Texaco (Bankruptcy)

Texaco's 1987 bankruptcy—triggered by a $10.5 billion Pennzoil judgment—represents the largest verdict-driven failure in history. A single handshake deal gone wrong led to legal liability exceeding the company's market value. Like an organism killed by an allergic reaction rather than a predator, Texaco's death came from its own immune system's overreaction to the Getty acquisition dispute. The company survived bankruptcy but never regained independence, merging with Chevron in 2001.