Jillian Keith (Partner-Dallas) and Carla De Leon Stafford (Of Counsel-Dallas) obtained a defense verdict after an intense three-day trial in Bell County, Texas. The plaintiff alleged use of excessive force against our client, a leading security and facility services company, which resulted in wrist and arm fractures with an 18-inch scar. The plaintiff sought a minimum of $100,000 in noneconomic damages. The trial team convinced the client to purchase the plaintiff's medical lien from the Veteran's Administration at a substantial discount, leaving him with no past medical damages. The court granted our motion to exclude all future economic damages based on the plaintiff's failure to provide his evidence timely and excluded any evidence that our client had paid for the plaintiff's medical expenses. The court also granted our motion to exclude all evidence of direct negligence, as we had stipulated to vicarious liability. The only questions on the verdict form were (1) assault, (2) proximate causation, (3) proportionate responsibility, (4) our affirmative defense of defense of others and (5) damages. The jury answered "YES" to #1, 2, and assigned 50% responsibility to the plaintiff and to the client. However, the jury also answered "YES" to question #4, which resulted in a complete bar against the plaintiff's recovery.
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