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Feb 9, 2017

Jury verdicts in the Kansas City area are little changed from last year

The calendars said the years were different, but data from the Greater Kansas City Jury Verdict Service shows that 2016 and 2015 were nearly the same in many respects. Every year, the Greater Kansas City Jury Verdict Service issues a “Summary and Statistics of Jury Verdicts” for the greater Kansas City area.  The report includes verdicts from the U.S. District Courts in the Western District of Missouri as well as Jackson, Clay and Platte counties in Missouri and Johnson and Wyandotte counties in Kansas.  The statistics in 2016 were remarkably similar to those in 2015.

Comparable Number of Trials and Plaintiffs’ Verdicts

The Jury Verdict Service’s annual summary reported on 113 trials in 2016 compared to 110 in 2015.  These numbers are down from the preceding two-year period:  there were 133 trials in 2014, and 122 trials in 2013. 

Because trials may involve multiple claims and multiple verdicts, the verdict statistics are based on the claims and not the cases.  For the 113 trials in 2016, there were 199 verdicts for claims and for the 110 cases in 2015, there were 178 verdicts for claims.

Although the number of trials has decreased from 2013 and 2014, the percentage of plaintiff verdicts is little changed.  In both 2015 and 2016, 42% of the verdicts were for plaintiffs compared to 38% for plaintiffs in 2014 and 40% in 2013. These numbers are down from the 55% of the verdicts for plaintiffs in 2012.

Comparable Average Monetary Awards

The overall average of the monetary awards for plaintiffs’ verdicts also remained almost the same in 2016 as they were in 2015.  In 2016, the average of plaintiffs’ verdicts was $1,383,549 while the average in 2015 was $1,376,323.  Both of those averages are over $1 million more than the average plaintiffs’ verdict in 2014, which was $350,730.  While each of these figures is far below the $5,577,689 average verdict in 2013 and somewhat lower than the $1,772,469 average in 2012, the 2013 numbers were skewed by a single $400 million verdict that inflated the 2013 average.

Fluctuating Number of Large Verdicts

Although the average plaintiff’s verdict was similar in 2016 compared to 2015, the number of verdicts exceeding $1 million more than doubled in 2016.  There were 16 verdicts of $1 million or more in 2016 and only six such verdicts in 2015.  The number of million dollar or more verdicts has fluctuated over the last five years.  In 2012, there were 19 such verdicts but only five in 2013 and then ten in 2014, the recent year with the lowest average monetary award in plaintiffs’ verdict matters.



Juries in the following venues awarded million dollar or more verdicts over the last five years.



Key Observations

  • Over the last four years, the percentage of defense verdicts on plaintiffs’ claims has consistently hovered around 60%.
  • When money has been awarded, the average verdict amounts over the last two years were nearly identical.
  • Half of the seven-figure jury awards over the last five years have occurred in Jackson County, Missouri state court .

Conclusion

Although every case is different, information regarding verdict percentages and jury award amounts in the specific venues can help assess the values of cases and claims.  For instance, recent data confirms the received wisdom among experienced practitioners that juries in Jackson County, Missouri, are more likely to assess million dollar or more awards on plaintiffs’ claims than juries in Platte County, Missouri.  As always, clients, as well as national counsel who are working with local counsel, should carefully consider the forum when assessing the value of a case.

Source: Greater Kansas City Jury Verdict Service Year-End Reports 2012-2016