Rebecca Waldt sat in a wheelchair in Baltimore City?s Clarence Mitchell Courthouse in December looking for justice.
The Mount Airy resident has been paralyzed on her left side since a brain operation went wrong in 2002. After the surgery, her body weight dropped from 135 pounds to 75 pounds. She suffered from pneumonia, and fluid on the brain. Her family says she will need constant care and a wheelchair for the rest of her life.
That day in court, she was looking for a $10 million medical malpractice payout from the hospital, the University of Maryland Medical Center, and the doctor, Gregg Zoarski, whose surgery, she says, left her “depressed” and unable to walk.
“I feel more handicapped than I want to feel,” Waldt, 57, told the jury.
Still, the former employee of a moving company had every reason to feel confident in the trial?s outcome. After all, in her corner was the flashy Stephen L. Snyder, 59, who advertises himself as the “Master of the Malpractice Universe.”
Known as perhaps the single most successful civil attorney in Maryland, Snyder counts four victories of more than $100 million each to his credit.
He squeezed United Cable Co. to pay out $106 million; he hit Ernst & Young for $185 million; and he won the state?s largest civil jury award of $276 million against First Union National Bank.
He?s created a cartoon superhero of himself, called “Snyderman,” on his Web site ? www.snyderwins.com ? and he even tells potential clients not to bother him if their case is not worth $1 billion.
If anyone could get the hospital to pony up the money Waldt needed, surely it was Snyder.
One problem, though. Snyder?s former associate William H. “Billy” Murphy Jr., 63, was defending the University of Maryland Medical System.
And Murphy was on a roll, having won in July a $44 million jury verdict in a case against the Baltimore Police Department, the second-highest police brutality award in Maryland history. The former Baltimore judge and one-time mayoral candidate counts on his resume the acquittalof boxing promoter Don King on a wire fraud charge. He shared in Snyder?s two biggest victories ? against First Union and Ernst & Young. And he even successfully defended Microsoft against a $5 billion Johnnie Cochran lawsuit. The two men are known for their courtroom flair, quick tongues and high fees.
How much do they charge?
“It?s a lot,” Murphy says.
How much is that?
“Let?s just say it?s a whole lot.”
Both Snyder and Murphy have a penchant for expensive suits, and Snyder is never seen without his signature Rolex watch.
After Snyder announced his $1 billion suit against Exxon last year, his driver whisked him away in his Rolls-Royce.
His other cars?
“Which one? The Bentley? The Ferrari?” Snyder asks.
They?re two men who rarely lose. They talk the talk, and they walk the walk ? at least most of the time.
So this showdown was going to be like none other. Ali vs. Frazier would be a warm-up.
“It was a Clash of the Titans from the inception,” says Snyder?s former partner Christian Lodowski. “Billy?s courtroom prowess is second to none. Billy knows more case law and evidence than any lawyer in the state of Maryland. And Steve Snyder is also a super heavyweight litigator. Steve has success that speaks for itself.”
Howard Chasanow, a former judge on Maryland?s highest court, said the two men are well-matched.
“I would have liked to have sold tickets to this trial,” he said. “They?re both brilliant lawyers. Steve had a case where he asked the jury to give his client $3.5 million and the jury gave him $7 million. And juries are just spellbound by Billy Murphy. They both have a little bit of magic in them.”
But what should have been a chess match of clever maneuvering turned out to be something far different. Instead, the Clash of the Titans at timesset a new low for civility inside a courtroom, offering a peek into the hyper-competitive world of Baltimore?s best civil attorneys, complete with verbal blasts, bravado and braggadocio.
To put it plainly: It got ugly.
“It was gloves off, in the trenches,” Lodowski says. “I expected nothing less from two titans like that.”
FRUSTRATING TACTICS
From the onset of the nearly month-long trial, Murphy?s team attacked Snyder on several fronts. They tried to win the case on its merits, but they also nibbled away technically at Snyder?s case and used psychological tactics to rattle the veteran attorney.
For starters, Murphy didn?t even tell Snyder he was taking the case until he showed up at court on Nov. 27, the first day of the trial, causing Snyder to go, in Murphy?s words, “berserk.”
