Texas court overturns verdict in $7.4 million truck crash
A Texas appeals court overturned a $7.4 million verdict against a trucking company, its owner and one of its drivers after evidence presented during the trial did not support the jury's findings.
Texas-based Even Better Logistics LLC and its owner, Michelle Cora Croom, cannot be held responsible for the negligent hiring, training, or supervision of driver Dennis Rayner on the basis of the evidence presented at trial, a panel of the El Paso Eighth Court of Appeals said Wednesday.
"We overturned the jury's findings on the basis of insufficient legal and factual evidence to support them, overturn them, and enter judgment in favor of [Cora Croom, Even Better Logistics, and Rayner] ", the court said.
Even Better Logistics had been ordered by a jury in 2020 to pay $7.4 million to Ronnie Claxton of Del Valle, Texas, for injuries he suffered during a a 2017 accident caused by one of his truck drivers.
The accident happened on U.S. Highway 183 in Austin, Texas, as Claxton was returning home from work. Ahead of Claxton was a tractor-trailer driven by Rayner, carrying an oversized, overweight load for Even Better Logistics.
According to court documents.Claxton's attorney from Carlson Law Firm did not immediately respond to a request for comment from FreightWaves.
Carlson officials said Claxton suffered injuries in the 2017 crash that were the result of "an improperly maintained 18-wheeler being driven on an unapproved route that struck a bridge and sent debris flying through his windshield". "
In its reversal, the Texas Court of Appeals said the trial court asked the jury a single, broad, ill-constructed question of liability, despite multiple theories underlying responsibility were not supported by evidence.
"The trial court submitted a single general liability issue against the appellants covering a multitude of theories of liability, several of which were excluded from submission based on evidence legally or factually insufficient," the appeals court said. "Without knowing what theories the jury based their verdict on, particularly against Even Better Logistics, and observing that the jury was given no instruction or definition as to whether the actions of Rayner or others might be attributable to Even Better Logistics and under what circumstances, we cannot determine whether the jury's verdict was based on an erroneous theory."
A new lawsuit may proceed for negligence claims against Rayner and Even Better Logistics for liability as Rayner's employer, the court has heard.
Even Better Logistics, which had five trucks and three drivers, is inactive, according to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.
Image courtesy of FreightWaves
© 2022 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.
A Texas appeals court overturned a $7.4 million verdict against a trucking company, its owner and one of its drivers after evidence presented during the trial did not support the jury's findings.
Texas-based Even Better Logistics LLC and its owner, Michelle Cora Croom, cannot be held responsible for the negligent hiring, training, or supervision of driver Dennis Rayner on the basis of the evidence presented at trial, a panel of the El Paso Eighth Court of Appeals said Wednesday.
"We overturned the jury's findings on the basis of insufficient legal and factual evidence to support them, overturn them, and enter judgment in favor of [Cora Croom, Even Better Logistics, and Rayner] ", the court said.
Even Better Logistics had been ordered by a jury in 2020 to pay $7.4 million to Ronnie Claxton of Del Valle, Texas, for injuries he suffered during a a 2017 accident caused by one of his truck drivers.
The accident happened on U.S. Highway 183 in Austin, Texas, as Claxton was returning home from work. Ahead of Claxton was a tractor-trailer driven by Rayner, carrying an oversized, overweight load for Even Better Logistics.
According to court documents.Claxton's attorney from Carlson Law Firm did not immediately respond to a request for comment from FreightWaves.
Carlson officials said Claxton suffered injuries in the 2017 crash that were the result of "an improperly maintained 18-wheeler being driven on an unapproved route that struck a bridge and sent debris flying through his windshield". "
In its reversal, the Texas Court of Appeals said the trial court asked the jury a single, broad, ill-constructed question of liability, despite multiple theories underlying responsibility were not supported by evidence.
"The trial court submitted a single general liability issue against the appellants covering a multitude of theories of liability, several of which were excluded from submission based on evidence legally or factually insufficient," the appeals court said. "Without knowing what theories the jury based their verdict on, particularly against Even Better Logistics, and observing that the jury was given no instruction or definition as to whether the actions of Rayner or others might be attributable to Even Better Logistics and under what circumstances, we cannot determine whether the jury's verdict was based on an erroneous theory."
A new lawsuit may proceed for negligence claims against Rayner and Even Better Logistics for liability as Rayner's employer, the court has heard.
Even Better Logistics, which had five trucks and three drivers, is inactive, according to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.
Image courtesy of FreightWaves
© 2022 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.
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