{"id":14096,"date":"2023-05-25T09:36:35","date_gmt":"2023-05-25T16:36:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogschapman.wpenginepowered.com\/law\/2023\/05\/25\/chapman-alumni-win-landmark-161-million-verdict\/"},"modified":"2023-05-25T09:36:35","modified_gmt":"2023-05-25T16:36:35","slug":"chapman-alumni-win-landmark-161-million-verdict","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.chapman.edu\/law\/2023\/05\/25\/chapman-alumni-win-landmark-161-million-verdict\/","title":{"rendered":"Chapman Alumni Win Landmark $161 Million Verdict"},"content":{"rendered":"

Chapman Law School alumni T. Gabe Houston (JD \u201908) and Robbie Godinez Munoz (JD\u201920) have recently been awarded a $161 million verdict in a civil case against a major motorcycle manufacturer. The verdict, eight years in the making, has $11 million compensatory, and $150 million punitive damages attached to it, represents the culmination of a legal marathon for the lawyers and their client. The story of Soulliere v. Suzuki Motor Corp. <\/strong>is a matter of public record now<\/a>, but the story of the remarkable partnership of Chapman alumni Houston and Munoz is one which shares a great deal with plaintiff Thomas Joseph \u201cJoey\u201d Soulliere\u2019s own struggle for justice and explains some of the passion and persistence these two Chapman graduates brought to this extensive legal battle.<\/p>\n

Robbie Munoz<\/a> is a recent Chapman Law graduate who had a circuitous route to his career in law.\u00a0 As a youth, Munoz loved boxing and was a regular at Santa Ana\u2019s TKO Boxing Club. Sustaining an injury in his teens while training for the 2008 Olympic Trials, he underwent surgery to rectify the problem. Emerging from anesthetic following the operation, Munoz realized that his doctors had operated on the wrong knee, effectively ending his Olympic hopes, his boxing career, and his life plan all at once. Devastated, Munoz worked closely with local medical malpractice attorneys for two years who, Munoz explains, \u201creally opened my eyes to what the law can do.\u201d<\/p>\n

After representing Munoz in his case, the law firm took Munoz on as a law clerk. The work was interesting to Munoz, who worked hard at it but, at this early stage, remained a little circumspect about law as a full-time career. One afternoon clerking at Hodes, Milman and Liebeck\u2013while assisting a client with her medical malpractice case\u2013Munoz disclosed that it was his 26th<\/sup> birthday. The client, horrified that Munoz should be working on her case on his birthday, insisted that he return home to spend time with his family. It was then Munoz realized that there was no place he would rather be on his birthday than working on her case\u2013if that\u2019s what it took to bring her justice. After that realization, Munoz adds, \u201cEverything shifted. I knew that [being a lawyer] is what I wanted to do.\u201d<\/p>\n

Clerking at Hodes, Millman and Liebeck<\/a> had introduced Munoz to the world of practicing attorneys; principal among them was Fowler alumnus and associate attorney, T. Gabe Houston<\/a>. It was Houston who suggested that Munoz consider Chapman Law for his studies, and Houston who helped Munoz manage his expectations of law school, and of himself, for the three years of training he would undergo at Chapman University. At the time, Munoz was in his mid-20s, and it was here that Gabe Houston first introduced him to the Soulliere case, asking Munoz to assist him with the case documentation. Houston and Munoz would part ways soon after, Houston heading into practice for himself and Munoz joining the Chapman Law student body. Munoz remembers the beginning of his 2L year at Chapman fondly; during this time, he attended court to see his friend and early mentor, Gabe Houston\u2019s successful closing argument for what he imagined was the culmination of the Soulliere case he had first caught a glimpse of as a clerk. This trial ended in September 2018 with a verdict in favor of Houston\u2019s client. While Houston and Munoz both believed the Soulliere case would end there, the case would go on to be appealed by the defense, leaving its future in question and creating an opportunity for Houston and Munoz to join forces again.<\/p>\n

By 2019, Munoz had secured a coveted summer internship at a local firm, the Simon Law Group<\/a>, and was already being presented with a number of opportunities \u201cto rise to the occasion,\u201d as he put it. \u201cThey were always giving me chances to grow,\u201d says Munoz about the Simon Law Group giving him the chance to try two cases to verdict (as a certified law clerk) while still in his 3L year. However, COVID-19 upended the bar exam schedule in 2020, creating a seemingly unending series of false starts to an exam date which saw Munoz miss on his first attempt, but successfully pass in July of 2021. Munoz would go on to try two more cases for the Simon Law Group before eventually partnering with Houston again on the Soulliere v. Suzuki Motor Corp. <\/strong>case, which was back from the court on appeal and remanded for a new trial.<\/p>\n

As chance would have it, Houston had worked closely with the Simon Law team to prepare for the first Soulliere v. Suzuki trial. For the 2023 trial, Houston looked to the office of Simon Law again for partners to team up with in presenting the case for a second time. When asked whom he needed to demonstrate the human impact of the accident on the plaintiff\u2019s life, Houston\u2019s response was unequivocal: \u201cGive me Robbie [Munoz],\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Gabe Houston is nothing if not a determined litigator, with those who know him best describing him as a seasoned, mature attorney. Houston is also a man who knows and understands his own limitations, which was the principal driver in his seeking co-counsel support from Davis and Munoz. Together they would each tackle a different aspect of what promised to be a tough retrial after a 2018 jury produced a favorable verdict for Soulliere\u2013nearly $1M in compensatory damages and $8M in punitive damages. In Houston\u2019s own words, \u201cThere are so many fingerprints on this verdict I can\u2019t take that much credit.\u201d<\/p>\n

