Courts and appeals
What Happens to Big Verdicts After Trial
A verdict is often not the final word. Here is what happened to New York verdicts over $1 million once the trial judge or an appeals court ruled on them.
Updated October 8, 2026
Key findings
- Of the 188 New York state-court verdicts over $1 million in our reviewed records, 174 have a recorded ruling after the verdict by the trial judge or an appeals court.
- In 64% of those, the award was cut, thrown out or sent back for a new trial: 87 were reduced, 9 reversed and 15 sent to a new trial or set aside.
- 57 stood at the verdict amount after the last ruling, including 11 that the trial judge had set aside or cut and an appeals court restored; 6 were increased.
- When an award was reduced, the typical cut was 52% of the verdict (84 awards with both amounts known); half the cuts were between 30% and 69%.
- Across those reduced awards, $1.08 billion in verdicts became $431 million.
The data
188
New York state-court verdicts over $1 million in our reviewed records
174
with a later ruling by the trial judge or an appeals court
64%
of those were cut, reversed or sent to a new trial
52%
typical cut when an award was reduced
What happened after the verdict
| Outcome | Verdicts | Share of those with a ruling |
|---|---|---|
| Award reduced | 87 | 50% |
| Verdict reversed | 9 | 5% |
| New trial ordered or verdict set aside | 15 | 9% |
| Award increased | 6 | 3% |
| Stood at the verdict amount | 57 | 33% |
Where an award was reduced and both amounts are known, $1.08 billion in verdicts became $431 million.
What these figures can and can't tell you
- Each verdict is classified by where it stands after its last recorded ruling: a trial judge's order setting it aside that an appeals court later reversed counts as the verdict being reinstated.
- Many of these verdicts are known from appellate decisions, which over-represents verdicts that were appealed. Shares are of verdicts with a recorded post-trial or appellate ruling, not of all verdicts.
- Amounts after appeal are what the court allowed, not necessarily what was paid; many cases settle after a verdict for undisclosed amounts.
- New York state courts only; federal cases and records still under review are left out. No firm is named.
Every figure on this page comes from the records; nothing is estimated. Groups with fewer than 10 records show no figures. How we collect records