In a hard-fought two-day trial this week in the Richland County Courthouse, Goings Law Firm’s newest attorney, Franklin McGuire, tried his first-ever case. The trial concerned a breach of contract and warranty action and capped almost three years of litigation during which the Defendant refused to make any settlement offer.
Franklin tried the case himself, from opening to closing, but he’s quick to thank his colleagues at Goings Law Firm for their extensive support of his efforts in this, his first-ever jury trial. “I couldn’t have done it without the help of literally every single member of the firm, and especially Chris Paschal and Jessica Gooding, both of whom joined me at counsel table at certain key points in the case,” he said. “And of course, I especially want to thank Robert Goings, who as my mentor has taught me everything I know about trying cases in front of juries,” he added.
The trial involved key testimony from three witnesses, and featured close to two dozen exhibits, including correspondence between Franklin’s client and the company from whom she had bought a defective product in 2022. That company was represented by a leading national defense firm with offices in seventeen cities coast to coast, who sent one of their nationally recognized first-chair trial lawyers with over 40 years of experience to try the case.
The company who sold the defective product was a California Corporation that sells nationally and internationally and has a physical presence in eighteen states. They sent a member of their C-suite — their Chief Operating Officer — to be their key witness and testify at trial, where he steadfastly maintained that his company bore no fault for their abrupt and questionable denial of Franklin’s client’s timely warranty claim.
The jury saw things differently, however, and awarded a verdict in favor of Franklin’s client after considering all the law and the evidence, giving Franklin and his client everything they had asked for. Said Franklin’s client, after the jury found in their favor: “I can’t thank Goings Law Firm and my lawyer Franklin McGuire enough — they took a challenging set of circumstances and really fought through it for me, getting me the best possible result I could ever have hoped for. And they did it in true David and Goliath fashion!”
Goings Law Firm is proud of Franklin’s performance in this, his seventh month in practice, and we believe he will continue to shine in jury trials in the future. As a firm, we remain steadfastly committed to helping clients fight against injustice, no matter how big or powerful the other side may be.
To read more about Franklin McGuire Jr., click here.
