Sacrifices and rewards
Still, coming up with the $7 million meant 2 1/2 years of personal sacrifice, including long days and no vacations. Partners often skipped paychecks for three months at a time. Money collected from other cases went toward funding the expensive analysis of plant, water and soil samples. Even secretaries gave up the usual bonuses given them when the firm wins or settles a million-dollar suit.
"Several times along the way we discussed our dollar commitment and decided the facts justify the commitment. We do that to a lesser degree with every case," Krupnick said.
When the firm's share of the Benlate® settlement finally came - $34 million plus $7 million in cost reimbursements - the lawyers portioned out the money in less than 45 minutes.
"That was one of the most impressive moments in my legal life," Malone said. "Other firms would have fought to the death over that kind of money."
Positive management
The atmosphere of fairness and camaraderie among lawyers and staff at the firm stems from Krupnick's management style.
"When the firm got started it was simple," said Walter "Skip" Campbell, the first partner to join Krupnick. "The firm today is complex, with the problems of large-size corporations. But while you have a lot of people running the firm, there's only one chief. Even when I was an associate, Jon was generous. No one has ever questioned his monetary decisions."
For more than a decade, Krupnick owned 50 percent of the firm. His partners at the time, Campbell and Malone, owned the rest. Campbell is the firm's leading rainmaker and carries the heaviest caseload. Next to Krupnick, Campbell owns the most shares.
About five years ago, the firm began bringing in more partners and redistributing the ownership, allowing newer partners to buy some of Campbell's and Krupnick's shares. Then, after the Benlate® windfall, the firm redistributed again and brought in its first female partner, Lisa McNelis. Today, neither Krupnick nor Campbell owns a majority stake.
Ready to ease up
The formula appears to work. In its 21-year history, the firm as never lost a partner. Now, Krupnick, 56, says he's easing back, letting his younger partners who are mostly in their late 30s and early 40's handle more cases.
"I'm getting older and I don't want every big case," he said. 'They're in their roaring 40s, at he peak of their careers. I've met my
goals. I want to let them meet theirs. "Roselli has built a sizable practice representing people in medical malpractice suits. "This year, he won a $2.1 million verdict for a former naval aircraft mechanic who was riding his bicycle when he was struck by an off-duty deputy sheriff.
Campbell also has had some big successes in medical malpractice suits. Last month, he negotiated a $1.9 million settlement for a 5-year-old girl who was treated for leukemia, but failed to receive nutrition monitoring and wound up with brain damage.
Kelly Hancock, former chief of the Broward State Attorney's Office's homicide division, has built a niche in personal injury civil suits that arise from criminal cases. He has settled million dollar suits involving shooting incidents.
Partner Joseph Slama specializes in aviation and railroad litigation. In February 1994, he won $2.8 million for the family of a maintenance worker killed in an Amtrak train derailment.
"A lot of their cases are very good cases," said Gordon James, a Fort Lauderdale defense attorney who has matched wits with Krupnick Campbell lawyers in the courtroom. "It's tough to defend against them. They do their homework. When I know I'm going against them, I am as thorough as I can be."
Politically active
Many of the firm's cases come from referrals from other lawyers. That's one reason Krupnick Campbell partners hold officers' positions in various state and local legal organizations. At times, they've been active in lobbying.
"We all have our sphere of influence for how we attract business," Singer said. "In our case, it's advertising. They're aggressive in marketing behind the scenes through their involvement bar associations."
Krupnick's fight to get Broward County Medical Examiner Ronald Wright, a 14-year veteran removed from office helped seal the lawyer's political clout with his peers. After dealing with Wright in two medical malpractice cases, Krupnick attacked his medical opinions and work as an expert witness in death cases. He campaigned against Wright's reappointment, alleging Wright manufactured conclusions in some cases. That led the county's top officials to criticize Wright's management. Gov. Lawton Chiles replaced Wright last year,
Now, Campbell is considering running for the Northwest Broward state senate seat vacated by Peter Weinstein, a move he says his partners support despite the reduced time he would have to practice law.
Expanding its horizons
Meanwhile, the firm is moving toward more complex cases involving property damage. The Benlate® case has positioned the firm as one with a specialty in product liability suits against chemical manufacturers. It since has hired lawyers with science and biology degrees.