“After Mr. Snyder found out, for the first time today, that I was being retained by the University of Maryland to be in this case, frankly he lost his cool,” Murphy told Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Lynn Stewart, according to a transcript of the proceedings. “What he said to me was, in a voice loud enough for the defendant to hear … he said, ?I?m going to tear him apart.? And then he turned around and literally screamed at Dr. Zoarski, ?I?m coming after you! I?m going to get you!? And he said it several times.”
After surprising Snyder at trial, Murphy and his team then proceeded to frustrate him.
They decided to use a tactic of objecting to every technically improper question Snyder asked, a method that slowed Snyder down, broke his rhythm and threw him off track.
“He ambushed me by entering his appearance on the day of trial, which I thought was distasteful,” Snyder says. “He was an out-and-out obstructionist during the proceedings. Every question I asked, he objected, and the judge sustained the objection. I thought, I can?t be that stupid to ask this many wrong questions. How about if I just ask the question, ?What?? ”
Snyder took particular offense to Murphy?s late appearance in the case, because Murphy and several members of his team are African-American, as was the judge and several jurors.
“I think it?s racially motivated,” he told the judge.
After hearing that, Murphy replied sarcastically to Snyder?s comment in court: “We?re just some colored lawyers. We?re not trying to hurt nobody.”
Murphy?s associate, Michael Brown, who is also African-American, said he still takes umbrage at Snyder?s remark.
“The suggestion is highly offensive and outrageous,” Brown says. “As a black lawyer, I am still offended and bothered by those comments.”
Still, there can be no doubt that Murphy?s tactics rattled Snyder.
After one exchange, Snyder told Murphy in open court he no longer liked him and had lost him as a friend.
He boasted that he taught Murphy “what he knows in the civil arena,” causing Murphy to say out loud: “I just wanted to thank Mr. Snyder for teaching me all I know.”
Judge Stewart then addressed Snyder, telling him to “calm down.”
“I?m looking at you and notice your blood is rushing,” the judge said to Snyder.
“The blood is rushing,” Snyder responded.
Finally, Judge Stewart had had enough.
“This is it. Last warning to everybody,” she said. “No finger-pointing, children. No stomping your feet. No screaming. No yelling. No dancing around. No calling names. No throwing sticks and stones. No putting gum in each other?s hair.”
After weeks of legal wrangling, mind games and frustrating tactics, Murphy?s team turned aggressor and jabbed at Snyder?s case: first, convincing the judge to disqualify one of Snyder?s experts; then digging up so much dirt on another expert that Snyder refused to call him; and finally persuading Stewart to throw out the case before a jury could render a verdict because it lacked the most basic of malpractice necessities ? qualified expert witness testimony.
“There has been no expert testimony with regards to the nature of the risks inherent to this particular treatment,” Stewart said before tossing the suit.
“Steve is Mr. Big Time,” says Murphy?s partner Richard Falcon, who made the final motion that won the suit. “But he was completely unprepared for a full-fledged war.”
The victory left Murphy gloating, and Snyder plotting revenge.
“I like Steve because he talks like a titan, but in this case he sank like the Titanic,” Murphy says.
“I?m still the only titan,” Snyder replies. “If Murphy wins 10 more cases like that, he still won?t be on my level. This case is not over.”
Losing doesn?t sit well with Snyder. He became so enraged at the judge?s decision that several court witnesses said Snyder stormed out of the courtroom, refusing to speak to anyone, even Rebecca Waldt.
Snyder remembers it somewhat differently.
“I walked out quickly,” he says.
A TRAGEDY
Lost in the “Clash of Titans” is a genuine tragedy.
Waldt underwent brain surgery on Dec. 19, 2002, at the University of Maryland Medical Center for an aneurysm.
Zoarski, the hospital?s director of neuroradiology, performed the operation, during which Waldt suffered from a stroke and massive bleeding. Snyder alleged Zoarski was negligent and botched the surgery, while Murphy?s team argued that Waldt?s injuries were caused by a known but infrequent risk of the operation.
Waldt?s testimony at the trial could have pulled on the heartstrings of even the coldest juror.
“I can?t negotiate stairs,” she said. “I don?t have both of my hands available for preparing a meal. I can?tremember when I took my last dosage [of medication].”
Before the surgery, Waldt used to rescue animals ? mainly abandoned dogs and cats. Now, her son helps brush her teeth. Her husband gives her a bath.
