Here is a preview of the May 2019 issue of the Miss. Jury Verdict Reporter:
- $174,303 verdict- Hancock County insurance negligence/ failure to pay claim case (4/18/19);
- $70,000 verdict- Gulfport Federal Court sexual harassment case reported here (5/1/19);
- $37,000 verdict- Hattiesburg Federal Court uninsured motorist case (5/1/19);
- $31,250 verdict- Oxford Federal Court civil rights case (5/1/19);
- $1,700 verdict- Simpson County car wreck case (5/7/19);
- defense verdict- Hinds County car wreck case (5/7/19);
- defense verdict- Lauderdale County car wreck case (3/13/19);
- defense verdict- Jackson County uninsured motorist case (4/3/19); and
- defense verdict- Jackson Federal Court employment contract case (4/11/19).
My Take:
The math on tried contingency fee cases in Mississippi is bad. The average recovery for these nine cases was $34,917. Five of the 9 were $0, or close to it.
Assuming 40% contingency contracts for tried cases, these 9 cases generated $125,701 in revenue for plaintiffs’ counsel–an average of $13,966 per case. It’s hard to operate a law practice for less than $10,000 per month in overhead. If one attorney devoted a year to 9 similar cases, they would probably now be broke.
On average, the plaintiff lawyers on these cases made no income. That’s a hard way to not make any money.
Maybe the plaintiff will recover attorney fees in the sexual harassment case. But maybe defendants appeal some of the plaintiff verdicts.
There are a lot of lessons to be gleaned from stats like these.