Lawrance A. Bohm | |
---|---|
![]() Bohm in 2012 | |
Born | Lawrance Alexander Bohm July 4, 1972 Long Island, New York, US |
Education | University of California, Irvine (BS) Tulane University Law School (JD) |
Occupation | Trial Lawyer |
Employer | Bohm Law Group |
Spouse | Elisa Bohm (m. 1997) |
Children | 3 |
Website | www |
Lawrance A. Bohm (born July 4, 1972) is an American lawyer who is most noted for winning what is believed to be the two largest single-plaintiff employment verdicts in United States history: $185,872,719.52 in Juarez v. AutoZone Stores, Inc. (2014, United States District Court, Southern District of California) [1] [2] [3] and $167,730,488.00 in Chopourian v. Catholic Healthcare West (2012, United States District Court, Eastern District of California). [4] [5] Bohm has won several other large verdicts protecting and defending civil and workplace rights. [6] Bohm has represented clients in several high-profile cases. [7] [8] [9] [10] [11]
Bohm grew up on Long Island, New York and graduated high school in 1990. Bohm received a B.S. degree in crime, law, and society from the University of California, Irvine, in 1995. Bohm graduated from Tulane University Law School, cum laude in 2000 and externed with United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana Judge Ivan L.R. Lemelle. Bohm was president of his law school class and editor of the Tulane University Law School newspaper. [6]
In 2000, Bohm began his legal career as an associate attorney at the law offices of Porter, Scott, Weiberg and Delehant in Sacramento, California litigating personal injury, civil rights, and employment claims. In 2003, Bohm began working for Jackson Lewis P.C., a national employment defense firm litigating employment law cases, including claims asserted under the California Fair Employment and Housing Act and Title VII.
In 2005, Bohm established the Bohm Law Group to pursue trial litigation with a focus on labor and employment disputes. Since 2005, Bohm has assisted workers in a variety of workplace disputes, including: wrongful termination, harassment, discrimination, retaliation, whistleblower protection, disability accommodation, severance negotiation, breach of contract, wage and hour disputes and more. Bohm also represents clients in catastrophic injury, wrongful death, medical malpractice and other personal injury matters, including elder abuse and neglect. [12]
In April 2024, Bohm obtained a $80,252,385 verdict in Brantley, et al v. Zurich American Insurance Company. Lawrance Bohm, Esq. and Kelsey Ciarimboli, Esq. achieved this massive verdict on behalf of three longtime employees who were fired and accused of theft. [13] [14]
In December 2023, Bohm obtained a $11,182,000 verdict in Armstrong v. Life Care Centers of America. This verdict was achieved on behalf of a woman who blew the whistle on her employer for substandard care given to a patient. Ms. Armstrong was fired and defamed after she complained that the facility in which she worked provided negligent care to a patient. [13]
In 2016. Mr. Bohm obtained a $2,871,984 verdict in Muniz v. Van Rein, et. al. This verdict was achieved on behalf of a woman who was badly injured in a car accident and suffered from a brain injury and spinal injuries. [13]
In November 2014, Bohm obtained a $185,872,719.52 verdict in Juarez v. AutoZone (2014, United States District Court, Southern District of California). At the time, this verdict was believed to be the largest single-plaintiff employment verdict in United States history. [15] [16] [17] Rosario Juarez began her employment with AutoZone in 2000. Juarez was finally promoted to store manager in 2004 after making discrimination complaints. After learning of Juarez’s pregnancy, AutoZone discriminated against her by assigning her unnecessary, time-consuming work and repeatedly ordering her to redo work for no reason. Juarez's supervisor yelled at her and humiliated her in front of employees and customers. Even after Juarez beat all sales targets set by the company, AutoZone nonetheless demoted her. After Juarez challenged her demotion in a lawsuit, AutoZone illegally retaliated by firing her. [18] [19]
In July 2012, Bohm obtained a verdict of $6,241,655 in Webb v. Ramos Oil, Co. (2012, Yolo County Superior Court). Plaintiff, a tanker truck driver for Ramos Oil was terminated from his employment for refusing to drive in a ferocious storm while intoxicated. Amid power outages and downed phone lines, Webb called dispatch twice worried about the severity of the weather and was told to continue driving. After his shift, Webb went to Bob's Bar in Elk Grove and began drinking. Ramos Oil called Webb multiple times, demanding that he return to work and continue driving, but Webb refused and was fired the next Monday. [20] [21] [22]
