About F. Jerome Tapley
F. Jerome Tapley is a Principal at Cory Watson Attorneys in Birmingham, Alabama. He concentrates exclusively on courtroom litigation, class actions, mass torts, and products liability cases.
Tapley earned his Juris Doctor from Cumberland School of Law at Samford University and his Bachelor of Science from Auburn University Montgomery. He is admitted to the Alabama, Florida, and Tennessee State Bars, the Supreme Court of the United States, the U.S. Courts of Appeals for the Fifth, Sixth, Ninth, and Eleventh Circuits, and multiple federal district courts in Alabama, Florida, Tennessee, and Indiana.
Tapley grew up in Alexander City, Alabama, and was the first college graduate in his family. His trial record includes a $25 million verdict for plaintiffs in an automotive defect case against Nissan in California, plus significant wins in wrongful death and environmental pollution litigation. He serves as Co-Chair of the Class Action and Consumer Fraud group and on the firm's management committee. His honors include Super Lawyers (2011-2025), Best Lawyers in America (2020-2026), and AV Preeminent peer review rating.
Notable case results
A federal jury in Columbus found that DuPont's C-8 contamination caused Travis Abbott's testicular cancer and awarded him and his wife $50 million. After the trial court applied Ohio's cap on his wife's loss-of-consortium damages, the enforceable judgment came to about $40.3 million, which the Sixth Circuit later affirmed.
A Los Angeles jury found a defective brake sensor in a 2004 Infiniti QX56 caused the 2012 Hollywood crash that killed a mother and her two daughters, and the $25 million verdict was later upheld on appeal.
A Birmingham jury awarded $10 million to the family of Angela McCall, a 34-year-old mother of three struck and killed by a speeding driver who pulled a gun on witnesses and then fled the scene.
Automotive defect verdict against Nissan in California
Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Each case is unique and depends on its own facts.
