One
Attorney Craig Pelini obtained a defense verdict in a jury trial in Franklin County on behalf of a bar/restaurant and its owners. The Plaintiff and his friend were in the Defendant’s bar/restaurant one evening, after having been in the bar for roughly 40 minutes, the Plaintiff and his friend got into a verbal disagreement with another patron. They were all customers in the bar although the Plaintiff’s friend was an off-duty employee. After words were exchanged, the CoDefendant, struck the Plaintiff's friend, knocked him down and injured him. Thereafter, the CoDefendant struck the Plaintiff on two occasions, knocked him unconscious and left him with a traumatic brain injury and a fractured nose.
The Plaintiff's claims against the Defendant, the bar/restaurant and owners of the bar, were for negligent supervision, negligent security and negligent hiring, retention and training.
Plaintiff alleged that he sustained a traumatic brain injury and a fractured nose that required surgery. He has ongoing care and treatment, was off work for a six-month time period, lost $20,000 in wages and incurred $238,000 in medical care and expenses.
Over a three-day jury trial, the Plaintiff asked the jury to award $978,000. The jury returned a defense verdict for Attorney Craig Pelini’s Defendant, the bar/restaurant and its owners.
Attorney Craig Pelini and the insurer of the Defendant in this case connected through The Gavel. They have enjoyed working together and their successes together thanks to The Gavel.
Two
Attorney Craig Pelini obtained a defense verdict in a motor vehicle accident trial in Tuscarawas County. The accident was a chain-reaction rear-end accident that involved three motor vehicles. The Plaintiff was in the first vehicle and was waiting to make a left-hand turn when he was rear-ended by a semi-tractor trailer, which was then rear-ended by a third semi-tractor trailer.
Plaintiff alleged injuries to his neck including a cervical disc injury which required surgery to repair. Additionally, Plaintiff claimed that he was forced to retire early from the U.S. Army Reserves due to the injuries sustained in the accident. Plaintiff incurred about $90,000 in medical specials. Plaintiff claimed over $1,000,000 in lost wages from his early retirement with the Army Reserves.
The Plaintiff settled his claim with the driver of the middle semi-tractor trailer for $1.75 Million. He sought further claims against the driver of the third semi-tractor, which Plaintiff alleges “pushed” the middle semi-tractor trailer into Plaintiff’s vehicle. The case went to trial on these claims.
The jury heard the case over four days of trial in Tuscarawas County. The Plaintiff asked the jury to award $30 Million in damages. The jury ultimately returned a defense verdict for the driver and company of the third semi-tractor trailer. The jury found that this Defendant did not proximately cause any of the injuries to Plaintiff.
Three
Attorney Craig Pelini and Attorney Gianna Calzola obtained a defense verdict in a complicated motor vehicle accident for which our firm defended the insurance company regarding the underinsured motorist claim. The trial took place in Mahoning County. The case was unique because the accident had occurred on September 2, 2017, and originally Plaintiff had only filed the claim against the other driver/tortfeasor. Plaintiff missed the statute of limitation by a few weeks and the tortfeasor was dismissed from the case on summary judgment. Prior to that dismissal, Plaintiff’s counsel amended the Complaint and added in the insurance company for underinsured motorist coverage. Ultimately the tortfeasor was dismissed from the case and the trial proceeded against only the insurance company.
In addition to the prejudicial effect of not having the actual driver present at trial, there were a number of unrelated medical claims being made by the Plaintiff. Had these unrelated claims been allowed to remain in the case, Plaintiff's medical bills would have been approximately $80,000. Ultimately, we were able to depose Plaintiff’s expert and prove to the Court that the unrelated injury had not been established by Plaintiff and therefore was prohibited from being presented at trial, which substantially lessened Plaintiff’s injury claim.
The case proceeded over three days with Plaintiff’s counsel continually pointing the blame at a John Doe driver and repeatedly going after the insurance company for not taking care of their insured along with the fact that the actual tortfeasor/other driver had been dismissed from the case. Despite the complexity of the case, Attorney Pelini and Attorney Calzola were able to explain the case to the jury and present the relevant facts in the case, which ultimately led it to a complete defense verdict. Plaintiff had requested $30,000 in compensatory damages and $15,000 for pain and suffering. Ultimately, the jury found that there was no finding of fault on the alleged John Doe driver and therefore there was no contribution from the insurance company for the Plaintiff’s alleged injuries.