In February 2012, Bohm obtained a verdict of $167,730,488.00 in Chopourian v. Catholic Healthcare West (2012, United States District Court, Eastern District of California). [23] [24] At the time, this case was believed to be the largest single-plaintiff employment verdict in United States history, now surpassed by Bohm’s 2014 verdict in Juarez v. AutoZone. [25] [26] [27] Plaintiff, Ani Chopourian, was terminated from her position as a surgical physician assistant in the cardiovascular surgery unit of Mercy General Hospital, a Sacramento hospital owned and operated by Catholic Healthcare West. During her employment, Chopourian was subjected to daily unwanted sexual advances, physical contact, and inappropriate and demeaning sexual comments. Chopourian was also denied meal and rest breaks required by California law. After Chopourian made several written and verbal complaints to hospital officials regarding these violations and inappropriate patient care, including surgical errors, she became the subject of unwarranted disciplinary actions in retaliation, culminating in her termination. [28] [29]
In April 2010, Bohm obtained a personal injury verdict of $2,185,000 in Lang v. Geweke Motors, Inc. (2010, San Joaquin County Superior Court). The Plaintiff’s low back was injured when his Suburban SUV was hit from behind by a Honda Civic. Neither vehicle required more than minimal repairs. Plaintiff received a two level fusion within a year of the collision. This was Verdict Search’s verdict of the week in June 2010. Bohm set a second place mark in California for achieving three verdicts over one million dollars in a single year. [30] [31]
In February 2010, Bohm obtained a verdict of $1,500,000 in Cosby v. AutoZone (2010, United States District Court, Eastern District of California). Plaintiff, another AutoZone District Manager alleging failure to accommodate his sleep apnea condition. Although the jury found a basis for punitive damages, no additional monetary damages were awarded. The jury’s verdict included $1.3 million for emotional distress. [32] [33] On appeal, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ordered the case remanded back to the district court for remittitur regarding the issue of both economic and non-economic damages with the option of a new trial on damages. [34]
In January 2010, Bohm obtained a verdict of $1,368,675 in Kell v. Autozone (2010, Sacramento County Superior Court). Plaintiff, an AutoZone District Manager was terminated in retaliation for reporting unlawful harassment and discrimination by the company’s human resources manager. Defendants’ Motion for New Trial was denied even though Plaintiff received punitive damages in the maximum amount allowed by law. The court awarded an additional $780,000 in attorney’s fees and costs. In February 2014, the California Third District Court of Appeal reduced the amount of punitive damages, but otherwise affirmed the judgment. [35] This was Verdict Search’s verdict of the month for May 2010. [36] [37] [38]
In 2007, Bohm obtained a $2,025,000 personal injury verdict in Ieremia v. Hilmar Unified School District (2007, San Joaquin County Superior Court). Plaintiff, a working mother of five was ejected during a roll-over accident resulting in painful scarring on her left side and face. The case was appealed and resulted in a published opinion affirming the verdict and clarifying the law concerning recovery for uninsured plaintiffs. Ieremia v. Hilmar Unified School District, 166 Cal.App.4th 324 (2008). [39] [40] [41]
Bohm is a lifetime member of the Million Dollar Advocates Forum [42] and Multi-Million Dollar Advocates Forum. [43] In 2010, Bohm was selected as one of the Daily Journal's Top Labor and Employment Lawyers in California. [44] In 2012, Bohm was selected as one of the Daily Journal's Top 100 Lawyers in California. [45] Also in 2012, Bohm was selected by the Capital City Trial Lawyers Association as Advocate of the Year. Bohm was also ranked #1 on eBossWatch 2012 list of the Nation's Top Employment Lawyers. [46] In 2013, Bohm was spotlighted in Sacramento Business Journal's 2013 Best of the Bar special edition. [47] In 2014, Bohm was named a Super Lawyer. [48]
Bohm is a weekly contributor and legal analyst to the David Cruz Show on The Patriot, AM 1150 KEIB radio program. [49] Bohm regularly appears on numerous other radio and television broadcasts. [50] [51] [52] Bohm is also a regular lecturer at legal conferences [53] [54] and is an adjunct professor of law at Tulane University Law School. [55] [56] [57]
Bohm is married to Elisa (Williams) and has three children. Bohm resides in Sacramento, California.
