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The Tom Riley Law Firm, P.L.C. began in 1980 when Tom Riley withdrew from a large Cedar Rapids defense-oriented firm, Simmons, Perrine, Albright & Ellwood, where he had been a partner since 1960 and an associate since 1954. He began his own law firm with his son, Peter C. Riley, and Peter's law school colleague, T. Todd Becker. Tom Riley's goal was to establish a Plaintiffs' personal injury firm. The firm has grown to 13 trial lawyers. In 1988, the law firm opened its second office in Iowa City, Iowa, home of the University of Iowa. Attorneys in the Tom Riley Law Firm have represented clients at trial in personal injury, wrongful death, products liability and professional negligence lawsuits throughout Iowa as well as in the majority of the 50 states. Most of the litigation in states outside of Iowa are claims by women or their survivors in products liability litigation involving Tampon-Toxic Shock Syndrome. Tom Riley and T. Todd Becker tried the first products liability case in the nation involving Toxic Shock Syndrome that resulted in a Plaintiff's verdict. See Kehm v. Proctor & Gamble, 724 F.2d 630 (8th Cir. 1983). Other noteworthy personal injury and medical malpractice cases include DeBurkart v. Louvar, 393 N.W.2d 131 (Iowa 1986), where the Iowa Supreme Court recognized the "Doctrine of Lost Chance," and Holmquist v. Volkswagen, 261 N.W.2d 516 (Iowa App. 1977), where the Iowa Supreme Court recognized the doctrine of "Spoliation of Evidence." The book Soap Opera: "The Inside Story of Procter & Gamble" by Wall Street Journal reporter Alecia Swasy, Random House, 1993, contains a chapter on the successful Toxic Shock Syndrome lawsuit (Kehm v. Procter & Gamble). The Right of Privacy by Ellen Alderman and Caroline Kennedy, Alfred Knopf, 1995, devotes a chapter to the $4.3 million verdict obtained by Tom Riley in favor of a young couple that celebrated their engagement night in a motel that had a two-way mirror on the wall. The law firm is a leader in non-personal injury litigation as well, particularly agriculture-related cases. During the farm crisis affecting the Midwest in the 1980s, the Tom Riley Law Firm played a leading role in lender liability. In 1984, Peter C. Riley obtained one of the first verdicts against an Iowa farm lender, and the first to be upheld on appeal. Peterson v. First National Bank of Iowa, 392 N.W.2d 158 (Iowa App. 1986) upheld a verdict of $400,000.00 actual and $150,000.00 punitive damages. In 1985, Peter C. Riley obtained the first verdicts against various Production Credit Associations that are cooperative lenders and members of the federally chartered Farm Credit system. See Graber v. Iowa District Court, 410 N.W.2d 224 (Iowa 1987). The Graber case resulted in a jury verdict barring collection of a $645,000.00 debt and also awarded damages of $1,515,436.00. In 1986, Tom and Peter Riley obtained a verdict of $3,600,000.00 in Knickerbocker v. First National Bank of Oelwein, 827 F.2d 281 (8th Cir. 1987). Also in 1986, Tom and Peter Riley obtained a verdict of $335,000.00 on behalf of a farmer who sold land at the top of the market before farmland values collapsed but could not enforce the contract because of his attorney's negligence. Burke v. Roberson, 417 N.W.2d 209 (Iowa 1987) was the largest legal malpractice verdict in Iowa at the time. In 1990, Peter Riley obtained a verdict of $536,150.00 against a realtor for negligence in connection with selling farmland. See Crutchley v. First Trust and Savings Bank, 450 N.W.2d 877 (Iowa 1990). Attorney Mark Liabo obtained a verdict in 1989 of $4,200,000.00 actual and punitive damages against A. O. Smith and A. O. Smith Harvestore Products, Inc. for alleged fraud in the sale of Harvestore silos. The verdict was awarded to a single dairy farmer who claimed that the manufacturer's representations that Harvestore silos would protect feed from damage was false. The Tom Riley Law Firm, P.L.C. does not typically handle criminal trial work. However, when Tom Riley was called upon by City Council Member for Finance for Cedar Rapids, Iowa, to defend him, Tom Riley accepted. The Commissioner was falsely charged with possession of marijuana and carrying a concealed weapon in 1998. Tom Riley obtained jury verdict acquittals on both charges. Please visit our "Articles" for more information about past cases handled by the attorneys at the Tom Riley Law Firm, P.L.C. Tom Riley Law Firm, P.L.C.
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