Courtroom View Network Names Dykema’s Defense of Kia a Top 10 Most Impressive Defense Verdict of 2021

Dykema, a leading national law firm, is proud to announce that Courtroom View Network (CVN) has recognized the firm’s defense of Kia in Perry v. Kia Motors as one of its “Top 10 Most Impressive Defense Verdicts of 2021.” Dykema represented Kia America in the product liability case in which the plaintiff sought more than $103 in damages in front of the Superior Court of California, Orange County.

According to CVN, this defense verdict made the list because

“The plaintiffs maintained Kia knew the supposed design defect in the Forte’s seatbelt system posed a risk, but Kia’s attorney James Feeney of Dykema Gossett PLLC successfully argued in his closing that the 2015 Forte’s seat belts met all applicable federal safety standards, and that a pretensioner would not have provided any meaningful protection to the plaintiff.”

Dommond Lonnie joined Feeney on the trial team. After the two-month trial, the jury deliberated for just over 60 minutes before returning a 12-0 defense verdict in favor of Kia on July 22, 2021.

This successful defense verdict followed the February 2020 victory in which Dykema helped Kia secure a defense verdict in another product liability case, Stroud et al. v. Kia Motors America Inc. et al., where the plaintiff sought more than $87M in damages. Dykema’s defense of that matter was recognized by the Los Angeles/San Francisco Daily Journal as one of the “Top Defense Verdicts of 2020” in California.