Judge Rules in Favor of Cory Watson Clients to Award $40+ Million in Damages

Judge Rules in Favor of Cory Watson Clients to Award $40+ Million in Damages

Cory Watson has always been honored to stand up for our clients by taking on the big corporations who wronged them. Our experienced attorneys understand that oftentimes the fight for justice is a marathon—not a sprint—and that it sometimes requires a jury to make a defendant appreciate the full extent of the harm it caused to our clients.

After initially filing a lawsuit in November 2017, a Columbus, Ohio jury unanimously reached a verdict in March 2020 that held DuPont responsible for two separate testicular cancer diagnoses to Travis Abbott and awarded him $40 million in compensatory damages. Following the ruling DuPont requested a significant reduction in the amount of compensation and for a new trial.

However, in a 32-page order, U.S. District Judge Edmund A. Sargus issued a final ruling that awarded Mr. and Mrs. Abbott $40.3 million for their combined damages and suffering, denied DuPont’s request for a new trial, and denied its request to reduce Mr. Abbott’s award.

“We are very pleased with the Court’s most recent ruling in this case,” said Cory Watson Principal Attorney Jon Conlin. “Despite multiple motions from DuPont trying to overturn the jury’s $40 million dollar award to Travis Abbott, the Court correctly upheld the verdict and agreed that the evidence in our case clearly supported the Abbotts’ multi-million-dollar awards.”

Oftentimes our attorneys must prepare to take on expansive defense teams on behalf of injury victims for the long haul. Cory Watson takes deep pride in the sustained fight to get our clients the compensation they deserve.

“Travis Abbott suffered devastating injuries because of the company’s decades-long dumping of the forever chemical PFOA (C8) into the community drinking water,” Conlin said. “While Ohio Tort Reform did result in a reduction in Julie’s award to the maximum allowed statutory cap, Travis’ sum (and the multiple millions of additional dollars in stipulated pre-judgment interest) will remain fully intact.”

Attorneys Jon C. Conlin, F. Jerome Tapley, Nina Towle Herring, Mitchell Theodore, Beth Chambers and Brett Thompson are honored to represent the plaintiffs and secure a $40.3 million judgment on behalf of the Abbott family.

The case is Swartz, et al. v. E. I. du Pont de Nemours & Co., S.D. Ohio, Case No. 2:18-cv-136, and Abbott v. E. I. du Pont de Nemours & Co., S.D. Ohio, Case No. 2:17-cv-998.

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About Cory Watson Attorneys Cory Watson Attorneys is a nationally-recognized personal injury law firm with offices in Birmingham, Alabama as well as Memphis, and Nashville, Tennessee. The firm has recovered more than $4 Billion for clients across the country. Cory Watson Attorneys are frequently at the forefront of major class actions and multidistrict litigations involving product liability related to serious injuries from defective products, and are often appointed to leadership positions in national cases. Firm practice areas include Personal Injury, Product Liability, Class Action, Asbestos, Business & Commercial Litigation, Dangerous Pharmaceuticals, Defective Medical Devices, and Environmental/Toxic Torts.