Punitive damages, or exemplary damages, are damages assessed in order to punish the defendant for outrageous conduct and/or to reform or deter the defendant and others from engaging in conduct similar to that which formed the basis of the lawsuit. Although the purpose of punitive damages is not to compensate the plaintiff, the plaintiff will receive all or some of the punitive damages in award.
State Farm Insurance is a group of mutual insurance companies throughout the United States with corporate headquarters in Bloomington, Illinois. Founded in 1922, it is the largest property, casualty, and auto insurance provider in the United States.
The Civil Rights Act of 1991 is a United States labor law, passed in response to United States Supreme Court decisions that limited the rights of employees who had sued their employers for discrimination. The Act represented the first effort since the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to modify some of the basic procedural and substantive rights provided by federal law in employment discrimination cases. It provided the right to trial by jury on discrimination claims and introduced the possibility of emotional distress damages and limited the amount that a jury could award. It added provisions to Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 protections expanding the rights of women to sue and collect compensatory and punitive damages for sexual discrimination or harassment. U.S. President George H. W. Bush had used his veto against the more comprehensive Civil Rights Act of 1990. He feared racial quotas would be imposed but later approved the 1991 version of the bill.
Lynne C. Hermle is an attorney specializing in employment law. She is a partner at Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP's Menlo Park, California, office. She also serves on the firm's management committee, the "first partner from the firm's Silicon Valley office to serve, and the second woman ever chosen".
Insurance bad faith is a tort unique to the law of the United States that an insurance company commits by violating the "implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing" which automatically exists by operation of law in every insurance contract.
The California Fair Employment and Housing Act of 1959, codified as Government Code §§12900 - 12996, is a California statute used to fight sexual harassment and other forms of unlawful discrimination in employment and housing, which was passed on September 18, 1959.
Capitol Records, Inc. v. Thomas-Rasset was the first file-sharing copyright infringement lawsuit in the United States brought by major record labels to be tried before a jury. The defendant, Jammie Thomas-Rasset, was found liable to the plaintiff record company for making 24 songs available to the public for free on the Kazaa file sharing service and ordered to pay $220,000.
William Mark Lanier is an American trial lawyer and founder and CEO of the Lanier Law Firm. He has led a number of high-profile product litigation suits resulting in billions of dollars in damages, including Johnson & Johnson baby powder and Merck & Co.'s Vioxx drug.
In the case of Sony BMG Music Entertainment et al. v. Tenenbaum, record label Sony BMG, along with Warner Bros. Records, Atlantic Records, Arista Records, and UMG Recordings, accused Joel Tenenbaum of illegally downloading and sharing files in violation of U.S. copyright law. It was only the second file-sharing case to go to verdict in the Recording Industry Association of America's (RIAA) anti-downloading litigation campaign. After the judge entered a finding of liability, a jury assessed damages of $675,000, which the judge reduced to $67,500 on constitutional grounds, rather than through remittitur.
Grimshaw v. Ford Motor Company was a personal injury tort case decided in Orange County, California in February 1978 and affirmed by a California appellate court in May 1981. The lawsuit involved the safety of the design of the Ford Pinto automobile, manufactured by the Ford Motor Company. The jury awarded plaintiffs $127.8 million in damages, the largest ever in US product liability and personal injury cases. Grimshaw v. Ford Motor Company was one of the most widely publicized of the more than a hundred lawsuits brought against Ford in connection with rear-end accidents in the Pinto. The trial judge reduced the jury's punitive damages award to $3.5 million.
