In September 2004, in a case litigated by Baine Kerr, a Boulder jury returned a $1.9 million verdict in favor of firm client Harold Smith. It was the largest auto verdict and fifth largest verdict of any kind in Boulder County history. The plaintiff, head custodian at Alicia Sanchez Elementary School in Lafayette, Colorado, had been disabled by spine injuries in a collision with a glass truck in Longmont.
John Greer and Kim Hult win $3.1 million arbitration award in a breach of contract case
In July 2004, following a three-day arbitration hearing handled by John Greer and Kim Hult, a Colorado arbitrator awarded the firm's client, a nonprofit organization involved in the continuing medical education field, $3.1 million in damages in a breach of contract case against a New York based publishing company. In issuing his ruling, the arbitrator adopted the legal positions advocated by Hutchinson Black and Cook, rejected the counterclaim asserted by the defendant, and awarded Hutchinson Black and Cook's client all of the compensatory damages it requested as well as its attorney's fees and litigation costs.
Constance Tromble Eyster receives the 2004 Young Lawyer of the Year Award
Connie Eyster received the 2004 Young Lawyer of the Year Award from the Boulder County Bar Association (BCBA) for her many hours of service on behalf of the Bar Association and for her initiative in organizing and maintaining the Boulder County Pro Se Probate Program through which BCBA attorneys volunteer their time to assist individuals with probate forms, questions and issues. The Program greatly reduces the inefficiencies of the probate process for the court and for petitioners and has been a remarkable success, praised by the court, volunteers and public alike.