Rushing McCarl secures $17.8 million jury verdict in contract dispute

LOS ANGELES – November 21, 2022 – The business litigation boutique Rushing McCarl LLP secured a $17.8 million jury verdict on behalf of cosmetics manufacturer Virgin Scent, Inc. dba Artnaturals. The jury unanimously found that defendant BT Supplies West, Inc. had breached contracts to buy millions of hand sanitizer bottles and masks during the COVID-19 pandemic. BT Supplies was represented by Nixon Peabody LLP, an Am Law 100 firm.

Rushing McCarl was brought onto the case just weeks before trial and two business days before key pretrial filings were due. Even so, Rushing McCarl made an immediate difference in the case by winning motions to exclude witnesses and evidence, obtaining an order barring some of the defendant’s counterclaims and defenses, introducing a powerful legal theory based on the Uniform Commercial Code, and convincing the court to allow a third deposition of the defendant’s main witness.

Rushing McCarl’s aggressive pretrial advocacy set the stage for a favorable battleground at trial and led to the last-minute discovery of crucial evidence that undermined the defendant’s story and credibility.

John Rushing, Rushing McCarl’s Managing Partner, credits the firm’s pretrial wins to the legal research and written advocacy spearheaded by the firm’s co-founder Ryan McCarl. “Ryan McCarl is the best legal writer I’ve ever seen,” said Rushing. “We’re a boutique firm coming onto this case with only a few weeks to prepare, yet Ryan and our research team were still able to outmaneuver and outwork the big firm on the other side.”

McCarl similarly praised Rushing, who handled most aspects of the trial and was tasked with persuading the jury. Despite the dispute’s complexity and the sometimes dry nature of contract cases, McCarl said Rushing kept the Central District of California jury engaged through five days of trial.

“John Rushing is a jury whisperer,” McCarl said. “He has unmatched charisma and authenticity, and he leans into his blue-collar Texas roots. He took a complex set of facts and made it simple and relatable, and he empowered the jury to do the right thing.”

The jury’s verdict on November 16 marks another impressive milestone for the firm, which Rushing and McCarl founded in 2020. Both partners began their careers at large litigation firms, but decided that they wanted to select their own clients and cases, uphold their own standards, and build a litigation boutique that reflects their vision for how law should be practiced.

The $17.8 million verdict is only the latest win for the firm. Just last week, a cryptocurrency fraud lawsuit filed by the firm was highlighted in Forbes. Earlier this year, Rushing McCarl obtained a rare reversal from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, reviving the claims of an airline passenger who suffered an in-flight assault. In 2021, the firm filed an influential amicus brief in an employment discrimination case that led to an invitation to speak before the U.S. Department of Justice.

Rushing McCarl LLP is a business litigation boutique that provides elite advocacy to companies and individuals. For more information, visit https://rushingmccarl.com/ or call (310) 896-5082.

(Photo credit: Levi Meir Clancy on Unsplash)