Corporate Nuclear Verdicts Surged to New Record High in 2024, Report Says

Nuclear verdicts against corporate defendants reached a record high in 2024, led by cases involving products liability and intellectual property, according to a new report from research firm Marathon Strategies.

The number of nuclear verdicts—those that surpass $10 million—rose to 135 in 2024, a 52% increase over 2023. The total sum of these verdicts was $31.3 billion, a 116% jump over the prior year.

“Thermonuclear verdicts” of $100 million or more increased to 49 last year, with five of those cases resulting in verdicts greater than $1 billion.

The report, “Corporate Verdicts Go Thermonuclear 2025 Edition,” attributes the growth of nuclear verdicts to many factors including corporate mistrust, social pessimism, erosion of tort reform and public desensitization to large numbers.

Texas led all states with 23 nuclear verdicts, followed by California (17) and Pennsylvania (12).

Florida, which was the number two state for nuclear verdicts from 2009 to 2022, dropped to number 10 after the state enacted tort reform in 2023.

Nevada had the highest sum of verdicts at $8.4 billion, due to a series of multi-billion dollar jury awards against former Las Vegas-based bottled water company Real Water. The company’s products were alleged to have contained hydrazine, a chemical used in rocket fuel.

This is the first year Nevada ranked among the top states for the sum of verdicts. The rest of the top 10 are California ($6.9 billion), Pennsylvania ($3.4 billion), Texas ($3 billion), New York ($2.1 billion), Missouri ($1.2 billion), Delaware ($1 billion), Louisiana ($733 million), Illinois ($654 million), and Florida ($538 million).

The report found that nuclear verdicts occur more often in state court than federal courts. State courts accounted for 85 nuclear verdicts in 2024 and produced nearly double the total sum of verdicts than federal courts ($20.1 billion vs. $11.2 billion).

Product Liability Dominates Litigation

In a continuation of a decades-long trend, several of the highest corporate verdicts involved products liability.

The report identified 32 product liability nuclear verdicts for a total of $13.9 billion. Among those were the continued litigation against Bayer AG over claims that its Roundup product caused non-Hodgkin lymphoma.

State juries in Philadelphia awarded verdicts against Bayer AG of $2.2 billion, as well as for $175 million and $78 million.

Philadelphia was also site of a $725 million verdict against Exxon Mobil over claims that a former mechanic developed cancer after being exposed to benzene from Mobil’s gasoline. A court later upheld the verdict and added more than $90 million in delay damages.

The reported highlighted two bellwether nuclear verdicts against drugmakers of infant formula. A Missouri state jury award a $495 million verdict against Abbott Laboratories over allegations that its cow’s milk-based formula can damage a baby’s intestinal tract. In a similar case, a jury in Illinois awarded $60 million against Reckitt Benckiser subsidiary Mead Johnson.

Pharmaceuticals had the most verdicts of any industry with 10, followed by technology hardware, storage & peripherals (9), trucking (8) and hotels, restaurants and leisure (8).

Marathon compiled the report through a review of verdict data, court records, media reports, and other sources. The verdicts compiled don’t reflect reductions, remittiturs, or reversals.

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