Doyle was lead counsel in a case that resolved for $11.5 million in April 2018. The plaintiff was involved in a motorcycle crash with a commercial truck, suffering orthopedic and brain injuries. Mr. Doyle was brought into the case by another law firm to conduct expert discovery and trial, resolving the case before trial within six months of entering an appearance. The Firm spent approximately $400,000 working the case up, including focus groups, settlement documentary, medical illustrations, medical experts, and miscellaneous case costs. The Firm’s aggressive work up resulted in a full and fair recovery for the client while avoiding the risk of trial.
Premises Liability Sexual Assault-$7,500,000 Settlement (California 2017)
Conal Doyle obtained a $7,500,000 settlement for a woman who was sexually assaulted at a Southern California hotel by a third party criminal intruder.
The victim was referred to the firm by a local trial judge, who described Mr. Doyle as “one of the best jury trial lawyers he has ever seen.” The case was settled after a lawsuit was filed but before discovery began, so the plaintiff did not even have to give a deposition in the case.
Justice was obtained so efficiently in this tragic case in large part because of Mr. Doyle’s courtroom reputation. The settlement was remarkable because it brought justice and resolution to a wonderful woman who was brutally attacked through no fault of her own.
There were no economic damages in the case, the settlement was purely for “pain and suffering” damages, primarily psychological. The entirety of the settlement was paid by the hotel as the actual assailant was convicted of sexual assault and sentenced to more than thirty years in prison.
This result is one of the largest premises liability sexual assault settlements in California history.
$6.5 Million Settlement-Wrongful Death, Failure to Diagnose Cancer (2020)
Conal Doyle obtained a $6.5 million recovery in a medical malpractice case involving the failure to timely diagnose and treat cancer. A hospital failed to inform its patient that pathology reports showed malignant melanoma, delaying the diagnosis for almost two years. By the time of the diagnosis, the cancer had become metastatic and uncurable. The patient passed away at age 45, and his family brought an action for wrongful death. The case was litigated for five years, before settling in 2020.
Jane Doe v. Jack In The Box-$3.8 million jury verdict Premises Liability-Complex Regional Pain Syndrome
In March 2014, Conal Doyle obtained a $3.8 million jury verdict against Jack In The Box in Kern County, California. The verdict included more than $3.1 million in non-economic, or “pain and suffering” damages, one of the largest awards of its kind in County history. Prior to trial, the highest settlement offer from Jack In The Box was $200,000.
The plaintiff, Jane Doe, developed Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS), formerly known as Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy (RSD), after a metal panel fell on her foot while a patron at Jack In The Box in Lebec, California. She suffered a bruise and small abrasion. However, she went on to develop CRPS, a rare pain condition, that can occur from minor trauma. Her past medical bills were $250,000 and future projected medical bills were approximately $400,000.
Jack In the Box disputed liability, arguing that it wasn’t at fault for the injury, and denied that Ms. Doe had CRPS and was severely damaged. The jury rejected the defense arguments in their entirety and awarded all economic damages requested by the plaintiff in addition to the historic non-economic damage award in a case of this type.
Mr. Doyle was retained as lead trial counsel the month before trial began, conducted expert discovery, and obtained his second multi-million dollar verdict in three months in Bakersfield, one of California’s most conservative jurisdictions.
Penile Amputation and Wrongful Death – Castaneda v. U.S. & State of CA – $3,200,000 Result
Castaneda v. State of California
Conal Doyle obtained a $1,735,557 jury verdict on November 10, 2010 on behalf of the family of Francisco Castaneda, a state prisoner who died because the State of California refused to provide him a biopsy to rule out penile cancer during his four month detention. The suit was brought by Mr. Castaneda’s 17 year old daughter, Vanessa Castaneda. Prior to trial, the State offered $10,000 to settle the claim, and disputed liability, causation, and damages. During trial, Mr. Doyle asked the jury to return a verdict of $1,500,000 in non-economic damages and $235,557 for past medical bills.
After deliberating for less than four hours, the jury returned a verdict for the exact amount requested, which was 170 times the pre-trial defense offer. The amount of the verdict was not reduced due to comparative fault and is not subject to California’s medical malpractice tort reform act (“MICRA”), and is 100% collectible.
The Daily Journal, California’s daily legal newspaper, recognized Castaneda v. State of California as one of California’s Top 10 most impactful verdicts of 2010. The Castaneda verdict was ranked third in impact, behind only the verdicts striking down the U.S. military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy and Proposition 8, the California ban on gay marriage. The Castaneda verdict was recognized for its impact on improving the medical care system for immigration detainees.
Castaneda v. United States
Conal Doyle obtained a $1,950,000 settlement in Castaneda v. U.S., 538 F.Supp.2d 1279 (C.D. Cal 2008), affirmed, Castaneda v. U.S., 546 F.3d 682 (9th Cir. 2008), reversed, Castaneda v. Hui,130 S.Ct. 1845 (2010), which is an action by an immigration detainee who suffered a penile amputation and subsequently died due to the United States’ failure to timely diagnose and treat penile cancer.
Castaneda v. United States is a companion case to Castaneda v. State, and the settlement with the United States is in addition to the $1.73 million dollar verdict obtained against the State. This settlement is almost eight times the $250,000 medical malpractice cap that the United States argued applied to the case. The Firm spent more than $180,000 in case costs prosecuting the Castaneda cases.
The case has received extensive international media coverage, with numerous stories published by the San Francisco Chronicle, L.A. Times, New York Times, Washington Post, Canadian News Press, British Broadcasting Company (BBC), Daily Journal, Univision, Telemundo, numerous other international media outlets, and 60 Minutes.
The San Francisco Trial Lawyers Association honored Conal Doyle with the 2011 Civil Justice Award for his unprecedented work on behalf of the Castaneda family. And the National Law Journal recognized him as its national “Appellate Lawyer of the Week” for his argument before the U.S. Supreme Court in Hui v. Castaneda.
Medical Malpractice — Leg Amputation $2,400,000 Settlement (Georgia 2007)
Conal Doyle obtained a $2.4 Million dollar recovery on behalf of a 33 year old man who broke his leg playing baseball and had it amputated at the knee two weeks later due to the defendants’ failure to timely diagnose and treat Compartment Syndrome. Conal Doyle was lead counsel on this Georgia case, which resolved three weeks prior to trial after almost two years of litigation, which included more than forty depositions. The value of the case was constrained by the two million dollar insurance policy limits of the target defendant and a conservative jurisdiction. The firm spent more than $100,000 in case costs in prosecuting this case.