Bettina Plevan was an American lawyer who was a partner at Proskauer Rose and a former president of the New York City Bar Association.
Naugle v. Philip Morris was a landmark 2009 court case in which a jury awarded the plaintiff Lucinda Naugle $300 million. The award included $56.6 million in compensatory damages for medical expenses and $244 million in punitive damages. At the time, the verdict was the largest award given to an individual suing a tobacco company, and was featured on NBC, ABC, 60 Minutes, and The New York Times. In 2012, the verdict amount for punitive damages was reduced to $36.8 million.
Juarez v. AutoZone Stores, Inc., Case No. 08-CV-00417-WVG, was a court case in the United States District Court for the Southern District of California which is believed to be the largest single-plaintiff employment verdict in United States history at $185,872,719.52. This case is also believed to be the largest punitive damages verdict awarded to a single plaintiff in an employment discrimination lawsuit.
Ellen Pao v. Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers LLC and DOES 1-20 is a lawsuit filed in 2012 in San Francisco County Superior Court under the law of California by executive Ellen Pao for gender discrimination against her employer, the venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins. Overlapping with a number of studies condemning the representation of women in venture capital, the case was followed closely by reporters, advocacy groups and Silicon Valley executives. Given the tendency for similar cases to reach settlements out of court, coverage of Pao v. Kleiner Perkins described it as a landmark trial once it began in February 2015. On March 27, 2015 the jury found in favor of Kleiner Perkins on all counts.
Chopourian v. Catholic Healthcare West, No. 2:09-CV-02972, was a court case in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of California which, at the time, was believed to be the largest single-plaintiff employment verdict in United States history at $167,720,488. The record has since been surpassed by the verdict in Juarez v. AutoZone Stores, Inc., Case No. 08-CV-00417-WVG at $185,872,719.52.
Levy Konigsberg is an American-based law firm that was established in 1985. The company is known for a number of high-profile cases in the United States. Its practice areas include asbestos litigation, qui tam, lead poisoning, sexual abuse, tobacco litigation, medical malpractice, and negligence. In 2015, Levy Konigsberg was recognized as one of the 50 Law Firms in the 2015 Elite Trial Lawyers list by The National Law Journal.
Simon Greenstone Panatier is a law firm based in Dallas, Texas, specializing in personal injury litigation and tort liability.
Smithfield Foods has been sued multiple times related to the disposal of hog waste using anaerobic lagoons. State governments have responded to the suits against Smithfield and similar litigation by strengthening ”Right-to-Farm” laws.
David W. Sanford is an American civil rights attorney. He is the chairman and co-founder of Sanford Heisler Sharp and is based in New York City. He works primarily on gender and race discrimination class action and individual cases, as well as wage and hour overtime cases and False Claims Act matters. He is the lawyer who brought gender discrimination actions against Greenberg Traurig and Howrey, which folded in 2011. He has earned a reputation for representing women suing BigLaw firms over pay equity and gender discrimination. Sanford has recovered more than one billion dollars for individual clients and the United States government since 2004.
Owen Diaz v. Tesla was a discrimination lawsuit filed against electric car manufacturer Tesla, Inc. The plaintiff, Owen Diaz, was an elevator operator at the Tesla Fremont Factory in California between 2015 and 2016. The lawsuit stated that Diaz faced constant harassment including racial slurs. According to the state's Department of Fair Employment and Housing, the Fremont factory was racially segregated and Black workers testified that they were subjected to racist slurs, racial drawings, and were given the most menial and physically demanding work. Working conditions at the plant were so unacceptable, the department stated, that many Black employees had been forced to quit. J. Bernard Alexander III, one of Diaz's lawyers, told jurors that the use of the “n-word” was pervasive and virtually everywhere at Fremont factory.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)