CHICAGO – U.S. Seventh Circuit appellate judges erased an $8.1 million verdict in a lawsuit about a lawsuit on April 29, finding District Judge Staci Yandle stepped into the jury’s province.
They reversed her judgment against Southern Illinois Asphalt of Marion, though they didn’t enter judgment as the defense requested.
They remanded the suit to Yandle for proceedings consistent with their opinion.
The fatal accident underlying both suits happened in 2005, when a van carrying six members of a Washington state family rolled off Interstate 24.
Circuit Judge Michael Brennan authored the panel's decision. Circuit Judges Ilana Rovner and Kenneth Ripple concurred.
“The crash was so violent the rear axle and wheels were torn off. Everyone was hurt, and one passenger was thrown from the van and died from his injuries," Brennan wrote.
Liliya Turubchuk, widow of Aleksey Turubchuk, retained Komron Allahyari to sue Southern Illinois Asphalt and E.T. Simonds Construction of Carbondale.
Allahyari sued them in district court in 2007, claiming their negligence in a paving project caused the crash.
He sent defense counsel Richard Green a letter demanding $1 million in 30 days.
Green sent Allahyari initial disclosures under Rule 26 of federal civil procedure, showing defendants formed a joint venture and insured it for $1 million.
Southern Illinois Asphalt and E.T. Simonds agreed to pay $1 million, and the family released all claims against defendants individually and jointly.
In Washington state, Allahyari resigned his law license in lieu of disbarment on allegations of dishonesty, fraud, deceit, or misrepresentation.
In 2012, Turubchuk sued Southern Illinois Asphalt and E.T. Simonds again.
Her lawyers at Rossiter and Boock in Clayton, Mo., claimed they concealed available coverage under their individual policies.
Yandle granted partial summary judgment to her, finding defendants violated Rule 26 and no joint venture existed.
She denied summary judgment to defendants, finding the release of the first suit didn’t preclude the second suit.
Defendants named former district judge Patrick Murphy of Marion as an expert on the settlement value of the underlying lawsuit.
“The district court allowed some of his opinions to stand, but it struck others as invading the province of the court,” Brennan wrote.
Yandle precluded Murphy from testifying at trial.
She allowed Allahyari to testify for Turubchuk as an expert on the settlement, and she excluded evidence that he resigned his license.
She excluded evidence that Green acted reasonably.
On the first day of trial, Turubchuk and E.T. Simonds settled.
On the stand, Allahyari told jurors he would have demanded more had he known about the individual policies.
Jurors heard Green’s deposition stating Allahyari never asked him if the companies had individual policies.
He said that given the quick demand, he made no inquiries about other insurance.
Jurors rendered their verdict, but Seventh Circuit judges found they didn’t get to make the decisions they needed to make.
“All but one of the elements of the negligent misrepresentation claim were decided as a matter of law by the district court,” Brennan wrote.
“In each instance we conclude the court incorrectly stepped into the province of the jury.
“On a negligence claim, the jury usually determines whether a defendant has breached a duty.”
He wrote that the reasonableness of Green’s action was up for debate.
“What policy information was available to Green before he sent the initial disclosures?” Brennan wrote. “What was the effect of plaintiffs’ time limited demand, made before discovery had begun, on what Green was obligated to disclose and when he did so?
“Once defendants accepted plaintiffs’ demand, was it reasonable for Green not to make further discovery inquiries?”
He wrote that Yandle precluded Southern Illinois Asphalt’s ability to present evidence and dispute whether Green acted diligently.
He wrote that whether plaintiffs relied on the disclosures, and if so whether it was reasonable to do so, was never explored.
He knocked down Yandle’s finding that no joint venture existed, writing that the joint venture was the party to the paving contract with the state.
He wrote that Allahyari’s testimony lacked foundation and was speculative.
“A plaintiff’s conjecture as to a defendant’s motive is not enough to establish inducement,” Brennan wrote.
He wrote that jurors heard from an expert who had lost his license under a cloud and whose qualifications and credentials couldn’t be impeached.
“That attorney was allowed to give evidence on another lawyer’s intent whose testimony on the same facts had been incorrectly limited,” he wrote.
He wrote that Yandle should have allowed Murphy to testify for the defense.
“Murphy’s work was rooted in his 16 years’ experience as a federal district judge and 25 years in the private practice of laws, including handling many insurance and personal injury cases,” he wrote.
The Illinois attorney registration website shows Green was admitted in 1972 and is not authorized to practice.
Charles Schmidt and Megan Orso, both of Carbondale, represented Southern Illinois Asphalt.
William Knapp and Mark Dinsmore of Edwardsville represented E.T. Simonds.