
Virginia juries returned 29 verdicts of $1 million or more in 2006, almost half again as many as in 2005. The number of large verdicts is too small to suggest a trend, but the increase is at odds with the declining number of jury trials in the state—and across the
Robert R. Hatten is honored for his $10.4 million mesothelioma verdict (Jones v. John Crane Inc.) in Virginia's Largest Verdicts of 2006. Garland Jones developed mesothelioma in July 2004 and died from the disease in July 2005 at age 60. His attorneys contended that he