Most defendants do not hire a global corporate law firm to handle old-fashioned car crash cases, but Brenda Buenrostro v. Richardo Machuca, Stripes, Sunoco and Energy Transfer Equity had the potential to be much bigger than a garden variety auto accident – millions of dollars bigger.
Norton Rose Fulbright partner Brett Young and his team showed last week that if you do your homework, hire clear-speaking expert witnesses and keep your case simple, Texas juries will see through the fog and deliver a verdict dictated by the evidence.
Buenrostro sued the defendants in Nueces County after her car was hit in October 2016 by Machuca, who failed to yield to a stop sign at an intersection. Machuca, whose license was suspended, drove a vehicle owned by his employer, Stripes Convenience Stores, which was a subsidiary of Dallas-based pipeline giant ETE.
Lawyers for Buenrostro argued that Stripes and its parent company committed corporate gross negligence because the business should have known that Machuca, who worked as a warehouse manager for Stripes, was a dangerous driver.
Citing pain and suffering, lost wages and medical expenses, Buenrostro asked the jury to award her $1.9 million in damages.
The defendants, understanding that a seven-digit verdict was possible, especially in a venue that some have described as pro-plaintiff, hired Norton Rose Fulbright.
Young and his team developed a legal strategy that conceded basic liability but stayed laser-focused during the six-day trial on proving that Buenrostro’s injuries were not as severe as claimed and that her back and predicted future neck surgeries were unnecessary.
“This is a simple car wreck case – not a gross negligence case,” Young and his team wrote in briefs to the Nueces County judge.
The six–person Nueces County jury deliberated three hours before finding the defendants liable, but awarded only $9,100 in damages.
“Buenrostro is important because it shows that in cases where a defendant has very little to say about liability, a careful and rigorous damages defense can really mitigate verdict risk,” Young told The Texas Lawbook.
The Norton Rose Fulbright team working with Young, who is a partner in the firm’s Houston office, included senior associates Rachel Roosth and Christopher Conatser and associate Taylor Moore.
Efforts to obtain a comment from the plaintiff were unsuccessful.