Its new clients arc a group of 30 shrimp farmers in Ecuador who are suing chemical manufacturers Ciba Geigy Corp., Ciba Geigy Ltd. and BASF Corp. The farmers claim their fisheries were destroyed by chemicals sprayed on banana trees that eventually flowed into the sea.
Malone says the losses to the shrimp industry are at least $1 billion. His firm represents the largest farmers - some of which are U.S. companies - whose claims make up most of that $1 billion. The case will be heard in Broward state court, where the first suit originated by a local fish market that couldn't get its shrimp supply. A trial date has not been set.
Bill Dellecker, a fern grower whose Benlate® case went to trial in Broward, says the shrimp farmers made a good choice of lawyers.
"I was impressed with the thoroughness which they approached our case," Dellecker said. "It takes capable attorneys to master complex issues and be successful, particularly in fighting a large company. I suspect there are only a small number of firms able to put together a major undertaking so successfully."
Spending money to prove their cases pays off Betting on liability cases pays off Broward law firm
BIG VERDICTS
$214 million: Benlate® settlement; 1994. DuPont agreed to pay $214 million to 220 farmers who said their crops had been ruined by the fungicide Benlate®. Attorneys: Kevin Malone and Thomas Buser.
$16.5 million: Ford Bronco case; 1984. A jury awarded the sum to Scott Mickler, a passenger paralyzed in the crash of a 1976 Bronco. Experts determined the vehicle's design and lack of testing caused the Injury. Attorney: Jon Krupnick.
$8.9 million: Johnson v. St Anthony's Hospital; settlement In September 1991. The plaintiff suffered a severe neck injury after he was placed in a canvas blanket and tossed in the air during a Masonic initiation. Attorneys argued he received inadequate medical care and became paralyzed. Attorneys: Jon Krupnick and Richard Roselli.
$2.84 million: Estate of Gresham v. Amtrak; verdict in February 1994. A 59-year-old maintenance worker was killed in an Amtrak derailment in South Carolina. Attorney: Joseph Slama.
$2.5 million: Estate of Hamilton v. Hanna; verdict in October 1990. Landlord was sued for failing to have a working smoke alarm after a fire in an apartment resulted in the death of the tenant. Attorney: Lisa McNelis.
$2.169 million: John Roggio-Wilgus v. Marlin; verdict in February 1995. An unemployed Desert Storm naval aircraft mechanic was riding a bicycle at night when he was struck by an off-duty deputy sheriff. He suffered a head injury with residual memory loss and neuropsychological symptoms.
$1.5 million: Romero v. Green; settled in February 1993. An 8-year-old boy was struck by a car when he ran across a bridge in Coral Springs. Broward County paramedics and ambulance personnel were sued for failing to properly treat the child, causing further brain damage. An additional settlement is being finalized.
$1.45 million: Watts v. State Farm; verdict in November 1994. The plaintiff was struck by a car driven by an insured motorist.
$1.36 million: Conti v. Desmarias and Ryder Truck Rental; verdict in October. The plaintiff was working for a Navy subcontractor unloading equipment from a Ryder truck. Mr. Desmarias, the Navy consultant coordinating the work, accidentally hit a lever causing the truck's lift gate to descend while the plaintiff was on it. He fell to the ground and suffered a fractured skull. The verdict was 81 percent against Desmarlas and 0 percent against Ryder.
$1 million: Estate of McDonald v. Dr. Reines; settled in September 1994. The plaintiff reported postmenopausal bleeding to her family doctor, who ordered no testing and made no diagnosis. She was later diagnosed with endometrial cancer, which had grown too advanced to be treated, and died.
$1 million: Fecher v. Dr. Wendell; settled in June 1993. A man in his 20's sought emergency room treatment for what he was told was a muscle strain. An x-ray, misread as negative, showed he had a cancerous tumor on his pelvis. The misdiagnosis resulted in the amputation of the man's leg.
$1 million: Jane Doe v. Smith; settled in August. A 12-year-old girl was a passenger in a vehicle that rear-ended another vehicle stopped at a toll plaza. The defendant claimed brake failure. The girl's family bought the defendant's car from the insurance company and had it tested by engineers, who found no mechanical defects.
PARTNERS IN LAW: Clockwise from left: Jon Krupnick, Kelly Hancock, Joseph Slama, Richard Roselli, Walter Campbell, Jr. and Lisa McNelis.
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