A two-week jury trial concluded in Dallas Thursday with a $604 million verdict against a Dallas-based trucking company, the driver and a freight brokerage company in a wrongful death case.
A total of 17 plaintiffs, including three who burned to death following the March 2021 multicar pileup in Mississippi, were involved in the lawsuit. The crash victims filed suit against Dallas-based Lupus Superior, the company that owned the 18-wheeler they alleged was responsible for the fatal chain reaction, and freight broker C.H. Robinson.
Jurors found the driver of the 18-wheeler 45 percent negligent, Lupus 32 percent negligent and C.H. Robinson 23 percent negligent. They further found the driver caused 55 percent of the accident and Lupus 45 percent.
Jennifer Lipe, Benjamin Brewer and Rhoderick Coleman died in the accident. Working through a 27-page charge, jurors awarded Lipe’s family $280 million, Brewer’s family $143.5 million and Coleman’s family $150.5 million in damages.
Two other plaintiffs, Gabrielle Broussard and Rodney Hawkins, were awarded a total of $30 million in damages.
Arnold & Itkin’s Roland Christensen, who did not respond to a request for comment Friday, wrote on LinkedIn that he had asked the jury for $554 million and, after three days of deliberation, they awarded $604 million.
The jury found that C.H. Robinson negligently hired the motor carrier and was also liable for the driver’s conduct.
“If insurers will pay fair, the verdicts go away. But when they won’t, I’m happy to go get the job done,” Christensen wrote on LinkedIn.
C.H. Robinson issued a statement to The Texas Lawbook extending its “deepest sympathies to everyone affected by this tragic accident” but vowing to immediately appeal the verdict.
“C.H. Robinson should not be held liable and did not act negligently,” Dorothy Capers, chief legal officer at C.H. Robinson, stated. “The carrier had safely delivered nearly 270 loads for our customers and held a Satisfactory [Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration] rating when we selected it.”
Kurt Arnold and Alec Paradowski of Arnold & Itkin also represented the plaintiffs.
Roland Hamilton, Roman Castillo, Michael Logan, Brian Sawyer and Jaime DeWees of Kane Russell Coleman Logan and Rachel Stinson, Jessica Barger, Brittany Davis of Wright Close Barger & Guzman represented the defendants.
The case number is CC-22-07326-D.