Significant Cases

Arbitration - French Lick Casino

When a dispute arose between the developers of the French Lick Casino, a three man arbitration panel was agreed upon. The panel consisted of Mr. McNeely, Judge William Webster (former 4^th Circuit Court of Appeals Judge, Director of the FBI and Director of the CIA) and Kenneth Feinberg (the mediator who supervised the distribution of proceeds to the families of the victims of 9/11)

Civil Litigation - Dram Shop

When an individual was sued for providing alcoholic beverages to a minor, which resulted in an automobile accident and the death of three passengers in an oncoming vehicle, the question of the reach of the Dram Shop Act in Indiana was an issue. This landmark case has influenced Dram Shop litigation in Indiana for over 30 years.

Civil Litigation - Tire Failure - Double Fatality

When a tire failure resulted in the death of a West Coast couple, their two children were left parentless. Despite an initial assessment that the age of the tire prevented the prosecution f a successful wrongful death action against the manufacturer, six months of relentless investigation and research led Mr. McNeely to the conclusion that the original assessment was incorrect.

After assembling his team of experts, visiting the site of the tire manufacturing facility, and analyzing boxes of documents and records, a case was assembled supporting the recovery of a multi-million dollar settlement. Key to the settlement was an animated presentation, which incorporated state of the art visuals recently developed at Georgia Tech University. This technology clearly demonstrated the range of defects in the tires, and coordinated those with documents from the manufacturer, in such a fashion that the jury would easily understand the causal relationship between the defective manufacturing process and the tire blow-out. This technology has since been incorporated by other attorneys throughout the nation, with similar results

Civil Litigation - Pedestrian - Wrongful Death

When a nationwide company's parcel delivery semi-tractor trailer was traveling along the Interstate highway and wandered over the fog line and struck a pedestrian, whose vehicle was disabled on the shoulder, the pedestrian was immediately killed, leaving a dependent wife, to whom he had been married for 38 years, and adult children surviving. Initially, the trucking company denied all liability, claiming that the pedestrian had been in the roadway. After a thorough investigation and consultation with numerous experts outside the state of Indiana, Mr. Harrold was able to convince the trucking company that their driver was incorrect, and that the trucking company was fully liable. This was only possible after extensive investigation and analysis of the semi-tractor's "black box."

After numerous attempts at negotiations and mediation, the case was settled for more than seven figures, structuring settlement funds and establishing an account for the widow in order to care fro her for the rest of her life, thus replacing the income of the self-employed husband. This widow had never worked outside the home. One fo the keys to settlement was a video presentation of testimonials by friends and family concerning the value of the decedent to them. Numerous other audio and visual aids were employed at the mediations in order to convince the trucking company representatives and counsel of the value of this wrongful death case.

Civil Litigation - Automobile Passenger - Severe Injuries

A 63-year-old employee of a cell phone testing company was riding in the rear of a company vehicle testing cell phone reception on computerized equipment while being driven throughout the state by a temporary employment service employee. The driver suddenly dozed off, left the road, and the vehicle flipped several times. The man in the rear suffered multiple injuries. Those injuries included cervical fractures, bilateral torn rotator cuffs, fractured elbow and loss of memory. Initially, the temporary employment service who supplied the driver denied all liability and claimed that the case was only a matter for workers' compensation proceedings. To further complicate the case, the injured man lived out of state and, during the investigative stage of the case, was diagnosed with cancer and given only a few weeks to live.

Due to his impending death, a lawsuit was immediately filed, and counsel flew to Baltimore, Maryland to preserve his testimony by video deposition. The man was unable to sit up, but the deposition proceeded as he laid in his bed. The next day, the man died from the cancer and complication not related to the injuries suffered in the accident.

After extensive legal motions and argument, the case was settled for approximately one-half million dollars, structured to provide for the benefit of his widow.