High-stakes civil litigation in Philadelphia’s Court of Common Pleas — often characterized as Wonka’s “Golden Ticket” — was again analyzed in yesterday’s Philadelphia Inquirer. Statistics previously released by the court portrayed a plaintiff-friendly venue, sought at all costs by fee-driven, plaintiff lawyers. Additional statistics, unreported by the Inquirer, detail a different story.
In 2024, 12 verdicts awarded to Philadelphia litigants exceeded $10 million. These so-called “Nuclear Verdicts®” have landed Philadelphia on the list of “Judicial Hellholes®” created by the American Tort Reform Foundation and on the printing press of major daily newspapers. However, general statistics of the verdicts from the First Judicial Circuit’s Major Jury Program contradict the unequal balance news outlets like reporting. In 2024, there was a dead-split in the total number of verdicts for plaintiffs and defendants—each obtaining 67.
The Philadelphia Inquirer has recently journaled about the presence of this phenomenon in their home county after a Court of Common Pleas Judge ruled to have twenty-seven lawsuits following a Berks County Chocolate Factory explosion remain in Philadelphia after a two-year long battle. Surprisingly, the West Reading Factory is located 65 miles from Philadelphia’s City Hall. Defendants, R.M. Palmer, UGI Utilities, and DuPont, argued they do not conduct enough business in Philly to be sued there, and it would be an inconvenient venue for their witnesses and if the jury were to do a visit of the explosion site. The plaintiffs countered stating that the defendants “grossly exaggerated” the impact of the commute from Berks County to Center City and that UGI Utilities reported over $100 million in revenue from Philadelphia in the past five years.
The Inquirer posed the question: Why are out-of-town lawyers trying cases in Philly when their clients, the plaintiffs, are not from here?
It came to a conclusion for each side. Plaintiff’s lawyers like Philly for their efficiency. In the R.M. Palmer Chocolate Factory case, for example, the Judge consolidated all twenty-seven cases for civil procedure issues and holds status conferences where all attorneys meet and get updates on the case. On the other hand, defense lawyers believe the real appeal is the increased chance of a high jury verdict. This answer was evidenced by recent high verdicts from Philadelphia juries including the $2.2 billion against Monsanto in 2024 and $1 billion against Mitsubishi in 2023—both plaintiffs being from outside of Philadelphia County. Nonetheless, the article failed to mention that not every Philadelphia jury rules in favor of the plaintiff, in general, nor for tens of millions, or even billions, of dollars.
News outlets are intrigued by this topic and will likely continue to report on it so long as non-Philadelphians continue to file their cases and the jury verdict amounts remain high. While the news may portray Philly as a guaranteed jackpot for plaintiff verdicts, the numbers do not lie—defendants still have a fair shot in Philadelphia’s litigation arena.