Facts

On the evening of Jan. 22, 2004, a helicopter crashed into a 135-foot utility tower located in the Talega Canyon on Camp Pendleton, city of Oceanside. At the time of the crash, the helicopter crew was departing the area after practicing maneuvers geared towards nighttime flying while wearing night-vision goggles. Captain Adam Miller, Staff Sergeant Lori Privette, First Lieutenant Michael Lawlor, and Corporal Joshua Harris were killed.

The family members of the decedents brought an action alleging wrongful death against San Diego Gas & Electric Company (SDG&E).

PLAINTIFFS' CONTENTIONS:
The plaintiffs contended that the accident would not have occurred had there been proper safety lighting on top of the utility tower and/or safety markings on the line adjacent to the tower. They asserted that SDG&E were negligent for only installing lights on towers or ball markers on wires 200 feet high or higher, although company management knew that a majority of accidents happen at lower altitudes.

DEFENDANT'S CONTENTIONS:
The defendant asserted that the incident occurred due to pilot error, and not from negligence. It argued that the Marines taking part in the practice had knowledge of the area and were informed of the power lines. Defendant further contended that the Marine Corps was at fault for not notifying the utility of dangerous conditions.

Result

The jury returned a verdict, finding that SDG&E was negligent. The verdict awarded plaintiffs a total of $55.6 million. This included $15.2 million in compensatory damages (economic and non-economic) and punitive damages were also awarded against SDG&E, in the amount of $40.4 million. The jury concluded that defendant should have installed safety lights and that two agents of the utility behaved maliciously when they failed to order lights or markers for the tower and adjacent lines. The parents of each decedent was given $2.125 million in non-economic damages and the wife of decedent Michael Lawlor was given $6.7 million in economic and non-economic damages. Each of the decedents' estates were awarded $10.1 million in punitive damages.

Length

five weeks