Facts

Jaswant Khunkhun, Prabhdeep Khunkhun, Danvir Khunkhun, and Charanjit Singh and Tajit Khunkhun by and through their Guardian ad Litem, Charanjit Singh sued Avtar Gill, Jaswinder Gill and GMG Trucking Inc., in connection with a the death of Amarjit Khunkhun.

Plaintiffs are decedent's wife, daughter, and two minor sons.

PLAINTIFFS' CONTENTIONS:
Plaintiffs alleged that on March 23, 2010, Amarjit Khunkhun, who was an independent truck driver, was helping defendant Avtar Gill, who was also an independent truck driver, deliver the latter's truck back to California. Following an exchange of vehicle in Texas, the truck caught fire on the side of Interstate 40 near San Jon, NM.

A transmission leak allegedly caused the fire underneath the truck's cab, engulfing the whole cab in flames. The decedent died as a result of carbon monoxide poisoning. Plaintiffs sued Gill and his wife Jaswinder Gill as owners and operators of GMG Trucking. Plaintiffs alleged that defendants were negligent in failing to address the transmission leak prior to allowing decedent to drive the truck.

DEFENDANTS' CONTENTIONS:
Defendants claimed the fire was caused by an unattended camp stove.

Settlement Discussions

Plaintiffs demanded $1 million, while defendants offered $200,000 in settlement.

Result

The jury found the decedent 15 percent comparatively negligent for the fire and defendants 85 percent negligent in causing the fire and death of decedent. It then determined that the family's damages totaled $3.5 million. With the offset, the family was set to recover nearly $3 million.

Deliberation

four hours

Poll

12-0 (negligence)

Length

four weeks