Case summary: Shepard  v. Capitol Foundry of Virginia (supreme court 2001)

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Supreme Court of Virginia.
Abe SHEPARD, Administrator of the Estate of
Ernestine Shepard
v.
CAPITOL FOUNDRY OF VIRGINIA, INC., et al.
Record No. 002776.

Nov. 2, 2001

In this wrongful death personal injury appeal handed down on November 2, 2001, the Virginia Supreme Court reinstated the full jury verdict won by personal injury trial attorneys Charles H. Cuthbert Jr. and Margaret Cuthbert Broaddus of Cuthbert Law Offices in Petersburg, Va. The case centered on the death of Ernestine Shepard, who died just 16 hours after her aorta was torn in an auto accident involving a flatbed tractor trailer truck that was stopped for a prolonged period of time in a travel lane of a major street in downtown Petersburg. A hit-and-run driver rammed Ms. Shepard’s pickup from behind, impelling it into the illegally parked tractor trailer. Cuthbert and Broaddus settled with the hit-and-run driver (who had only a modest insurance policy) and went after the driver of the tractor trailer and his employer (who had a huge insurance policy). The jury returned its verdict against the driver of the tractor trailer and his employer. The verdict totaled $1.7 million, plus interest. The trial judge reduced the total award by more than $1 million. On appeal attorneys Cuthbert and Broaddus argued that the trial court abused its discretion in finding the jury verdict was excessive and in cutting the prejudgment interest to zero. The Supreme Court of Virginia agreed and restored the jury’s verdict. This is the second largest verdict ever obtained in Petersburg Circuit Court (the largest having been obtained by Cuthbert and Broaddus in the case of Pulliam v. Coastal Emergency Services of Richmond, Inc).

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