Gordon & Rees attorneys won two of the 20 Top Defense Results of 2013, as reported in the Daily Journal’s Feb. 12 Top Verdicts Special Report: Bellows v. Bellows, won by Gordon & Rees founding partner Stuart M. Gordon and partner James R. "Reg" Reilly of San Francisco, and Gutierres v. Balch Petroleum, won by assistant managing partner Miles D. Scully and partner Todd Konold of San Diego.
In Bellows, Mr. Gordon and Mr. Reilly won a complete defense judgment in a case that interpreted the old and new versions of the financial elder abuse law, California Welfare and Institutions Code Section 15610.30. The plaintiffs had sought treble damages under that law, which would have been over $6 million if they had prevailed.
The lengthy and costly four-year litigation ended after a four-week bench trial in Mendocino County Superior Court, in which the judge ruled for the defendants on all claims, stating the plaintiffs take nothing.
In Gutierres, Mr. Scully and Mr. Konold won a defense verdict in a brain damage suit in which the plaintiffs had sought $10 million in damages. As alleged, the plaintiff had sustained carbon monoxide poisoning after a backhoe operator outside the windowless building in which the plaintiff worked failed to cover a ventilation intake vent.
After a six-week trial, a Fresno County Superior Court jury deliberated for less than two hours and rendered a verdict of no negligence.
One of the fastest growing firms in the country, Gordon & Rees is a national litigation and business transactions firm with more than 550 lawyers and 30 offices in 20 states. In 2013, The National Law Journal ranked the firm 95th on its list of the largest U.S. firms and The American Lawyer ranked the firm at No. 139 on the Am Law 200 and at No. 21 on its Diversity Scorecard. Gordon & Rees has been ranked as a “BTI Client Service All-Star” for the past three years and has been honored as a 2014 "Go-To Law Firm" for Fortune 500 companies as well as selected for inclusion on Corporate Counsel magazine’s 2013 “Who Represents America’s Biggest Companies” list.