New Report Shows Nuclear Verdicts Surged to $14.5B in 2023

Nuclear verdicts of at least $10 million reached a 15-year high in 2023, while 27 verdicts were “thermonuclear,” or more than $100 million, according to a new study by research firm Marathon Strategies.

The report, “Corporate Verdicts Go Thermonuclear,” found that the number of nuclear jury verdicts increased by 27% in 2023 compared to the prior year. In 2023, the median nuclear verdict rose to $44 million, up from $21 million in 2020.

Marathon’s research found that verdicts are increasingly influenced by shifts in jury pool demographics, driven by a rise of Millennial and Gen X voters. Marathon identified corporate mistrust, social pessimism, erosion of tort reform and public desensitization to large numbers are top factors to why nuclear verdicts have risen over the last decade and a half.

The report found 89 nuclear verdicts against companies in 2023, resulting in jury awards totaling $14.5 billion. The median verdict increased 7.3% from the previous year.

Product liability cases represented the largest share of nuclear verdicts at 38%, with much of the total driven by claims that Bayer AG’s weedkiller causes cancer. Nine-figure verdicts against car makers Mitsubishi Motors and Suzuki Motor also drove that total.

Intellectual property claims made up the second-highest share of nuclear verdicts (23%), followed by wrongful death (13%) and antitrust (12%), according to the study.

The report found that cases in state courts represented $9.1 billion, or 62% of nuclear verdicts, compared to $5.5 billion, or 32%, in federal courts. The discrepancy is mostly due to the largest case category, product liability, going through state venues, the report said.

Show-Me The Money

Four states had total nuclear verdict sums more than $1 billion in 2023, led by Missouri with $4 billion. The report said that nearly all the nuclear verdicts in Missouri had been ordered by juries in the St. Louis County Court, a court known for “venue hopping” and awarding high punitive damages. Missouri allows plaintiffs’ attorneys to request a specific amount for damages.’

Missouri was home to the two largest verdicts in 2023: a $1.8 billion antitrust case against the National Association of Realtors (NAR) and two brokerage firms, and a $1.5 billion Roundup case against Bayer AG/Monsanto, the report said. A judge recently slashed Bayer’s $1.5 billion verdict to $600 million.

Texas had the next-highest total of nuclear verdicts ($3.7 billion), followed by Pennsylvania ($1.2 billion) and Washington ($1.1 billion). Since 2009, Texas leads all states with 207 nuclear verdicts totaling $45 billion.

Industries Most Impacted

Real estate management and development led all sectors with more than $2.7 billion in total verdicts, the report found. The majority of the total came from the $1.8 billion antitrust lawsuit against the NAR and two brokerage firms. In March the NAR agreed to settle litigation over commission rules for $418 million.