From the stop line, she slowly moved forward and had started her turn when her car struck the motorcyclist, who died at the scene. The victim was survived by his son, who turned five years of age just a month after his father’s death.
Wrongful Death Litigation
During the pretrial litigation, Jason discovered numerous prior reports from motorists complaining of poor visibility and, during heavy traffic hours, difficulties in making left turns from the intersection. Further, through work orders and photographs, field technicians documented numerous visual obstructions. For over three years, and despite citizen requests, the City took no action.
In response to the plaintiff’s allegations of negligent maintenance, the City of Phoenix stated that it had not kept the intersection clear of obstructions because maps showed that the intersection was controlled by the Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT). However, further discovery showed that, during the 1990s, the City had improperly built this intersection over ADOT right-of-way land and had never submitted to ADOT the proper design documentation.
At trial, Jason successfully argued that the condition of the intersection created a high accident risk. Evidence elicited at trial indicated that local residents believed that stop lights were installed at other intersections along Pecos Road only after fatalities occurred. Phoenix officials considered this particular intersection safe because no serious injuries had occurred until the motorcyclist’s death, and its engineers claimed there were other, more dangerous intersections in Phoenix. Jason argued that the City had made maintenance of the intersection a low priority, as the intersection would at some point be demolished as part of the Loop 202 extension.
Jason pointed out that the intersection could have been made safe simply by cutting out the bushes and trees, moving the painted stop line closer to the intersection or, as is more common in Phoenix, simply removing the stop line altogether. However, rather than address the safety issues raised by the public, the City ignored the complaints, ultimately resulting in the events that led to the victim’s death.
Jury Verdict
After seven days of trial and two hours of deliberation, the jury awarded $11 million in damages to the victim’s son, finding that the City of Phoenix was 95% at fault and imposing liability of $10.45 million. The remainder was assigned to the motorist, a non-party at fault.
During the course of the litigation, the City of Phoenix rejected multiple Offers of Judgment from the plaintiff. Pursuant to the Offer of Judgment rule, legal sanctions against the City were more than $1.1 million, in addition to the jury award.
Post-Trial Settlement
After the trial, the City of Phoenix hired a prominent appellate law firm to seek to overturn the jury’s award. Post-trial motions and appeals promised another three to five years of litigation, without closure for the victim’s family.
Taking our client’s best interests into consideration, we settled the case for a slightly lower amount and set up a trust for the victim’s son.
This settlement alone accounted for nearly half of all settlements cumulatively paid by the City since 2012..