“I can?t get the zipper or buttons done on my pants or blouse,” she said.
Murphy?s team argued that Waldt knew the risks involved when she underwent the complicated surgery, and Zoarski testified to that end.
“When I saw her the first time, she had frank discussions with me and very pleasant discussions,” the doctor said on the witness stand. “I spent an hour with her.”
Snyder says he would have won the case had the judge allowed the jury to decide, and he pledges to fight on. Already his firm has filed an appeal with the state?s second highest court, the Maryland Court of Special Appeals.
“Billy Murphy can take no comfort in the victory,” he says. “It will be very short-lived. I have no doubt that it will be reversed. In fact, I will quit law if it doesn?t get reversed.”
(Snyder?s partner Andrew Slutkin is handling the appeal, along with attorney Lon Engel. Waldt won?t say why she no longer wants Snyder involved.)
Snyder blames the outcome of the trial on Stewart, saying she encouraged a negative courtroom environment.
“In my 37 years of practice, it was the most unpleasant experience trying for me as well as the members of my firm, because of the judge,” he says. “The judge brought out the worst in each lawyer. Any new lawyer that would have witnessed that trial would have gone into a different profession.”
Snyder says he?ll consider forgiving Murphy for his actions during the trial if Murphy writes him a “formal letter of apology.” But he says he has no plans to cut Murphy in on any of his upcoming cases. “I was going to include him in a billion-dollar case I?ve got, but those days are over,” Snyder says.
He pauses, to make sure the dollar amount is clear.
“That?s billion,” Snyder says, “with a B.”
The Players
» The plaintiffs? attorneys: Stephen L. Snyder, Andrew Slutkin, Michael Snyder, Dwayne Brown, Tomeka Church
» The defense attorneys: Billy Murphy Jr., Richard Falcon, Neal Brown, Michael Brown, Michael Blumenfeld, Lisa Russell
» The judge: Lynn K. Stewart
» The victim: Rebecca Waldt
» The accused doctor: Dr. Gregg Zoarski
» The expert witness: Dr. Gerard Debrun
The knockout punch
Perhaps no moment in the trial was more important than William H. “Billy” Murphy Jr.?s cross-examination of Stephen L. Snyder?s expert witness, Dr. Gerard Debrun. Over the objections of Snyder?s partner, Andrew Slutkin, Murphy convinced the renowned doctor to admit he had retired from medicine and his income was now generated from being an “expert witness.”
The admission contributed heavily to Judge Lynn Stewart?s eventual decision to throw out Snyder?s case, ruling that Snyder has failed to provide the jury with appropriate expert witness testimony, which Murphy?s partner, Richard Falcon, argued is required by Maryland law.
» Murphy: Now, you testified that you no longer practice medicine but you handle cases for plaintiffs? lawyers who are suing others for malpractice?
» Debrun: Yes.
» Murphy: That?s all you basically do now except for read journals and go to an occasional meeting, right?
» Debrun: Yes.
» Murphy: So, you are a professional witness, sir, aren?t you?
» Slutkin: Objection, your honor.
» Judge: Overruled.
» Murphy: You are a professional witness, aren?t you, sir?
» Debrun:I guess I am.
» Murphy: No further questions, judge.
Source: Official trial transcript
BILLY MURPHY?S OPENING STATEMENT
“If what he says happened in this case is malpractice, nobody will want to do this procedure. They will all be worried about Steve Snyder suing them if there?s a complication. Now, let?s talk about complications. You know, you?ve been given the impression that surgery is supposed to be perfect. Well, you know, that just ain?t true. In other words, the surgeon can do the best he can, the best any surgeon would have done under the proceedings and still there can be side effects.”
STEPHEN SNYDER?S OPENING STATEMENT
“I?ll tell you in advance, you?ve got very experienced lawyers in this case. Do not let the sideshow distract you. She walks into the doctor?s office. She ain?t walking now, but she walked in then. She was misguided and she was misled and she became Dr. Zoarski?s first guinea pig. As a result of the procedure he performed, she is wheelchair-bound. Now, he may or may not be the greatest doctor in the world. That?s really not relevant. What?s relevant is what he did to this lady on that day. That?s what counts.”
