Plaintiff Attorneys Often Use 'Reptile Theory' to Win Nuclear Trucking Jury Verdicts, Experts Say

Jan 20, 2021 at 09:39 AM CST
“The reptile theory is a tactic developed by plaintiffs to take the focus away from the accident itself — and the actual damages that were incurred by plaintiffs and what they suffered — and then turn it around to increase the jury award,” said Douglas Marcello, a trucking defense attorney at the law firm of Marcello and Kivisto, based in Carlisle, Pa. “How do they do that? By presenting the jury with the notion that the jurors are the defenders and protectors of the community, and the only way they can do that is by large verdicts.”

Jan 20, 2021 at 09:39 AM CST

“The reptile theory is a tactic developed by plaintiffs to take the focus away from the accident itself — and the actual damages that were incurred by plaintiffs and what they suffered — and then turn it around to increase the jury award,” said Douglas Marcello, a trucking defense attorney at the law firm of Marcello and Kivisto, based in Carlisle, Pa. “How do they do that? By presenting the jury with the notion that the jurors are the defenders and protectors of the community, and the only way they can do that is by large verdicts.”