John O'Quinn
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| John M. O'Quinn | |
|---|---|
| Born | John Maurice O'Quinn Sept. 4, 1941 Houston, Texas, United States |
| Died | October 29, 2009 (aged 68) Houston, Texas, United States |
| Cause of death | Car crash |
| Residence | Houston, Texas |
| Nationality |  United States |
| Alma mater | University of Houston |
| Occupation | Lawyer |
| Known for | Law |
| Website http://www.oqlaw.com |
|
John Maurice O'Quinn (Sept. 4, 1941 – October 29, 2009) was a Texas trial lawyer and founding partner of The O'Quinn Law Firm (formerly known as O'Quinn & Laminack). His firm made its business handling plaintiff's litigation, including representing clients suing breast implant manufacturers, medical facilities, and tobacco companies. O'Quinn died in a single car crash in Houston, Texas, aged 68;[1] the cause of the crash is under investigation.
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[edit] Biography
[edit] Early life
The son of a car garage owner in Houston, Texas, O'Quinn graduated from the University of Houston Law Center. O'Quinn served as editor of the Houston Law Review, and won a state moot court championship.[2] O'Quinn was divorced and had no children. In 1999, the playing field at Robertson Stadium was named O'Quinn Field in honor of his generosity and support of the stadium renovations.[3]
[edit] Legal career
Making his name in handling plaintiff's litigation, among O'Quinn's biggest wins were a $1 billion verdict in 2006 against Wyeth Laboratory for its diet drugs, fen-phen, $17.3 billion tobacco settlement for the state of Texas, and $100 million for silicone breast implants made by Dow Corning. [4]
In total, O'Quinn is estimated to have won $1.5 billion for his firm, O'Quinn & Laminack. [5] According to a 2006 article in Forbes, O'Quinn's firm had pending cases against stock brokers and hedge funds for shorting the shares of weak companies, and against Ford for rollover accidents caused by the Ford Explorer.[4] In the past decade, O'Quinn won, through settlement and/or verdicts, more than $20 billion for his clients.[6]
[edit] Car collector
O'Quinn attended an exhibition of Duesenbergs as a child at the Sam Houston Coliseum, to see what his father called "the greatest car ever built." In 2003, O'Quinn saw a 1932 Duesenberg Durham Tourister for sale at a Houston auction, at which he bought 14 cars that day including the Duesenberg for $405,000.[4]
O'Quinn maintained an extensive collection of cars. The collection had a total value of over $100 million and included at least 618 cars,[7] including: seven Duesenbergs; the 1911 Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost featured in the film Titanic; John F Kennedy's 1962 Lincoln Continental Bubble Top limo, and a 1937 Bugatti Type 57 Atalante.[4]
In September 2006, he bought: a 2005 Lamborghini Gallardo covered with 33 celebrity autographs ($500,000); the Batmobile used in the filming of Batman Forever ($335,000), a 1941 Packard limousine used by President Franklin D. Roosevelt ($290,000), a 1938 Talbot-Lago ($3,350,000); and a 1938 Town Car used by Pope Pius XII ($250,000).[4]
The centre piece of the collection is a plain grey 1975 Ford Escort GL, once owned by Polish priest Karol Wojtyla – before he became became Pope John Paul II. Bought at the Kruse auction at SEMA, the car was sold by the Pope at auction for charity to Chicago restuaranter Jim Rich in 1995, who paid $102,000 for the car.[8] O'Quinn paid $690,000 for the car October 2005.[4]
In late 2006 O'Quinn discovered that several cars were missing from his collection, including a Ferrari 575M and a 1965 Ford Shelby Mustang GT350. O'Quinn tried to get in touch with Zev Isgur, a 32-year-old ex-con whom he'd befriended and entrusted with the management of his collection of classic cars. Isgur was later convicted of embezzlement.[4]
[edit] References
- ^ Dale Lezon, Peggy O'Hare and Mary Flood (October 29, 2009). "SUV crash kills prominent lawyer John O’Quinn". Houston Chronicle. http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/6692411.html.
- ^ "John M. O'Quinn". The O'Quinn Law Firm. http://www.oqlaw.com/Bio/JohnOQuinn.asp. Retrieved 2008-04-29.
- ^ "John O'Quinn Field at Robertson Stadium". Houston Cougars athletics. http://www.uhcougars.com/facilities/hou-robertson.html. Retrieved 2009-10-29.
- ^ a b c d e f g "Taken for a Ride". Forbes. January 9, 2006. http://www.forbes.com/forbes/2006/0109/125.html. Retrieved 2008-04-29.
- ^ "Houston Plaintiffs Lawyer John O'Quinn Dies in Auto Accident". Texas Lawyer. October 29, 2009. http://www.law.com/jsp/tx/PubArticleTX.jsp?id=1202435034392&slreturn=1&hbxlogin=1. Retrieved 2009-10-29.
- ^ "Houston Plaintiffs Lawyer John M. O'Quinn Dies in Auto Accident". Texas Lawyer. October 29, 2009. http://www.law.com/jsp/tx/PubArticleTX.jsp?id=1202435034392&slreturn=1&hbxlogin=1. Retrieved 2009-10-29.
- ^ "The Media Likes Scaring Us, and We Like It" by John Stossel at Creators.com
- ^ "Did You Hear the One About the Pope, the Escort and the $690,000?". Select Financial (courtesy: Edmunds Inside Line). November 14, 2005. http://www.selectfin.com/Info/news.aspx. Retrieved 2008-04-29.
