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THE Indiana JURY VERDICT REPORTER BLOG
A quick look at verdicts, trial news or other stories of interest to Indiana litigators.
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Published 5-17-13
Forest River employee alleged age-related harassment so bad he was forced to quit -- South Bend jury rejects the case
Plaintiff, age 62.5, worked in manufacturing for RV giant Forest River. He alleged co-workers hurled insults at him (more than 1,000) about this age and this led him to resign. He then sued and alleged constructive discharge. Forest River argued it wasn't that bad, there were no physical threats and the plaintiff just wanted to retire anyway to begin taking Social Security.
Trial court initially granted summary judgment to Forest River. The 7th Circuit reversed. A federal jury in South Bend heard the case for three days (trial ended 5-4-23) and it returned a defense verdict.
Patrick O'Leary, Elkhart for the plaintiff. Mark Criniti and Patrick O'Rear (SouthBank Legal) South Bend defending
Damon Leitchy on the bench.
Details coming in the June 2023 edition of the Indiana Jury Verdict Reporter.
Case Documents:
Published 4-25-23
Estate of drunk man run over by an IndyGo Bus takes $6,000,000
The plaintiff, Michael Fergerson, age 63, was drunk on 9-29-18 as he awaited an IndyGo city bus at 38th Street and Lafayette Road. His BAC was later measured at .28 and he'd been at the ER earlier that day for alcohol intoxication.
As the bus came by, Fergerson got up from a bench. The driver didn't see him. Fergerson fell into the bus as it pulled away quickly and he suffered serious injuries and had a leg amputated. He ultimately died.
Fergerson's estate alleged the bus had blind spots, the driver was in a hurry (they get breaks at the end of the route and have an incentive to blow through stops to get them) and otherwise didn't act as a professional driver. Because this was a case against a government entity, pure contributory negligence and if Fergerson was at fault at all, his case was defeated. IndyGo defended and blamed the accident on Fergerson's intoxication. Its intoxication expert was Vanessa Fitsanakis, Atlanta, GA.
After a three-day trial on 4-20-23, an Indianapolis jury found for the estate (representing Fergerson's elderly mother) and awarded medical bills of $661,283 and the odd number of $5,338,716 for love and affection for a round total of $6,000,000. This was twice what the estate asked. It is expected the award will be reduced to the $700,000 statutory limit.
Bradford Smith (pictured) (Ken Nunn Law Office) Bloomington for plaintiff
Evan Norris and Sean Devenny (Drewery Simmons Vornehm) Carmel defending IndyGo.
Judge Kurt Eisgruber behind the plate
The Verdict Form
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Published 2-2-2023
A sneak peak at the February 2023 edition (24 IJVR 2) coming next week.
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Published 2-1-2023
Horseshoe Hammond prevails in a premises liability trial in Lake County
The plainiff was entering the elevator in the parking garage at the Horseshoe Hammond casino when she alleged the door closed too quickly and knocked her to the ground. Plaintiff sued Horseshoe and the elevator manufacturer. The defendants denied fault.
A Lake County jury returned a defense verdict. Report coming in the February 2023 edition.
Benjamin Fryman and Robert Schwerd (Schwerd Fryman & Torrenga) Valparaiso for the plaintiff
Kevin Schiferl (pictured) and Blake Shelby (Frost Brown Todd) Indianapolis defending
Judge Sedia on the bench
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Published 1-27-23
A sneak peak at the January 2023 edition, 24 IJVR 1
Subscribe to the Indiana Jury Verdict Reporter (link to the online store) and read all the verdicts . . .
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Published 1-16-23
Correction to the January 2023 edition
We incorrectly identified the attorneys for the plaintiff in the case of Yun v. Fitting (Marion County) in the January edition, 24 IJVR 1.
The report should read as follows:
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Published 11-7-22
$4,000,000 Icy Slip and Fall Verdict in Hendricks County against Menard
The lead story this month involves the case of a plaintiff who slipped in snow and ice at a Menard store in Avon. She suffered a complex ankle fracture in the fall. She took an award of $4,000,000, assessed $3.8 million to Menard (95% fault) and $200,000 (5% fault) to a snow removal surface. Details in the November issue on the verdict and post-trial motions.
Michael Phelps, Phelps Wood, Indianapolis and Kevin Hinkle, Danville for the plaintiff
Leslie Pollie, Kopka Pinkus Dolin, Carmel for Menard; Angela Freel, jackson Kelly, Evansville for Fisher's Lawn Care
Judge Mark Smith on the bench
Images of the plaintiff's injury
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10-25-22
Purdue has moved for a New Trial in the Nancy Roe Title IX case
On 9-23-22 a jury in Hammond awarded a Nancy Roe plaintiff $10,000 in a Title IX case against Purdue. She was kicked out of school when she accused of faking a claim of a sexual assault. Roe had been intoxicated at the time of the purported sexual assault.
Purdue moved for a new trial this week and advanced a variety of arguments including that the verdict was inconsistent. Read the entire motion below. Purdue has also appealed.
The plaintiff has also moved for injunctive relief to require Purdue to remove adverse inferences from her academic record, notably, that she was suspended and didn't complete her academic work.
All motions are pending.
Case Documents:
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Published 10-5-22
Purdue student said she was improperly expelled and suspended in violation of Title IX after she reported a sexual assault by a fellow student. A federal jury in Hammond found for her and awarded $10,000 in damages.
A Purdue sophomore, alleged she was sexually assaulted by a fraternity man during Grand Prix week when she was too drunk to consent. She complained to Purdue which conducted an investigation and concluded she was lying. She was expelled from school, the expulsion later being reduced to a two-year suspension.
Plaintiff (proceeding as a pseudoynmous Nancy Roe plaintiff) sued Purdue and alleged its conduct represented a Title IX violation and two administrators (Katherine Semersheim and Alysa Rollock) denied her due process. The heart of her case was that she was too drunk to consent. Purdue defended that plaintiff was lying and cited (1) an audiotape the fraternity man had surreptitiously made of the encounter, and (2) she had consensual sex with the man again the next day.
The jury found last week for plaintiff on the Title IX claim and awarded her $10,000 in economic damages. The jury also found against both administators on due process and that they acted recklessly or with malice. However the jury did not award damages against these defendants. The verdict then totaled $10,000. At a protest last week on campus after the verdict, students asked for the resignation of Semersheim and Rollock.
Full report coming in the October 2022 edition.
Barry Macey and Jeffrey Macey (Macey Swanson) for the plaintiff
William Kealey and John Harrison, III (Stuart & Branigan) for Purdue.
Judge John Martin tried this Lafayette case that was heard in Hammond.
Case Documents:
The key liability instruction
The primary "preliminary" instruction:
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Published 10-4-22
Black Forest River employee fired after his mom called a company hotline to report his boss referred to him by the n-word
$560,000 verdict in South Bend including $535,000 in punitive damages
Plaintiff, Trevon Hollins, who is black, worked in shipping for Forest River in Elkhart. He alleged he was fired a month after his mother called a company hotline to report his boss used the "n-word" to refer to him. Forest River defended Hollins let go because of loafing.
Hollis sued and alleged retaliation. He prevailed and took $560,000 which included $35,000 in compensatory damages. Verdict returned 9-8-22.
Full report coming in the October 2022 edition.
Edward Chester and Patrick O'Leary for the plaintiff
John Kuehn, Jesse Barrett and Patrick O'Rear (LaDue Curran & Kuehn) defending
Judge Jon DeGuilio on the bench
Case Documents:
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Published 9-20-22
A sneak peak at the September 2022 edition
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