Bibianne U. Fell

Fell had already tried medical malpractice cases before she met Dawn Kali. Still, something about Kali’s story captured Fell’s attention at their first meeting.

Kali, who had been diagnosed with breast cancer, participated in non-traditional treatment from Robert O. Young, whose popular “pH Miracle” books asserted that he could treat the disease without surgery or chemotherapy. The treatments Kali received did not work, according to court documents, and she came to Fell for legal help. Kali v. Young et al., 37-2015-00043052 (San Diego County Sup. Ct., filed Dec. 8, 2015).

“When she told me the kinds of things she was told by Robert Young and how it impacted her health, I just felt like it was wrong that needed to be righted,” Fell said.

As lead attorney, Fell said she was confident going into the trial but knew that her team had to take strategic steps to win the case.

“We had to walk this tightrope between showing the jury that what this man said was unbelievable but also saying that it wasn’t so unbelievable that it was unreasonable for Dawn to believe it,” Fell said. “I was worried that we could easily swing too far in either direction.”

Another concern, Fell said, was whether Young would charm the jury, as he had already captivated millions of people through his books.

After a week-long trial, the jury deliberated for three hours. In October 2018, the jury awarded Fell’s client $105.37 million — more than double what they had asked.

“We were able to convey that he was not just a danger to Dawn Kali but that he was a danger to a broader community,” Fell said. “One of the things that they jury said afterward was, ‘I don’t want this man in my community,’.”

In January, the San Diego County Superior Court cut the sum to $28 million but gave Kali the option to retry the matter.

— Alexandra Applegate