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Dallas Jury Awards $44.2M in I-35 Pileup Trial 

In a 10-2 decision reached after deliberating over two days, a jury in Dallas County last night determined New Prime and its driver owe $44 million in damages to the family of a man who was killed during a fatal pileup on an icy Interstate 35 in February 2021. 

The case, brought by the family of 49-year-old Boyd resident Christopher Ray Vardy, was part of multidistrict litigation stemming from the Feb. 11, 2021, pileup during Winter Storm Uri and is the first one to go to trial. The crash that killed Vardy and five others was part of a pileup of more than 130 vehicles in the southbound TEXpress lane of Interstate 35.

Michelle Casady

Michelle Casady is based in Houston and covers litigation and appeals — including trials, breaking news and industry trends — for The Texas Lawbook.

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