A judge has tossed out the bulk of a $30-million jury award to a woman injured in a chain-reaction crash while waiting on I-75 for a presidential motorcade to pass.Genesee Circuit Judge Geoffrey L. Neithercut, in a Dec. 22 opinion, said Mary Curry, who was injured in the accident, must agree to a $3-million settlement or request a new trial.
Curry was injured when a truck driven by Daniel Westerby of Kingston and owned by Commercial Carriers Inc. slammed into traffic stopped on I-75 for President Bill Clinton's motorcade Nov. 7, 1994.
After a jury trial in March 1999, Curry was awarded $30 million, including past damages of $7.5 million, future damages of about $2 million and $20 million in exemplary damages. Including interest, the award would have been worth about $45 million today.
But Neithercut, ruling on motions by the trucking company, said the verdict was excessive. Curry failed to prove her claim that Westerby was driving a truck for too many hours, the judge said.
Neithercut threw out the exemplary damages and reduced the $10 million for ordinary damages to $3 million.
The horrific crash in Mundy Township drew national media attention. Three people, including a passenger in Curry's vehicle, died.
Police and other witnesses said Westerby was driving at posted speeds on a clear roadway but failed to notice the backup in time to avoid a collision.
Several of the eight cars involved in the crash burst into flames, including Curry's Jeep. She managed to escape before the car ignited, but her friend and passenger, Mary Miller, died in the crash.
Westerby was charged with three counts of negligent homicide. After a trial ended in a hung jury, he pleaded no contest to attempted negligent homicide, a misdemeanor, and was sentenced to probation and community service.
Curry sued Westerby and Commercial Carriers Inc., a division of Ryder Trucks, and was represented by Southfield attorney Geoffrey N. Fieger.After the jury verdict, Fieger said he wanted to send a message to the trucking industry because Westerby was been required to work "far beyond his ability."
But attorneys for Commercial Carriers claimed the award was excessive and said the jury was misled by Fieger's courtroom theatrics and emotional appeals. The defense lawyers also said Neithercut should not have allowed Fieger to argue for punitive damages.
Neithercut said his decision to reduce the award came, in part, from comparing other cases and "(his own) experience in Genesee County."
The judge said he obtained the $3 million figure by looking at the five other cases arising from the same accident.
The estates of victims who died settled for amounts ranging from $750,000 to $1.52 million, the judge said. A plaintiff who suffered serious injuries and disfigurement settled for $153,000.