Not everyone is allowed to pursue damages in a wrongful death lawsuit. The law only allows certain parties to bring a wrongful death claim, such as:

• Surviving spouse of the deceased
• Domestic partners or life partners of the deceased
• Children of the deceased, including biological, adopted, and stepchildren
• Individuals who would have been entitled to assets or properties if there are no other family members

Tried by Randall H. Scarlett who served as lead counsel for the direct action plaintiffs in all three phases of the trial of this complex case, and who served as one of the class counsel during the mandatory exemplary damage phase of the case which resulted in the record-setting $1,200,000,000 judgment.

Wrongful Death Verdict – $1,200,000,000

Jury verdict and judgment for plaintiffs In Re Estate of Ferdinand E. Marcos Human Rights Litigation, MDL No. 840.

In 1965, Ferdinand E. Marcos was elected president of the Philippines. In 1969, he was re-elected for his second term. Under the Philippine Constitution, Marcos would have had to leave the office of Presidency after his second term ended in 1973. Instead, Marcos suspended the Writ of Habeas Corpus, and through Proclamation 1081, (entered September 21, 1972), Marcos imposed martial law in the Philippines.

For the thirteen years that followed before Marcos was deposed in 1986, he ruled as “dictator” of the Philippines. In order to quash legitimate political opposition, Marcos ordered, and failed to prevent, the torture, summary execution, and disappearance of numerous members of the political opposition. In 1986, Marcos was finally thrown out of office through a popular uprising. He fled to the United States, seeking safe haven. Numerous victims of his atrocities had earlier fled to the United States, and met with Randall H. Scarlett.

In addition to seeking re-dress for his clients, Mr. Scarlett wished to send a strong message, to wit: That the United States would not be a safe haven for the fleeing dictators of the world. Suits were instituted against Ferdinand E. Marcos beginning in 1986, the first suits filed in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California. The cases were coordinated before the Multi-District Litigation Panel. The Panel assigned the action to Federal District Judge Manuel L. Real (Central District of California). The case was venued in Honolulu, Hawaii.

Ultimately, the case was trifurcated for trial. Plaintiffs’ liability verdict was received following trial on September 24, 1992. The $1,200,000,000 exemplary damage verdict on behalf of all plaintiffs was rendered following trial on February 23, 1994. In addition to the exemplary damage verdict, Mr. Scarlett’s direct action plaintiffs received millions of dollars of judgments from the jury following conclusion of the compensatory phase of the trial on January 20, 1995. One of Mr. Scarlett’s plaintiffs, Manuel Buncio, received the largest compensatory award rendered by the jury, case wide.

This complex international human rights case was the first of its kind. Often written about, and often cited, plaintiffs were successful in defeating all appeals through the United States Supreme Court. Complex settlement negotiations are now underway involving the Government of the Republic of the Philippines, various Swiss Bank interests, and the Estate of Ferdinand E. Marcos.