Arthur Green as district attorney of Jefferson County, Bessemer Division v. The Lloyd Noland Foundation, Inc.

Settlement of $40 million (Circuit Court of Jefferson County, Bessemer Division). A quo warranto lawsuit was brought on behalf of the State of Alabama against The Lloyd Noland Foundation, Inc, a non-profit corporation, to force LNF to abide by the terms of its original charter which emphasized providing medical care in West Jefferson County. The case settled with LNF agreeing to spend $40 million over ten years in West Jefferson County.

Buford Haddox and Sandra Haddox, et al., v. Crane Plumbing, LLC

$12 million dollar settlement (United States District Court for the Middle District of Alabama, Eastern Division). Sandra Haddox was killed and Buford suffered serious brain injuries when a tractor trailer crossed the center line and collided with the Haddox vehicle. During discovery it was revealed that the Crane driver suffered from long term vision impairment. Furthermore, it was discovered that Crane Plumbing had known for many years of their driver’s vision impairment but continued to require him to drive the tractor trailer. Crane Plumbing failed to comply with the Federal Carrier Motor Safety Regulations which required regular medical examinations, a current and complete driver qualification file and certifications of the training necessary to safely operate a commercial motor vehicle.

Confidential Settlement

Settlement of $3,650,000 (Circuit Court of Montgomery County). Plaintiff’s wife was killed when the automobile she was operating struck the side of a commercial vehicle that was hauling live chickens. The wreck occurred at approximately 4:00 a.m., and the commercial vehicle was leaving a poultry farm at that time. Driver of the tractor trailer claimed that the plaintiff’s wife was speeding, but through accident reconstruction, plaintiff proved that the side marker light on the side of the trailer and the retro reflective material on the side were not working. Plaintiff proved that the driver of the tractor trailer failed to yield the right of way to the plaintiff’s wife and she did not see the tractor trailer until just prior to the impact.

Confidential Settlement

Settlement of $3,4000,000 (Talledega County). A commercial motor vehicle driver failed to yield the right of way and pulled into the path of plaintiff’s vehicle as it traveled east on Highway 280 in Shelby County. The driver of the vehicle was seriously injured and the passenger was killed when their vehicle rolled as a result of the collision. Plaintiffs discovered evidence that the defendant motor carrier failed to perform sufficient background checks that would have revealed prior arrests and accidents of it's driver. In addition, the defendant failed to adequately supervise the driver who, records show, had a pattern of consistently driving at excessive and illegal speeds.

Tracy Mullinax as administrator of the estate of her mother, Paula Williams, deceased v. Buffalo Rock Company, et al.

Jury verdict of $2,000,000 (Circuit Court of Jefferson County). Paula Williams was killed at 5:00 a.m. when her Honda Accord was hit by a Pepsi roll-down truck weighing 30,000 lbs. There was evidence that the Buffalo Rock truck was traveling between 63 mph and 71 mph in a 45 mph zone, and that Buffalo Rock negligently supervised and trained its truck drivers. After the wreck, an email was sent from a citizen to Buffalo Rock complaining of the roll-down trucks speeding through the intersection where Ms. Williams was killed. Although Buffalo Rock received the email, the driver's supervisor did not know about it and never met with the driver about the email.

Plaintiffs v. Anonymous Insurance Company

Settlement of $378,954 (Calhoun County). A plaintiff and his wife had automobile insurance with their insurance company. The plaintiffs automobile was struck from behind by a person insured by GEICO. The plaintiff suffered a severe back injury, which required surgery. GEICO agreed to pay their policy limits of $30,000. Plaintiff then filed a claim for his under-insured motorist coverage which was denied on the basis that UM coverage had been waived. However, only the spouse had signed the waiver. Whe could waive this for herself, but a spouse cannot waive this specific coverage for the other spouse. The husband had never waived his coverage and, according to statute, was entitled to collect.

Shortly after the lawsuit was filed, the insurance company paid the remainder of the medical pay benefits and tendered $80,000 plus interest of under insured motorist benefits owed under the automobile policy. The insurance company later agreed to settle the remaining fraud and bad faith portion of the lawsuit of $265,000.


2003 Case Summaries