Facts

William Delara, Brandon Horn, Corlynn James, and Jennifer Soria sued Continental Tire and Americas LLC, Sears, Roebuck and Co., and MDS Enterprises Inc.

PLAINTIFF'S CONTENTIONS:
The plaintiffs claimed that on June 11, 2010, Horn was driving on the highway. Delara, James, and Soria were all passengers in his vehicle. As Horn was driving, his vehicle's left rear tire malfunctioned, causing Horn to lose control of the vehicle. The vehicle veered off the road and rolled down an embankment, injuring all the occupants.

The plaintiffs sued Continental, the manufacturer of the tire, and MDS, the seller of the tire. They also sued Sears, who had done maintenance on Horn's vehicle in 2009.

Delara, James, and Soria settled with the defendants prior to trial. Horn settled with MDS and Continental, and only proceeded to trial against Sears. He argued that sears should have recommended that he replace the tire and/or rotated it to the front tire. Instead, the employees told him that the tire was fine.

DEFENDANT'S CONTENTIONS:
Sears argued that the tire was not revealed to be defective until after the crash, and that its employees had acted reasonably when maintaining the car. They could not have realized the tire was defective because there were no clear signs of any defect, and the tire seemed fine when they inspected it.

Damages

Horn sought $280,000 for his past medical expenses. He also sought future medical and past and future wage loss.

Injuries

Horn claimed he injured his head and sustained multiple spinal fractures. He required surgery to address the odontoid fracture.

Result

The jury ruled in favor of Sears, finding that it had not caused Horn's injuries.

Deliberation

1.5 days

Poll

9-3 (causation), 9-3 (negligence)