Focus On Torts – Winter 2026

FIRM OBTAINS $26 MILLION DOLLAR PRODUCT LIABILITY VERDICT

Our automobile product liability team, including Rich Schoenberger, Andrew McDevitt, Matthew Davis and Ian Head obtained a $26,300,000 jury verdict in Orange County Superior Court in September for a 26-year-old Utah man who was paralyzed when a Yamaha YXZ1000R rolled over. During the rollover, the vehicle’s ROPS (Rollover Protection System) collapsed into the passenger compartment. Our client was the seventh victim to file a lawsuit after suffering paralyzing injuries during a forward rollover and roof failure of this model vehicle. This was the first case to go to trial.

In trial, Yamaha vigorously denied any defect and instead blamed the driver for driving “blind” in the sand dune park. Utilizing nationally recognized experts, the team showed how the collapsing roof structure was responsible for our client’s spinal cord injuries. The team repeatedly overcame a relentless parade of defense witnesses retained to deflect the truth and refute causation.

The jury found 9-3 that the YXZ1000R model’s risks outweighed any benefits of its design. The jury apportioned 75% liability to Yamaha and 25% to our client’s uncle, who was driving. The verdict included $10,000,000 for non-economic losses, $2,390,000 for lost earnings, and $13,950,000 for past and future medical expenses.

The verdict ensures our client’s lifelong care needs are met, while bringing public awareness to this preventable defect. It sheds light on the manufacturer’s negligence and will hopefully prompt remedial action by Yamaha to retrofit the thousands of defective vehicles that remain in use by consumers unaware of its hazards.

Uber Files Initiative to Benefit Itself, Insurers and Corporate Defendants

On October 3, 2025, Uber filed a deceptively written initiative, characterizing it as a limit on attorney fees. In fact, the initiative has a more sinister aim: the elimination of civil court access to recover for automobile accident victims.

Titled as the “Protecting Automobile Accident Victims from Attorney Self-Dealing Act,” the initiative will be placed on the November 2026 California ballot. As written, it would amend the California Constitution. If passed, it will make it nearly impossible for most injured Californians to obtain legal representation after a car crash.

The proposition imposes artificial ratios for distribution of recovery from insurers and corporations and ignores responsibility to pay federally mandated Medicare, ERISA and Medicaid liens. The constitutional amendment also restricts a victim’s recovery of both incurred and future medical expenses to 125% of Medicare reimbursement rates. This means that victims who owe full-price bills to doctors, hospitals or therapists will only recover a fraction of what they actually owe, leaving them in debt even after winning their case.

By requiring that an injured plaintiff receive 75% of the total amount recovered exclusive of liens and costs, contingent fee representation is rendered economically impossible. For seriously injured victims, an attorney is essential to level the playing field, gather evidence, prove liability, interpret insurance policies, calculate the true value of claims, and negotiate with insurers, defense attorneys and corporate defendants. Competent counsel overcomes insurance companies’ resources and tactics, making meaningful recovery possible. Left unrepresented, victims are certain to be under-compensated, lining the pockets of wrongdoers.

Three competing initiatives have also been filed by CAOC. For additional information voters can learn more at www.CAOC.org.

TESLA’S DANGEROUS FIRE RISK SPARKS LAWSUIT

Our product liability team has filed suit in Alameda County Superior Court on behalf of a Northern California family whose son was killed when a Tesla Cybertruck crashed and caught fire. The lawsuit describes how the truck’s electronic door systems trapped the occupants inside the burning vehicle.

The Cybertruck’s doors rely on electronic touch pads instead of mechanical handles. When the vehicle loses power, the doors lock automatically. The manual release cable is hidden near the floor and is not obvious in smoke and flames. Other similar lawsuits nationwide claim Tesla’s power-dependent door systems turn survivable crashes into fatal events once the batteries ignite. The design leaves occupants unable to escape when power is lost.

Tesla denies any defect and blames owners and operators. The complaint alleges that manufacturers must design vehicles that allow escape after a collision. The suit seeks damages and calls for Tesla to redesign its door systems to meet fire-safety standards. As lawsuits continue to expose the risks linked to Tesla’s doors, Walkup remains committed to holding manufacturers accountable and ensuring innovation never comes at the expense of safety.

Walkup Hosts Third Annual Thanksgiving Turkey Giveaway

Walkup, Melodia, Kelly & Schoenberger hosted its third annual Thanksgiving Turkey Giveaway in November at San Francisco’s Lowell High School. The Walkup team was joined by Lowell students to support San Francisco families facing food insecurity. Volunteers distributed seven hundred turkeys and holiday meal gift certificates to local community members in need.

Doris Cheng, Walkup shareholder and proud Lowell alum, joined the volunteers in handing out meals and greeting families. “This event is always one of the most meaningful moments of our year,” said Walkup shareholder Valerie Rose. “Giving back is at the heart of who we are as a firm, and we are grateful for the chance to support our community and make the holiday season a little brighter for local families.”

