Texas lawyer took on breast implants, tobacco, and he thrived

John O'Quinn, 68, a flamboyant Texas lawyer who won billions in verdicts against makers of breast implants, pharmaceuticals and tobacco products, died Oct. 29 in a traffic accident in Houston.

Police said Mr. O'Quinn and a passenger were killed when the sport-utility vehicle he was driving skidded across the median of a rain-slicked parkway just outside downtown Houston, went airborne and slammed into a tree. Police spokesman Kese Smith said neither Mr. O'Quinn nor the passenger was wearing a seat belt.

The 6-foot-4 O'Quinn, one of Houston's best-known trial lawyers, had a reputation as a Texas-size lawyer with a Texas-size ego and a wallet to match. He spent lavishly on himself, philanthropic causes and Democratic campaigns.

His John M. O'Quinn Foundation donated tens of millions of dollars to the University of Houston, the Baylor College of Medicine and other institutions.

Four years ago, he was the single-largest contributor in the Texas governor's race, giving Democrat Chris Bell $1 million and lending him $1.7 million. Bell lost.

In September 2006, Mr. O'Quinn celebrated his 65th birthday with a party that a local society columnist said ranked among Houston's most legendary. Ballrooms featured multitiered crystal chandeliers mounted above Monte Carlo-style casino tables, crystal wall sconces, 56 vintage cars and three musical acts -- including Don Henley of the Eagles.

Mr. O'Quinn made his money and his reputation taking on wealthy corporations. He was one of five lawyers who shared a $3.3 billion fee from Texas's settlement of its lawsuit against the tobacco industry.

His first big win came in 1986, when a jury found that Monsanto negligently exposed an employee to benzene at a Houston area plant and ordered the company to pay $100 million. The award was later vacated and the case settled out of court, but Mr. O'Quinn's fame was cemented.

By 1992, he began a long and profitable run of silicone breast-implant lawsuits with a $25 million verdict against Bristol-Myers Squibb. Mr. O'Quinn said he took in $3 billion from more than 3,000 breast-implant cases from 1992 to 2000. In 1995, Dow Corning, an implant manufacturer, cited his lawsuits as a reason for its bankruptcy filing.

In 2004, Mr. O'Quinn won a $1 billion verdict in a Texas case involving the drug fenfluramine, part of the now-banned weight-loss combination known as fen-phen.