Trials
Drew Brown and Bob Benson represented Charles McKinnon, a homeless Greensboro man who had been injured by his employer in a fight. The defendant's attorney claimed that the plaintiff had started the fight and that he was acting in self-defense. The case came on for trial the week of August 23, 2010 in Guilford County Superior Court. The plaintiff required emergency surgery on his neck following the incident. Following Brown's closing argument, the jury awarded $300,000. The firm's subsequent collection efforts nabbed a seven unit apartment complex. The case made headlines in papers around the United States. Further collection efforts are ongoing. http://www.news-record.com/content/2011/01/15/article/the_unusual_case_of_a_homeless_owner
Drew Brown represented Iranian immigrants Hossein and Hassan Ahmadi in a two week adversary proceeding before the Honorable Catherine Carruthers in federal bankruptcy court in the Middle District of North Carolina. The trial took place in October 2008. Judge Carruthers issued a 222 page opinion awarding Ahmadi $544,099.28 which included interest. A costs motion was subsequently granted in part as well. The highest offer made to Ahmadis' previous attorney before Brown's involvement in the case was $20,000. The matter arose out a fleet of used automobiles belonging to Mr. Ahmadi which were damaged by employees of Brokers, Inc. It is one of the only known reported cases in the United States where a bankruptcy court awarded punitive damages against a bankrupt debtor. Brokers, Inc. chose not to appeal and the amount awarded along with interest was paid in full. The full opinion is available here: http://www1.ncmb.uscourts.gov/opinions/docs/brokers%20ahamdi.pdf
Bob Benson and Drew Brown took an equitable distribution case to trial involving several Food Lion and CVS shopping centers. There was several million dollars in dispute to split between the parties. The other side contended the rent generated by the shopping centers was divisible property. The case stretched out over three (3) weeks. The court ultimately sided with Benson that the income was not divisible saving the client several hundred thousand dollars.
Drew Brown tried a week long case to a plaintiff's verdict in Wake County Superior Court in February 2008. The case arose out of the sale of a vehicle to Brown's client in Ahoskie, North Carolina. Brown sued the dealership on his client's behalf alleging that the car had been water damaged in a hurricane prior to its purchase as a new vehicle in April 2004. The jury's award was $2,300 which was trebled by the Court under North Carolina's Unfair and Deceptive Trade Practice Act to $6,900. Judge Leon Stanback then award over $60,000 in costs and attorneys' fees against the dealership. The defendant threatened to appeal but ultimately chose not to do so. The judgment was paid in full.
Drew Brown took a business case to trial the week of November 16, 2009 in Guilford County Superior Court. Brown's clients were former WNBA player Kacy Carlton and former Florida Gator basketball player Jermaine Carlton. The Carlton's had been sued by Greensboro basketball coach Stan Kowaleski who alleged that the Carlton's owed him over $50,000 in past due rent. The Carltons counterclaimed alleging theories of unjust enrichment, fraud, and unfair and deceptive trade practices. The case was a vicious one and lasted three days. At the conclusion of the evidence and before the case was submitted to the jury, Kowaleski agreed to dismiss his case in exchange for the Carlton's dismissal of their counterclaims. Kowaleski's assets were later frozen by the SEC in a matter that remains pending.
Drew Brown defended a case on behalf of a former employee of a well-known downtown Greensboro development company. The plaintiff sued Brown's client seeking hundreds of thousands of dollars in damages. The case was called for trial the week of April 28, 2008. The trial dragged into a second week. No money was awarded by the court. The plaintiff recovered nothing.
Drew Brown took a case to trial the week of August 4, 2008 in Guilford County Superior Court on behalf of a woman injured in an accident while she rode on a Greensboro City bus. The case was against Allstate Insurance Company, who intervened on behalf of the driver of the vehicle that had hit the bus and caused the accident. At trial, Allstate maintained that Brown's client was not even on the bus. Following Brown's closing argument, the jury rejected Allstate's position and awarded damages to Brown's client for her injuries on the bus. The trial judge subsequently awarded $10,000 in attorneys' fees to Brown which was paid by Allstate.
Drew Brown took a case to trial the week of April 26, 2009 in Guilford County Superior Court on behalf of a young man who was rear ended in a collision in August 2006. Even on the eve of trial, Allstate refused to raise their offer above $5,400. Most of the plaintiff's bills were from a chiropractor. A jury returned a verdict of $32,722. Following verdict, Allstate threatened to appeal unless the plaintiff would settle for $30,000. Brown turned down the offer. Allstate then decided not to appeal and paid the full amount owed with costs and interest totaling $37,076.89 which amounted to almost seven times Allstate's take it or leave it offer.