Four
Craig Pelini of the Ohio-based Pelini, Campbell & Ricard, LLC. firm obtained a verdict in favor of his client, a Catholic priest, after claims of sexual abuse, assault, battery and infliction of emotional distress were heard in the Youngstown, Mahoning County, Ohio, Court of Common Pleas.
The now adult/then minor made claims that inappropriate conduct and abuse took place in the 2008 to 2011 timeframe, these claims were the subject of a report in 2018 that resulted in an investigation by the Diocese of Youngstown, the Child Protective Services Agency and the Bureau of Criminal Investigation.
After a three-day trial, the jury returned a verdict in favor of the priest on all claims. This case was pending for four years, before the jury was empaneled and found these issues in favor of a Catholic priest, who should soon be returned from administrative leave.
Certainly, these claims are becoming more widespread as allegations of improper priest abuse grow. It was a just ending to a very long piece of civil litigation and jury trial in Youngstown, Ohio.
Five
Attorney Gianna Calzola obtained a defense verdict in a class action jury trial in Portage County, Ohio on behalf of a company/landowner that shared a property line with the class members of a subdivision (321 class members in total). The case has been in litigation for 10 years.
The Defendants included 2 adjacent property owners and the local county commissioners. The Plaintiffs claimed that the client’s farming practices, lack of maintenance on the land, and mining operations contributed to increased water flow, which caused severe flooding in the subdivision in 2010, 2011, and 2013. The claims against all defendants were for trespass, nuisance, and negligence. The class members claimed diminution in value of their homes and annoyance damages for the nuisance claim.
Over the course of an 8-day trial, Plaintiffs requested $10,000,000 in damages in addition to annoyance damages for similar value. The Jury returned a verdict for the Plaintiffs against Portage County for almost $13 Million. Gianna obtained a defense verdict for her client. Post trial interest motions will be filed against the culpable party.
Potential exposure was large, obviously, and the client and its insurer were thrilled with the verdict.
Six
Attorney Craig Pelini of the Ohio-based Pelini, Campbell & Ricard, LLC firm obtained a defense verdict in favor of his client, a liquor permit holder, in the Summit County Court of Common Pleas.
The Plaintiff was the driver of an automobile who was struck by the co-defendant who had recently left the insured’s premises after consuming alcohol. The Plaintiff was negligent-free, and the accident caused the Plaintiff significant and objective injuries. The Plaintiff underwent multiple surgeries and incurred medical bills in excess of one million dollars. The Plaintiff claimed the insured had overserved the co-defendant while he was noticeably intoxicated.
Through the course of the litigation, there were multiple co-defendants, who all eventually settled with the Plaintiff or were dismissed. At trial, Plaintiff requested $2,500,000 in damages in addition to punitive damages against the insured. After a four-day trial, the jury returned a verdict in favor of the insured liquor permit holder.
The potential exposure was large, due to the Plaintiff’s extensive and permanent injuries. Both the client and its insurer were thrilled with the defense verdict. Craig and the Defendant’s insurer connected through the Gavel.
Seven
Attorney Craig G. Pelini recently secured a full defense verdict in a consolidated bodily injury case tried in the Trumbull County Court of Common Pleas. The case involved two separate motor vehicle accidents, one in May 2018 and another in October 2018, each involving a different insured.
The plaintiff alleged ongoing injuries and extensive treatment related to both incidents, ultimately seeking nearly $80,000 in damages. The claims included not only bodily injury allegations but also a negligent entrustment claim against a vehicle owner.
The defense focused on challenging the plaintiff’s claimed damages. Trial strategy emphasized pre-existing conditions, inconsistent medical records, and treatment that appeared unrelated to either accident. Several gaps in documentation and unexplained billing issues were addressed during trial.
Following several failed mediation attempts the matter proceeded to a multi-day jury trial. After hearing all evidence, the jury returned a complete defense verdict, awarding zero dollars to the plaintiff.
Attorney Craig G. Pelini led the trial team, with support from Partner Gianna Calzola, who was present on the final day to take the verdict. The outcome reflects the firm’s continued commitment to strong, well-prepared trial advocacy—especially in challenging liability and damage scenarios.