OTLA Trial Lawyer Spring 2021

2 Trial Lawyer • Spring 2021 By TimWilliams OTLA Guardian O n Monday, February 8 th , things got underway in the first jury trial to be held in Multnomah County’s new courthouse. Voir dire was held in the jury assembly room to allow for social distanc- ing. The 48 prospective jurors were surveyed ahead of time to eliminate hardship cases. A jury was selected and opening statements were presented be- ginning the next morning. Jurors were spread around the courtroom, and the number of others allowed in the court- room was strictly limited. The trial was a products liability case against R.J. Reynolds tobacco company. Plaintiff Patricia Rickman was represented by the Alvarez Law Firm of Florida with OTLA members Cynthia Newton and JimCoon serving as co-counsel. Judge Matarazzo presided. At the end of two weeks, jurors ruled in favor of the defendant. In the big picture, it was a major vic- tory for our clients that the trial was held. Jury trials have been scarce since the COVID shut down over a year ago. For the return of jury trials OTLA leadership has been working diligently behind the scene to get civil trials back on track to protect our clients. In support of juries All of us rely on a functioning civil justice system in order to successfully do our jobs for our clients. The threat of litigation is a strong motivator for bad actors. However, COVID threw a wrench in the works. We all feel it — clients and attorneys alike. When it comes to jury trials, we sim- ply have not had the ability to return to anything even remotely resembling the status quo these past several months. A zero jury trials scenario only has one winner: insurance companies. Rather than “pay the dough they know they owe,” the carriers invest those funds. They get to keep making record profits off their investments in a bull market. Meanwhile, the injured parties are left to starve, with no reasonably available re- course. Insurance companies know this and are taking advantage of our clients’ precarious position. But there is hope, due to some hard work and extra effort from forward thinking judicial leaders and many in this organization. The summer efforts OTLA members Ben Cox, Richard Lane, Nick Kahl and David Sugerman worked behind the scenes early in the pandemic to protect our clients’ rights. Over the summer, Chief Justice Walters responded to our concerns that civil tri- als were non-existent. She organized several work groups to analyze the prob- lem and try to come up with a solution. Some OTLA members, including Lane, Brian Dretke, Bonnie Richardson, She- noa Payne and Robert B. Johnson, as well as OADC members, were assigned to work with JudgeTimGerking of Jackson County on what became known as the Civi l Workgroup. The group met several times in August to make recom- mendations for the orderly processing of civil litigation during the pandemic. The end product consisted of recommenda- tions regarding which types of hearings could be satisfactorily addressed by re- mote appearances and which would be better served by in-person appearance. In short (and not surprisingly), dispositive motions were deemed appro- priate for in-person appearances, and more mundane motions were deemed appropriate for remote appearances. Of course, this was all within the discretion of the trial judge and the parties would President’s Message Tim Williams K e s t e n M e d i a Your client has a story to tell. Hire a communication professional to help tell it. VIDEOS • MULTIMEDIA PRESENTATIONS for mediation, arbitration or trial Michael Kesten, Emily Smith Harrington 503-246-1126, michael@kestenmedia.com , emily@kestenmedia.com