Top Plaintiffs' Verdicts by Dollar: Asam v. Ortiz

Lawyers called it the largest wrongful death award in California history. So big, in fact, that in an extraordinary move the judge overseeing the trial vacated the judgment this month and granted the defendants' motion for a new trial.

While the future of the case is unclear, there is no disputing the horrific nature of the crash.

In November 2009, 41-year-old Michael Asam, en route to Oregon with his wife and three children, drove off the Interstate 210 Freeway and struck an illegally parked 18-wheeler truck.

Asam's two youngest children, then 9 and 11, climbed out of a window. But Asam, his wife, and 14-year-old son died in the fiery crash. Three days before trial, the surviving son committed suicide.

Brian Brandt and Christopher Purcell, representing the surviving daughter, argued that Asam struck debris in the road that caused him to veer out of the lane, while the defendants contended he may have fallen asleep at the wheel.

Brandt said the trucking company's insurance company, Carolina Casualty Insurance Co., never offered more than $1 million to settle.

Following a six-week trial, a jury awarded the surviving daughter $150 million, $20 million more than her lawyers asked for. On top of that, Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Marc Marmaro awarded nearly $30 million more in interests and costs. Asam v. Ortiz, PC051705 (Los Angeles County Sup. Ct., filed Oct. 11, 2011).

But attorneys with Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP, who took over the case after the verdict, persuaded Marmaro to vacate that award this month. He called the verdict "excessive," as the jury found both Asam and the truck driver negligent, adding that the panel was motivated by a "desire to punish rather than a desire to fairly compensate."

Purcell told the Daily Journal he is considering an appeal. "I don't for a minute think $150 million was excessive," he said. "There is not some cap on horror. One hundred fifty million [dollars] is not even remotely unreasonable for what these kids went through."

- EMILY GREEN

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