Kevin Wright's life took a tragic turn when he built his dream house above an underground waste sump contaminated with benzene, near a residential area in Santa Maria. Unocal, also known as Union Oil, and its parent company Chevron, were found severely negligent by a Santa Maria jury for waiting 41 years to address the issue. The Plaintiff developed terminal blood cancer due to the benzene exposure and was awarded $63 million in damages. The jury awarded him $22 million for actual damages and an additional $41 million in punitive damages, symbolizing $1 million for each year Union Oil failed to comply with the state law that required cleaning up the toxic site.

Trying the lie. Hyperfocusing on corporate lies to empower the jury.

Dealing with non-responsive discovery games with the defense.

Using visuals to aid the jury in their understanding of the story.

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TLU Live NYC (Replay) - Case Analysis on a $63M Toxic Tort (Benzene) Verdict