AUSTIN — Texas is in the top five jurisdictions for nuclear verdicts delivered against corporate defendants in 2025, according to a report released by Marathon Strategies.
In spite of renewed tort reform efforts, high-stakes litigation reached a new peak last year, as the report identified nearly 200 jury verdicts of at least $10 million against companies, the highest annual total since Marathon began publishing its report in 2023.
“The growth in corporate nuclear verdicts is no longer confined to a handful of jurisdictions or industries,” said Phil Singer, Marathon’s founder. “These cases are becoming broader, more frequent, and increasingly difficult for companies to predict or prepare for.”
Singer says organizations across virtually every sector should view the surge as a long-term shift in litigation risk, one that requires stronger legal strategies and proactive communications.
While the large numbers attached to nuclear verdicts are certainly eye-catching, Texans for lawsuit reform says even a $100,000 verdict can still nuke a small business.
“The nuclear verdicts discussed in the Marathon Strategies report are real, but even a $100,000 or $1 million verdict can be nuclear to thousands of small businesses in Texas,” said TLR CEO Ryan Patrick. “Medical billing fraud, staged accidents, and third-party funding are making it easier for excessive awards to occur, which then increases costs for every family and business in the state.
There was a 40.7 percent increase over 2024 that resulted in more than $25.6 billion in total awards, the report found. For the second consecutive year, juries returned more than 40 “thermo-nuclear” verdicts exceeding $100 million, including four awards topping $1 billion.
Several states have consistently ranked among the top jurisdictions for large dollar cases, including Texas ($3.4 billion), California ($2.6 billion), Florida ($2.5 billion), and Maryland ($1.7 billion).
The report put Texas on a watchlist, as the state considered a major tort reform bill (SB 30), but the House and Senate could not reconcile versions before the legislative session ended.
The bill sought to limit recovery of past health care expenses as economic damages to the amounts actually paid by third-party payors or the injured individual, and would have also revised rules for remittitur actions when awards for some damage types exceeded certain amounts.
“Lawsuit reform protects Texans' paychecks and wallets,” said Patrick. “The legislature needs to take reform seriously, keeping the state affordable for the people who make the Texas Miracle possible.”
Key findings from the report include:
68 industries were subject to at least one nuclear verdict in 2025, compared with 55 industries in 2024 and 48 in 2023. Beverage companies saw the highest aggregate verdicts at $3.8 billion, followed by pharmaceuticals and automobiles at $2.9 billion each; hotels, restaurants, and leisure businesses at $2.3 billion; fertilizers and agricultural chemicals at $2.2 billion; banks at $894 million; and oil and gas companies at $892 million;
Products liability cases remained the dominant driver of large verdicts, accounting for $12 billion across 29 cases. Worker and workplace negligence and intellectual property disputes each generated approximately $1.39 billion across 14 cases, while trade secrets litigation continued to accelerate, producing more than $1.42 billion in 10 cases after Marathon identified it as an emerging risk in last year’s report. in 10 cases after Marathon identified it as an emerging risk in last year’s report;
The verdicts were geographically diverse, spanning 28 states and 97 courts. Georgia led the nation with $4.9 billion in verdicts, fueled by two multibillion-dollar liability cases. Nevada, Texas, California, and Florida rounded out the top five jurisdictions; and
Nuclear verdicts in Florida spiked despite new laws. After sweeping tort reform legislation enacted in 2023 appeared to reduce nuclear verdict activity the following year, the state rebounded into the nation’s top five in 2025 with 20 nuclear verdicts across a wide range of case types, including products liability, wrongful death, breach of fiduciary duty, environmental claims, and commercial litigation.
