Yolo County jury delivers $10.5M verdict after trial postponed by shutdowns

A Yolo County jury has delivered a $10.5 million verdict in favor of a man who lost a leg in an industrial accident.

It's a sign of the times that the most surprising aspect of the case is not the large award but that a jury delivered a civil verdict at all. The trial began March 2, was delayed March 16 by court shutdowns in reaction to the COVID-19 pandemic, was postponed again in May, and finally reached a resolution on Monday. Singh v. Capay Inc., P017-2105 (Yolo Super. Ct., filed Dec. 12, 2017).

"Yolo County is definitely ahead of the curve on reopening," said Ricardo Echeverria, lead counsel for plaintiff Bhupinder Singh. "We were kind of the Guinea pigs."

The partner with Shernoff Bidart Echeverria LLP in Claremont said Presiding Judge Samuel T. McAdam was able to keep in touch with jurors by Zoom, including making them attest they had not been talking to people about the case as it stretched out over months.

But when it came time for the jury to deliberate, they had to meet in person. Two jurors were excused, one an older person with preexisting conditions, leaving the jury without alternates. Echeverria noted that in future cases judges and lawyers could consider jurors' health status during voir dire. He added that he felt like he was dressed "like riot police" when he and opposing counsel wore face-shields to give final arguments, in order to allow jurors to see their expressions.

Brent D. Anderson, who represented the defendant company, Capay Inc., said he accidentally bumped his shield up against the microphone a couple of times. He also said it was difficult speaking to masked jurors whose expressions he could not read, spaced widely around the courtroom.

"I think Judge [Samuel T.] McAdam did an excellent job managing the litigation, making sure everybody was safe but also making sure the case proceeded," said the partner with Taylor Anderson LLP in Denver. "He embraced the technology."

Anderson added, "I handle cases all over the country. ... There's a lot of courts that have just stopped and business has just ground to a halt."

When it came time for jurors to deliberate, everyone else left the courtroom. When they were done, they found in favor Singh, a truck driver who was picking up a load of tomatoes at a warehouse when his leg was crushed by a forklift operator who was found to have been negligent. The final award was $7.9 million, after adjusting for comparative fault.

Yolo is a largely rural county next door to Sacramento, but word of the verdict spread quickly.

"Ricardo's a buddy. I heard about it last night," said Christine D. Spagnoli, a partner with Greene Broillet & Wheeler LLP in Santa Monica. "It's hard to know that you can take a lot of message from it going forward because I think it's unique in that they had started the trial before everything shut down. ... It says a lot about people's commitment to the jury system, to go back and do that job."

Spagnoli, a former president of the Consumer Attorneys of California, said the question of how to hold jury deliberations appears to remain an issue even as other court proceedings move onto Zoom and other online platforms.

"I think that would be pretty near impossible, and it's not something we want to encourage," she said.

Spagnoli said she recently settled a case with a mediator on Zoom, but said it's still unclear if more cases are ending that way. She cited the old adage that "trial dates settle cases."

Davis-based attorney Mary-Alice Coleman also praised the Yolo court, adding she too has had a Zoom hearing with Judge McAdams.

"Yolo Superior has been very helpful in keeping the local bar up to date on its progress toward reopening," said the founder of the Law Offices of Mary-Alice Coleman PC in an email. "Judge [Daniel P.] McGuire has provided regular Zoom meetings and reports to the Yolo Bar Association and has even provided a practice Zoom 'hearing' for attorneys to test it out."

Reached on Tuesday, McAdam said Zoom and livestreaming have helped his court to remain "fully operational." He rejected the idea it has been easier for smaller county courts to adapt.

"The counties have proportionate funding," McAdam said. "We're actually underfunded historically in Yolo. The Zoom technology is very affordable. Laptops for judges to work in virtual chambers is an easy expense."