When Drew Brown was at Smith Moore LLP, he took on a case against SCI Funeral home in New Hanover County Superior Court. Brown's client was a Pennsylvania mother who contended that her sons remains had been desecrated in violation of her religious beliefs. The funeral home contended that they acted properly in following the direction of the deceased's fiancé and power of attorney. The trial in June, 2006 lasted two weeks. Following Brown's closing argument, the jury returned a verdict of $600,000 against the funeral home. The case was appealed and the Court of Appeals eliminated the punitive award but maintained the compensatory award resulting in a recovery to the client of several times the funeral home's last offer before trial. The Court of Appeals opinion is here: http://www.aoc.state.nc.us/www/public/coa/opinions/2008/unpub/070620-1.pdf
Business Disputes
While at Smith Moore, Drew Brown and James Faucher were on the team of lawyers that represented the Atlantic Coast Conference in a lawsuit pending in Connecticut concerning the 2005 conference realignment which ultimately resulted in Miami, Virginia Tech, and Boston College departing the Big East to join the Atlantic Coast Conference. Brown travelled to Connecticut along with with other attorneys at Smith Moore to defend the ACC's interests. The ACC was ultimately dismissed from the lawsuit on personal jurisdiction grounds. The opinion is available to review as University of Connecticut, et.al. v. University of Miami, et.al., 2003 WL 22390940, 35 Conn. L. Rptr. 465, (October 10, 2003).
Drew Brown represented a Miami corporation against a former employee which allegedly converted the company's assets to his own prior to his termination from the company. Brown obtained a default judgment in the amount of $423,374.16. The default, however, was opposed by counsel for the defendant at the hearing. The money has not yet been recovered.
Drew Brown represented Verizon/MCI Communication Services, Inc. in a contract dispute with the Piedmont Triad Regional Water Authority over construction of the Randleman dam. Brown brought suit on behalf of Verizon in Guilford County Superior Court in 2008. The case settled at mediation with Verizon receiving $91,000.
Drew Brown was retained by the United Parcel Service (UPS) to defend its interest in an action filed in 2008 in Guilford County Superior Court. The case settled confidentially at mediation.
Drew Brown filed two separate lawsuits on behalf of two Korean families against entities which own dozens of dry cleaning establishments throughout North Carolina. The lawsuits both alleged that the owners of the business failed to honor their obligations with regard to the Korean families whom they had recruited through Korean newspapers in New York to work in the stores. There were allegations of both fraud and unfair & deceptive trade practices in both lawsuits. The named defendants chose to settle with Brown's clients on confidential terms. Following the settlements and dismissals of the lawsuits, the entities that Brown sued chose to hire Benson & Brown as their own attorneys in other matters.
Personal Injury Cases
Drew Brown obtained a $1.3 million dollar settlement for a South Carolina man who was injured in March, 2006. The case was John Roger Chambers v. PGT Industries, Inc. and was pending in Davidson County Superior Court. The man suffered permanent brain injuries when a load on the back of a truck bed collapsed and threw him to the ground at the PGT Industries plant in Lexington, North Carolina. The case settled for $1,300,000 following mediation in December 2008.
Drew Brown represented an immigrant from the African country of Niger who was injured in a truck accident in Montgomery County in April 2007. The driver suffered a bulging disk at L4-5 caausing an L5 radiculopathy. He eventually was forced to have back surgery in March 2008. He had medical bills of just under $40,000 and was out of work for two years. Brown negotiated a $310,000 settlement in the case with Scottsdale Insurance Company, the liability carrier for the at fault truck driver.
Benson, Brown & Faucher, PLLC represented a gentleman from New York that fell in the parking lot of the Family Dollar in Reidsville, North Carolina. The client fell when entering the store from the handicap parking lot. The allegation was that there was poor lighting in the area which resulted in a dangerous condition. Family Dollar moved for summary judgment which was denied. The case settled at mediation for $80,000.
Drew Brown represented a Greensboro woman who fell at Food Lion on Lawndale Drive in April 2007. The injuries resulted when she fell on a spill on an aisle that had not been cleaned. Mr. Brown's client had to have surgery as a result of a traumatic chondromalacia with chondral loose bodies in her left knee. The client's former counsel was only able to obtain an offer of $20,000 in advance of litigation. Brown was hired to file the case. Food Lion settled the case at mediation paying $65,000.
