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Thursday, March 28, 2024 | Back issues
Courthouse News Service Courthouse News Service

Damages

A California appeals court vacated a $30 million noneconomic damage award granted to the parents of a 20-year-old woman who died after she crashed into a tractor-trailer parked on the side of the highway when she swerved to avoid hitting a driver who made an illegal U-turn. The amount appears to have been influenced by the parents' counsel, who said of the truck driver at the jury trial: “You can’t stone him to death,” but you can “make him pay.”

VENTURA, Calif. — A California appeals court vacated a $30 million noneconomic damage award granted to the parents of a 20-year-old woman who died after she crashed into a tractor-trailer parked on the side of the highway when she swerved to avoid hitting a driver who made an illegal U-turn. The amount appears to have been influenced by the parents' counsel, who said of the truck driver at the jury trial: “You can’t stone him to death,” but you can “make him pay.”

Categories / Appeals, Civil Rights

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