By his own admission, Houston follows a somewhat unconventional approach to trial preparation and presentation. Thus, one of the \u201cfingerprints\u201d on this case is his work with focus groups as well as his participation in working group workshops with several colleagues familiar with non-traditional trial techniques.\u00a0 Houston attended several such working groups, one a week prior to the trial with Munoz and their client, to finesse their methodology and courtroom presentation in an effort to bring a positive outcome to their courtroom battle\u2013and it seems like it did just that.<\/p>\n

Munoz\u2019s own take on Houston\u2019s request to have him assist with the appeal reveals a very frank conversation between the two alumni.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was honest from the start,\u201d says Munoz, \u201cI told him, you\u2019re not getting an attorney with ten years of experience here\u2013more like one with ten months experience! But I\u2019ll give you everything I have.\u201d<\/p>\n

The final element of the Soulliere v. Suzuki trial team was Travis Davis<\/a>, an accomplished attorney in his own right, current head of the Law and Motion department at the Simon Law Group, and a partner of the firm. Munoz describes Davis as being responsible for all their motion writing during the trial and for protecting the evidentiary record, \u201cHe could keep the defense at bay all day; he\u2019s not just an incredibly good writer\u2013he\u2019s a savant!\u201d<\/p>\n

Houston would tackle the science and engineering aspect of the case himself, as well as the practicalities of courtroom deliberation. Munoz\u2019s role was the human aspect of the case and successfully presenting Soulliere\u2019s ten-year struggle to the jury\u2013showing the jurors how Soulliere must manage a leg length discrepancy, a knee that won\u2019t bend correctly and how much commitment is required in the rehabilitation and recovery work Soulliere must still do. Munoz had to unpack the struggles of the entire Soulliere family, from a little sister who had to help her big brother go to the bathroom, to a fearless and unstoppable mother who would load the entire family into her car on weekends, driving them to medical conventions with a folder of x-rays under one arm, to seek out medical specialists with only one question on her mind: Can you help my son?<\/p>\n

The parallels between Soulliere\u2019s struggles and Munoz\u2019s own are striking. Munoz wonders if the defense did not simply dismiss him (and his perceived inexperience) from the outset\u2013overlooking the years Munoz had put into his own recovery and malpractice struggle, the years of experience garnered from clerking in malpractice and liability, added to the time and commitment he had poured into this case. Candid about his own growth through the process of taking this case to trial, Munoz reflects on his partnership with Gabe Houston, and his partners\u2019 personal growth throughout the process, \u201cI watched a real evolution in Gabe, watched him moving from anger and frustration to a place of real care and concern, not just for our client, but for Suzuki as well,\u201d he comments. The case, it seems, matured each attorney in ways they could not have foreseen at its outset.<\/p>\n

Asked about how he feels about the remarkable verdict, Munoz is humbled more than anything, \u201cI\u2019m still trying to process what this means; I don\u2019t quite know yet.\u201d This is understandable, given the verdict and size of the achievement: The famous Erin Brokovich case was settled for $333 million dollars\u2013a settlement<\/em>, for the whole town; Soulliere v. Suzuki produced a $161 million dollar verdict\u2013a jury verdict,<\/em> in favor of a single individual.<\/p>\n

Reflecting on the synchronicity that played a constant part in this trial, Munoz remarks how things just seemed to fall into place sometimes, how help came from unlikely quarters in the nick of time and how it often felt like, \u201cthis was just meant to be.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you are in a five-week trial, there are going to be tough days,\u201d adds Munoz, \u201cWe would remind ourselves: We are on the side of right, we\u2019re on the side of good\u2013and we kept that as our anchor.\u201d<\/p>\n

And anchor them it did. Producing not only a remarkable outcome for these Fowler School of Law alumni but a favorable verdict for Joey Soulliere, who has been seeking justice and relief in this case, every day since his accident.<\/p>\n

Welcoming the opportunity to work with Houston again, Munoz reflects on the experience of working with a Fowler alumnus, \u201cChapman does a great job of getting you ready to practice,\u201d he says, \u201cThere are so many people who are focused on trying to help you to succeed, just like Gabe has been trying to help me become a better attorney through the process of this trial. There\u2019s something that\u2019s alive in the Chapman experience\u2013the \u2018Chapman family\u2019 is a real thing\u2013you can feel the community, which is really what you are trying to tap into in a jury trial, that feeling of community.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Chapman Law School alumni T. Gabe Houston (JD \u201908) and Robbie Godinez Munoz (JD\u201920) have recently been awarded a $161 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4618,"featured_media":14097,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"custom_author_name":"","chapman_pin_hero_slider":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[25],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-14096","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-alumni"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.chapman.edu\/law\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14096","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.chapman.edu\/law\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.chapman.edu\/law\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.chapman.edu\/law\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4618"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.chapman.edu\/law\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14096"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.chapman.edu\/law\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14096\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.chapman.edu\/law\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/14097"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.chapman.edu\/law\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14096"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.chapman.edu\/law\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14096"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.chapman.edu\/law\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14096"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}