Drew Brown represented a Greensboro man who fell at Food Lion in Greensboro on July 1, 2005. The injuries resulted when he fell on a spill on an aisle that had not been cleaned. Mr. Brown's client had to have shoulder surgery. The client's former counsel was unable to obtain any offer for him in advance of litigation. Brown was hired to file the case. Food Lion settled the case shortly before trial paying $40,000.
Drew Brown represented a Georgia woman who fell in "The Grande" movie theatre near the Friendly Shopping Center in Greensboro in September 2004. The fall occurred as a result of poor lighting in one of the aisleways of the theatre which did not reveal a drop off. Mr. Brown's client sustained serious soft tissue injuries in the fall. The case settled at mediation for a confidential amount.
Drew Brown sued Wal-Mart and Sam's East arising out of the fall of a patron in Sam's Club in Winston-Salem on November 21, 2005. Nothing further can be said except as outlined specifically in the agreement that "a voluntary dismissal with prejudice was filed and we have no further comment."
Drew Brown represented a woman from Robeson County that fell over a shoe box at a J.C. Penneys in Lumberton on November 26, 2004. J.C. Penney Company moved for summary judgment on the claim. J.C. Penneys' motion was denied in Robeson County Superior Court. The case settled at mediation for a confidential amount.
Drew Brown represented Catherine Thompson, a Duke graduate, in a lawsuit against Duke University arising out of her fall on the front steps of Duke Chapel in October 2005. Ms. Thompson suffered significant shoulder injuries as a result of the fall. The post-operative diagnosis for the injury was a displaced three-part proximal humerus fracture to the right upper extremity. Benson & Brown obtained an affidavit of the former Dean of Duke Chapel who testified that there were multiple previous falls in the area where Ms. Thompson fell. Quickly after the testimony was presented to Duke via affidavit, Duke's summary judgment motion was denied and the parties entered into a confidential settlement agreement at mediation.
Drew Brown & Bob Benson were retained by two women to bring claims against a massage company arising out of sexual misconduct by massage therapists. The women had separately paid for and believed they were going to get normal massages and did not anticipate the sexual misconduct until it occurred. The case settled confidentially quickly after Brown filed the lawsuit.
Drew Brown sued Fox News Network, LLC in 2007 on behalf of a former teacher who was incorrectly pictured on the front page of FoxNews.com as having married his 16 year old former student. The national story arose out of Wilmington where a 40 year old teacher/coach actually had married a 16 year old student. Fox News simply had superimposed the wrong teacher pictured next to the 16 year old. Brown represented the wrongfully accused teacher on libel and punitive damage claims and brought suit in Guilford County against Fox News. Fox News subsequently removed the case to federal court. The case settled confidentially.
While at Smith Moore, James Faucher represented the family of a 22-year old man who was killed by a drunk-driver. The drunk driver had driven the wrong way on a divided highway and struck the client's vehicle head-on. The drunk driver, whose blood alcohol level was several times the legal limit, survived the collision. The drunk driver had a previous DUI charge that had been dismissed with the assistance of his parents. Mr. Faucher sued the drunk driver and his parents, alleging negligent entrustment. The case settled confidentially prior to trial.
While at Smith Moore, James Faucher represented the family of an 18 year old college freshman who was killed, along with 5 other people, when he was struck by a drunk driver while rendering aid at the scene of a motor vehicle collision. Mr. Faucher filed suit against the drunk driver, as well as two bars that had previously served the drunk driver to and past the point of intoxication. The suit settled confidentially prior to trial.
While at Smith Moore, James Faucher represented the estate of a gentleman who was struck in the head by a golf ball, and ultimately died. While playing golf at a noted course in Moore County, Mr. Faucher's client suffered a significant head injury, which necessitated the client stop taking medication for a blood condition. The client thereafter suffered a stroke, and died. The case was settled confidentially prior to trial.
While at Smith Moore, James Faucher regularly represented statewide and nationwide retailers in premises liability litigation, ranging from slip and fall claims, food poisoning claims, to failure to provide adequate security. Mr. Faucher was able to resolve many claims with a finding of summary judgment for the retailer. Having defended many such claims, and now pursuing such claims, Mr. Faucher knows well the pitfalls of premises liability cases and therefore has a the knowledge and experience to uncover evidence helpful to successful premises liability claims.
