During the past 30 years, Mark Lanier has taken on some of the biggest challenges in the legal field. In doing so, he has achieved some of the largest verdicts in history, accomplishments that have changed business practices to protect the public and have gained justice for the victims of asbestos exposure, dangerous drugs, medical devices, and other consumer products. In addition, he has successfully represented a select number of clients in claims involving fraud, breach of contract, and other forms of business litigation.
These results cumulatively put Lanier close to $20 billion in verdicts during his highly acclaimed career.
Lanier’s success in the courtroom and perspectives on litigation have been featured in The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, The Boston Globe, Bloomberg News and the Houston Chronicle, among many other publications. He is also a frequent guest on news and business programs for a wide range of broadcast and cable networks.
Lawdragon Honors
In July 2018, Lanier and his trial team secured a record-setting $4.69 billion verdict for 22 women and their families who alleged that decades of daily use of Johnson & Johnson’s asbestos-laden talcum powder products caused the women’s ovarian cancer.
- 2024 – $8 million verdict from a jury that unanimously determined that exposure to asbestos from the BNSF Railyard was a contributing factor in the deaths of our clients who tragically succumbed to mesothelioma. This verdict represents the first successful community exposure case against BNSF Railway in relation to asbestos-related illnesses.
- 2021 – 2022 – Led the national trial team that secured a historic $650.6 million jury verdict against retail pharmacies operated by Walmart, CVS, and Walgreens. The jury affirmed that the pharmacies had failed to follow guidelines that would have curtailed the staggering distribution of highly addictive opioid painkillers. This was followed by another historic $1.85 billion settlement reached, in Texas, with opioid manufacturers and distributors and was preceded by a $260 million settlement with opioid distributors AmeriSource Bergen Corp., Cardinal Health Inc., McKesson Corp. and Teva on behalf of two other Ohio counties on similar claims.
- 2018 – A record setting $4.69 billion verdict on behalf of 22 women and their families who alleged that decades of daily use of Johnson & Johnson’s asbestos-laden talcum powder products caused their ovarian cancer. This verdict was named National Law Journal’s Top Verdict of 2018. Johnson & Johnson took the verdict to the United States Supreme Court. On June 1st, 2021 the court rejected the J&J appeal in a brief written order, effectively ending the case and leaving in place a Missouri appeals-court ruling against the company.
- 2017 – $247 million verdict against DePuy Orthopaedics Inc. and health care giant Johnson & Johnson.
- 2016 – $528 million verdict against DePuy Orthopaedics Inc. and health care giant Johnson & Johnson, recognized by the National Law Journal as the Outstanding Medical Device Award for 2016, and as one of the Top 50 Verdicts of the Year.
- 2016 – $1.05 billion verdict against DePuy Orthopaedics Inc. and health care giant Johnson & Johnson, the fourth largest verdict in America in 2016.
- 2014 – $9 billion-dollar Actos verdict against Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. and Eli Lilly & Co.
- 2005 – $253 million in the first Vioxx® verdict in the U.S. (Ernst v. Merck).
- 2000 – Reversal of $1.6 billion judgment (Owens-Illinois v. T&N, Ltd. and Federal Mogul).
- 1998 – $118 million in an asbestos-related matter (Aaron v. Carborundum).
- 1993 – $417 million in a business fraud case against Amoco (Rubicon v. Amoco).
