For Immediate Release: July 21, 1999

For More Information Contact: TLPJ, 202-797-8600

New Yorkers Elisa Barnes and Denise Dunleavy Win 1999 Trial Lawyer of the Year Award for Landmark Handgun Lawsuit

Elisa Barnes of New York and Denise Dunleavy of Weitz & Luxenberg in New York were awarded the 1999 Trial Lawyer of the Year Award by The Trial Lawyers for Public Justice (TLPJ) Foundation at its 17th annual party July 20 in San Francisco, for their work on Hamilton v. Accu-Tek. The nationally prestigious award is bestowed annually upon the trial lawyer or lawyers who have made the greatest contribution to the public interest by trying or settling a precedent-setting case.

"These attorneys exemplify how trial lawyers use their skills and determination to create a more just society," said TLPJ Foundation President Joseph A. Power Jr. of Chicago's Power, Rogers & Smith. "They serve as inspiring models for us all."

Barnes and Dunleavy achieved their precedent-setting victory in Hamilton v. Accu-Tek when a jury held gun manufacturers liable on a novel theory of market share liability for negligently distributing handguns in the New York area.

Barnes brought the case in 1995 on behalf of seven victims of gun violence and their families against 25 gun manufacturers. Barnes alleged that the manufacturers were liable for the injuries and deaths because they had negligently and excessively distributed handguns.

Barnes litigated the case by herself for four years and survived three summary judgment motions and the collective battle tactics of all 25 firearms manufacturers. At trial, the jury found 15 of the 25 manufacturer defendants negligent in the marketing and distribution of their products, and eight of the manufacturers responsible for three deaths as a result of their negligent marketing. The jury awarded damages to one plaintiff, Steven Fox, who survived a gunshot wound to the head. The legal precedent set by the judge's decision on the negligent distribution theory, along with the jury's verdict, helped form the basis for lawsuits filed by municipalities around the country against the firearms industry.

• The 1999 Public Justice Achievement Award also was presented to Lynette Labinger of Providence's Roney & Labinger, Amato DeLuca of Providence's DeLuca & Weizenbaum, Ray A. Marcaccio of Providence's Blish & Cavanaugh, and Sandra L. Duggan of Philadelphia,
who successfully battled against Brown University more than six years, finally winning equal opportunities for Brown's women athletes in Cohen v. Brown University.

The other finalists for the 1999 Trial Lawyer of the Year Award were also honored at the gala for their contributions:

•Fred Baron and Lisa Blue of Baron & Budd in Dallas; Mike Kaeske and Kay Reeves of Kaeske and Reeves in Dallas, and Bill Caroselli of Caroselli, Spagnolli & Beachler in Pittsburgh, who won a great verdict for radiation victims in Hall v. Babcock & Wilcox Company.

•Michael Bidart of Shernoff, Bidart, Darras & Dillon in Claremont, California, for his landmark wrongful death verdict against an HMO in Goodrich v. Aetna U.S. Healthcare of California, Inc.

•Madelyn Chaber of Wartnick, Chaber, Harowitz, Smith & Tigerman in San Francisco, who won the biggest verdict ever against Big Tobacco in Henley v. Philip Morris, Inc. and then helped other nominees for this award win an even bigger one.

•Morris Dees, Richard Cohen and Marcia Bull Stadeker of the Southern Poverty Law Center in Montgomery, Alabama, who held the Ku Klux Klan accountable for church burning in Macedonia Baptist Church v. Christian Knights of the Ku Klux Klan – Invisible Empire, Inc.

•Bill Gaylord of Gaylord & Eyerman, Ray Thomas and Jim Coon of Swanson, Thomas & Coon, and Chuck Tauman of Bennett, Hartman & Reynolds, all in Portland, Oregon, who won the largest verdict yet against Big Tobacco, in Williams v. Philip Morris, Inc.

•Timothy Kaine, Rhonda Harmon and Thomas Wolf of Mezullo & McCandlish of Richmond, Virginia, who exposed and corrected racial discrimination in housing in Housing Opportunities Made Equal v. Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company.

•Jan Eric Peterson, Fred Zeder and Chris Young of Peterson, Young, Putra, Fletcher & Zeder in Seattle, who were victorious against the swimming pool industry for dangerous standards in Meneely v. National Spa and Pool Institute.

•Dianne Jay Weaver and Mike Ryan of Krupnick Campbell Malone Roselli Buser Slama Hancock McNelis Lieberman & McKee in Fort Lauderdale, who in Wynn v. Towey won the biggest civil rights verdict in Florida history for a brain-injured patient mistreated in state hospitals.