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