Tensions were high in the courtroom when plaintiff’s attorneys Matt Cook, Shane Lazenby and Walter Rucker secured a $10 million settlement while a jury was deliberating their case. The case had already gone through a mistrial in 2023 and was staring down the barrel of another when the jury asked to replace one of its members with an alternate and there was none to be had.
Raising the stakes, counsel for the excess insurance carrier was hired to sit on the trial, and the defense motioned for a mistrial on the last day of proceedings, alleging that the plaintiffs withheld that they settled liability with one of the other defendants before trial to anchor the venue in DeKalb County.
