K&M in the News

$10.4 Million Verdict for Injuries in 2016 NW 23rd Gas Explosion Case

On October 13, 2022, a Multnomah County jury awarded several million dollars to two people who suffered physical and emotional injuries in a 2016 gas explosion in Portland, and assessed punitive damages of $4.6 million against Loy Clark Pipeline Co. Both plaintiffs were represented by Greg Kafoury and Mark McDougal of Portland.   Firefighters responded after a natural gas explosion … Continue reading

In a Raft of New Lawsuits, Black Oregonians Say Leading Retailers Profiled and Persecuted Them

The cases follow a $4.4 million shopping-while-Black verdict in Multnomah County last year. By Nigel Jaquiss, Willamette Week March 08, 2023   They hold different jobs: actor, banker, creative director, maintenance technician and sheriff’s deputy. They got detained at different stores: Home Depot, Safeway, Sephora and Walmart. But they use the same words to describe their alleged experiences: “humiliating,” “demeaning” and … Continue reading

Jury awards $1 million in Race Discrimination Case against Jacksons Food Stores

Jury Awards $1 Million to Woman Who Was Told, ‘I Don’t Serve Black People’ Rose Wakefield was ignored by an attendant at a gas station in Beaverton, Ore., near Portland, as white customers who pulled in after her were served first, according to the lawsuit.   By McKenna Oxenden Jan. 28, 2023   A woman in Oregon was awarded $1 … Continue reading

‘Shopping while Black’: Walmart ordered to pay Portland area man $4.4M for summoning police on bogus charges

  A Multnomah County jury has slapped Walmart with $4.4 million in damages after a Portland area man said in a lawsuit that a theft prevention employee racially profiled him for “shopping while Black” and tried to have him jailed on bogus charges. Michael Mangum said he felt “disrespected and embarrassed” after a worker at the Wood Village Walmart began … Continue reading

Lawsuit: Portland Police Officer, Demoted to Desk Duty after Record Brutality Jury Verdict, Sexually Harassed Female Employee

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE July 29, 2020 PRESS PACKET Today, the Portland law office of Kafoury & McDougal filed a complaint for sexual harassment, discrimination, and retaliation on behalf of a former Portland Police Background Investigator. In 2014, a Portland jury awarded the largest police excessive force verdict in city history—$562,000—to Jason Cox after he was savagely beaten by Portland Police … Continue reading

Chicago Hilton Palmer House Hotel Discriminates Against Distinguished African American Artist; Employee Says Professor, “Looked Like a Pickpocket,” Complaint Claims

PRESS PACKET OF OTHER HILTON DISCRIMINATION CASES CHICAGO (July 21, 2020) – Arnold J. Kemp, an internationally acclaimed artist and professor, filed an administrative discrimination complaint today against Hilton and the historic Palmer House Hotel in Chicago, Illinois. The complaint was filed by the Portland, Oregon, firm of Kafoury & McDougal and the Chicago, Illinois, firm of Romanucci & Blandin. ‘Do … Continue reading

Hampton Inn Employee Calls Police on African American Family of Civil Rights Pioneer (Press Release)

Kafoury & McDougal and Cheyenne N. Chambers of Tin, Fulton, Walker & Owen filed suit today against Hilton for an incident of discrimination against Black guests at the Hampton Inn & Suites I-95 in Wilson, North Carolina. This filing comes days after an employee of another North Carolina Hampton Inn & Suites—both Hilton franchises—called police on two African American children … Continue reading

Jury Awards $125,000 to Man Tackled by Pioneer Place Mall Guards while on Longboard

By Jayati Ramakrishnan | The Oregonian/OregonLive January 30, 2020 In April 2017, Edwin Yang was riding an electric longboard while on an outing with his wife and kids at Pioneer Place mall. A few seconds after he stepped on the device, an invention of his own, a security guard told him to get off. Within moments, he said, that guard, and … Continue reading

Jury finds Gresham-Barlow Elementary Principal Molested Student in His School Office for Years, Awards Victim $3 Million

Published on January 10, 2020 By Aimee Green | The Oregonian/OregonLive A Multnomah County jury on Friday awarded $3 million to a 21-year-old woman who said the principal of her public elementary school sexually abused her in his office when she was in second, third and fourth grade. Jurors found 11-1 that the young woman was molested more than a decade ago … Continue reading

Racist Comments to Elementary Students: The Spencer Family Responds to the Incident (Press Release)

Yesterday, North Clackamas School District released a fundamentally misleading statement about the racist comments made by a staffer to a group of fifth grade students. Through their attorneys, Kafoury & McDougal of Portland, the family of Jasmyn Spencer wishes to correct the record by providing the following timeline: 1. On Friday, May 31, 2019, an instructional assistant at Linwood Elementary … Continue reading

Oregon Supreme Court Upholds Rights of Injured, Undocumented Workers

In April 2019, the Oregon Supreme Court voiced their support for workers injured on the job. In Vasquez v. Double Press Mfg., Inc., the Oregon Supreme Court ruled that ORS 31.710(1), a statute that caps the non-economic damages that a plaintiff can receive from a liable defendant at $500,000, does not apply to “third-party claims [brought] by or on behalf … Continue reading