Walkup made a five-thousand-dollar donation to Lowell High School student programming in recognition of its commitment to service. The firm is grateful to the students, staff, and volunteers who helped make the event a success and looks forward to continuing this holiday tradition for many years to come.

Paraquat Settlement Talks Advance Toward Global Resolution

Settlement negotiations in the Paraquat Products Liability Litigation (MDL 3004) are approaching completion. Serving as Co-Lead Counsel, Walkup partner Khaldoun Baghdadi, along with other members of the plaintiffs’ leadership team, is working on a settlement with Syngenta and Chevron in the national MDL.

Chief Judge Nancy J. Rosenstengel has stayed all MDL deadlines to allow the parties to complete claim-review protocols, funding structures, and payment procedures. Currently, 6,445 cases remain pending in the federal MDL. While the defendants deny liability and dispute any causal link between Paraquat and Parkinson’s disease, the plaintiffs’ leadership remains focused on reaching a comprehensive resolution.

The firm’s involvement in the Paraquat litigation began well before the MDL was established. In 2023, Michael A. Kelly and Khaldoun Baghdadi filed some of California’s first Paraquat cases, alleging the manufacturers failed to warn users of the chemical’s neurological risks. Those filings helped shape the liability and causation theories now central to the MDL.

As settlement discussions progress, Walkup, Melodia, Kelly & Schoenberger remains dedicated to securing a fair, comprehensive resolution for those whose health and livelihoods were harmed by Paraquat exposure.

DORIS CHENG FEATURED ON COVER OF SUPER LAWYERS MAGAZINE

Walkup is proud to recognize shareholder Doris Cheng’s selection for the cover feature of the 2025 Super Lawyers Magazine. From her days helping her immigrant mother clean homes, Doris has carried a belief that the law exists to protect everyone’s rights. That conviction guides all aspects of her work.

During her career, Doris has obtained multimillion-dollar verdicts, arbitration awards, and settlements for clients harmed by defective products, medical negligence, and more. “I’ve had a front-row seat to a million ways people can get hurt, and that perspective drives me every day,” she says.

Her influence extends beyond the court room. As President of the Bar Association of San Francisco, she launched mentoring circles and leadership workshops for women and attorneys of color. As President of SFTLA, she expanded continuing-education programs for young lawyers. As Director of the Intensive Advocacy Program at the University of SF School of Law, she guides students through trial simulations, storytelling, and courtroom preparation.

Nationally, Doris serves as First Vice President of the American Board of Trial Advocates and will assume its presidency in 2027, working to defend the Seventh Amendment and mentor future trial lawyers.

CONOR KELLY ELECTED TO MEMBERSHIP IN ABOTA AND ISOB

The firm is excited to announce that shareholder Conor M. Kelly has earned election to the American Board of Trial Advocates and the International Society of Barristers. Selection by both associations recognizes his skill in the courtroom, integrity in advocacy, and dedication to preserving the civil jury trial.

Conor is the sixteenth Walkup attorney invited to join ABOTA, a record no other Northern California law firm can match. Six Walkup lawyers have served as San Francisco Chapter President. ABOTA membership is reserved for counsel who have demonstrated excellence in jury trial advocacy, civility in the profession, and integrity in dealings with opposing counsel.

Conor’s selection to the International Society of Barristers places him among a select group of attorneys worldwide. He will be formally inducted at the Society’s annual meeting in 2026.

Since joining Walkup, Conor has built a reputation for outstanding results. His verdicts include $38.6 million for a young man rendered quadriplegic by medical negligence, $5.4 million for a man struck by a SuperShuttle van, and $3 million for a tenant’s death in an electrical fire.

A San Francisco native, Conor earned his undergraduate degree at Cornell and his law degree from UC Law San Francisco.

Doug Saeltzer Assumes Presidency of Consumer Attorneys of CA

Douglas S. Saeltzer was sworn in as President of the Consumer Attorneys of California at the CAOC Annual Convention on November 15, 2025. He now leads the state’s foremost plaintiffs’ bar organization, representing thousands of attorneys dedicated to preserving access to justice and the right to a jury trial.

Doug’s election reflects a career defined by courtroom excellence, mentorship, and advocacy. Since joining Walkup in 1998, he has secured more than $250 million in verdicts and settlements across catastrophic injury, defective product, premises liability, industrial accident, and wrongful death cases. His work has earned multiple seven- and eight-figure verdicts, including the 2011 case that brought him the San Francisco Trial Lawyers Association’s “Trial Lawyer of the Year” award.

A graduate of UC Law San Francisco, Doug began his career as a U.S. Army JAG officer with the 82nd Airborne Division, an experience that in stilled his disciplined trial preparation and belief in the power of credibility. For two decades, he has also taught Practical Civil Litigation at UC Law SF.

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