The case took 13 years from the day in 2004 when Lira sued Mazda Motor Corp. on behalf of a family that lost a wife and mother when her two-point lap belt caused her body to jackknife in the middle backseat in a head-on collision, resulting in severe abdominal injuries, internal bleeding and death.
It took a trip to the U.S. Supreme Court before trial in the matter was set for June 17. Instead, it settled in March for a confidential amount. "The clients are ecstatic," Lira said. He expects to recover more than $650,000 in costs.
The case was a tribute to tenacity. "I tell opposing counsel, don't expect me to go quietly into the night," Lira said. The defense argued Lira's defective design claim regarding the two-point seat belt was preempted under the supremacy clause and U.S. Supreme Court precedent regarding auto safety regulations. The trial judge agreed. Lira's argument to the contrary went nowhere in the court of appeal. The state Supreme Court denied review. Lira took it to the U.S. Supreme Court, which agreed to hear the case in 2010 and reversed, unanimously. Because two-point belts were optional for manufacturers in the middle backseats of 1993 autos - the year of the car involved in the crash - federal preemption did not apply.
"If the government gives you a choice, you can't argue preemption," Lira summed up the high court's ruling.
The case went back to Orange County - which agreed with Mazda that it should be transferred to Utah, where the accident occurred - then was removed to federal court. Lira appealed that ruling and lost in 2013. "I had to learn Utah law," he said. Because of the lapse in time, he had to work the case up anew. Depositions were retaken and new experts retained and deposed. On March 13, a federal judge agreed with Lira's Daubert challenges and struck certain opinions of Mazda's experts. On March 20, Mazda settled. Williamson v. Mazda Motor Corp., 2:13-cv-00605 (D. Utah, filed June 27, 2013).
Another example of Lira's persistence is him representing the wife and children of a man who died in 2008 when a water truck he'd rented from Hertz rolled over, crushing the victim. There was a mistrial in 2013. Lira lost the second trial but won a new trial on appeal. In the third trial, he won a $1.9 million verdict from a San Bernardino County jury, but that outcome is in doubt over possibly defective jury instructions; the defense has moved for a new trial. Golston v. Hertz Equipment Rental Corp., CIVVS907786 (San Bernardino Super. Ct., filed Nov. 20, 2009).
"These are serious cases, and you have got to stick with them," Lira said. "It's my duty. I will see cases through to the bitter end."
— John Roemer
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