Janell Jelliffe v. Henry Lich
Published: Oct. 10, 1998 | Result Date: Aug. 4, 1998 | Filing Date: Jan. 1, 1900 |Case number: 972019010SEA Verdict – $2,600,000
Judge
Court
King Superior
Attorneys
Plaintiff
Defendant
Experts
Plaintiff
Gary Stimac
(medical)
Kathryn Reid
(technical)
Defendant
Robert H. Colfelt
(medical)
Frederick Wise
(medical)
Andrew Bronstein
(medical)
Facts
On May 20, 1995, plaintiff Janell Jelliffe, a 40-year-old private banker with the Bank of California, suffered injury when defendant Henry Lich, a 79-year-old retired male made a left hand turn in front of her car. Both drivers were insured with Farmers Insurance Company of Washington. Lich had $250,000 in liability policy limits and plaintiff had $25,000 in underinsured motorist limits. Prior to any settlement negotiations in this case, plaintiff demanded that Farmers Insurance Company separate the UIM and liability files and assign separate adjusters to each. The UIM limits of $25,000 were paid. The liability claim was sent to defense counsel who requested additional documentation and information. Per defendant, plaintiff did not respond and filed suit based on negligence.
Settlement Discussions
The court-ordered mediation was held before the Honorable Judge Burdell on June 15, 1998. The plaintiff demanded $800,000. The defendant offered $200,000. One day before trial, defendant offered $300,000, raised to $350,000 which the plaintiff rejected.
Injuries
The plaintiff alleged that she suffered a mild traumatic brain injury with a diagnosis of post-concussive syndrome, a resulting depression and a herniated disc at C5-6.
Other Information
The verdict was reached approximately one year and eight months after the case was filed. The plaintiff learned that defendant Lich had given a recorded statement to his liability insurance adjuster on May 26, 1995. According to plaintiff, during defendant's deposition, he was uncertain and confused as to many of the facts and made over 25 changes to his testimony following the deposition. The plaintiff filed a motion to compel production of the transcribed statement based upon a showing of "substantial need" due to the defendant's inconsistent statements. The court ordered the insurance statement produced. In the statement, defendant admitted that "I have to take the blame for it that time" and that "Well, I was still moving as the light changed, so I went across and just I just shouldn't have pushed it." Per defendant, he was not asked what color his light was, what is was changing to, what lane he was in or whether plaintiff was at fault. The case proceeded to trial on Aug. 4, 1998. Judge Noe ruled that the statement was admissible provided that all mention of insurance was redacted. Judge Noe directed a verdict on liability in favor of the plaintiff at the close of the case.
Deliberation
five hours
Poll
11-1
Length
nine days
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