Taylor Anderson represented a company which produces and supplies products to the drywall industry.
An employee of the company was driving a company-owned vehicle and was involved in a rear-end, low-impact collision in a fast-food drive through. Five plaintiffs claimed injuries, and two of them sent pre-litigation demands equal to the policy limit ($1 million) of the company’s insurance policy.
In view of the fact that the company would likely be found liable by a court for any injuries caused by its employee, but mindful that the damages claimed by the plaintiffs were clearly excessive, the Taylor Anderson defense team advised the company to admit liability before trial but ask a jury to determine the appropriate amount of damages.
The Taylor Anderson team successfully had two plaintiffs struck from the lawsuit prior to trial: one for failure to comply with the pre-trial fact-finding process and one for failing to appear at trial in response to a subpoena (we suspected that he might not appear so we subpoenaed him). During a two-day jury trial in Tarrant County, Texas, the jury awarded two of the remaining three plaintiffs $0. The jury awarded the final plaintiff (who was one of the two who had sent a policy demand) less than $865, which was less than 1/10 of her medical expenses.
