Top Plaintiffs' Verdict by Dollar: Chaj v. Kim

When plaintiff's attorney Federico C. Sayre first heard that court budget cuts meant he would have to travel to Torrance to try a suit over an alleged beating rather than downtown Los Angeles near where the incident occurred, he thought it was "a bad stroke of luck."

Torrance, he said, is considered defense-friendly, and would make a difficult venue for his arguments of negligence against a private security company.

Not only was Sayre able to prevail, but the $57.75 million a jury awarded his client in June was the largest single-plaintiff award given by a Torrance jury.

The lawsuit stemmed from a bar fight in which housepainter Antonio Lopez Chaj was allegedly severely beaten with a baton. The security guard wielding the baton, the plaintiffs argued, had falsified his "guard card," a state-mandated credential. Chaj v. Kim et al., BC456361 (L.A. Super. Ct., filed March 1, 2011).

"It took us about 45 seconds of checking the website of the state agency to figure out this was a fraudulent card," Sayre said.

At trial, the security company admitted it hadn't checked the card's validity. "That was a pretty devastating admission in terms of liability," he said.

Lead defense attorney John J. Duffy said he knew the verdict would favor the plaintiffs from the start. But, he said, both he and Sayre thought the jury would award an amount between the $4 million he suggested and the roughly $20 million Sayre sought.

"This was clearly a runaway jury," he said. "Both Fred and I were stunned at the amount."

The horrific nature of Chaj's injuries, which include brain damage and a badly deformed skull, made an impact on the jurors, Duffy said. "They rendered this verdict in two hours. That tells you right there that this was emotional decision," he said.

The court denied Duffy's motion for a new trial. That is currently on appeal along with the verdict.

- CHASE SCHEINBAUM

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