The National Trial Lawyers
  • Home
    • Meet Our Team
    • Contact Us
    • Mission & Goals
    • FAQ
  • Webinars
  • News
  • Membership Directory
    • Top 100 Map – Civil Plaintiff
    • Top 100 Map – Criminal Defense
    • Top 40 Under 40 Map – Civil Plaintiff
    • Top 40 Under 40 Map – Criminal Defense
  • Top 100
    • Civil Plaintiff Officers / Executive Committee
    • Criminal Defense Officers / Executive Committee
    • Benefits
    • About
    • Top 100 Presidents Message
    • Diplomat
    • Membership Renewal
    • Member Profile Updates
    • Top 100 Badge
  • Top 40
    • Civil Plaintiff Officers / Executive Committee
    • Criminal Defense Officers / Executive Committee
    • Top 40 Under 40 Trial Academy Bootcamp
    • Benefits
    • About
    • Top 40 Presidents Message
    • Membership Renewal
    • Member Profile Updates
    • Top 40 Badge
  • Specialty Assoc
    • About
    • Shop
    • Officers
    • Membership Renewal
    • Member Profile Updates
  • Nominate
    • Top 100
    • Top 40
    • Specialty Association
    • Trial Lawyer Hall of Fame
    • Trial Lawyer of the Year
    • Trial Team of the Year
    • America’s Most Influential Trial Lawyer
    • America’s Most Influential Law Firm
    • Lifetime Achievement Award
  • Shop
  • Magazine
    • A-List
  • Education and Networking Agenda
    • Trial Lawyers Summit
    • Top 40 Under 40 Trial Academy Boot Camp
    • Mass Torts Made Perfect
    • The Lanier Trial Academy Master Class 6.0
    • The Business Of Law
    • Webinars
  • Hall of Fame
    • Trial Lawyer Hall of Fame

NJ Appeals Court Upholds $5.5M Verdict in Tire Blow-Out Lawsuit

Posted on April 29, 2014 by Andrew Findley
legal news for consumers

$5.5 M verdict upheld for NJ family injured when tire blow out overturned SUV

A $5.5 million award to a family injured when a tire blew out on their SUV has been upheld by the Appellate Division of the New Jersey Superior Court on April 23.  An Essex County, NJ, jury found that Flemington Buick Chevrolet Pontiac GMC in Raritan Township was negligent in servicing the vehicle three days before it overturned on Interstate 95 in Virginia on Easter Sunday, 2009.  Flemington Car and Truck Country appealed the verdict, but the Appellate judges found no errors that would have justified a mistrial.

Roy Allen and his family were driving to Florida for a vacation in Allen’s 2004 Chevrolet TrailBlazer when the right rear tire blew out.  According to the Allen family’s attorney, Chris Hager of Niedweske Barber Hager in Morristown, NJ, Allen had purchased three maintenance agreements from Flemington Chevrolet, including one specifically for the SUV’s tires.  The dealership had serviced the vehicle 17 times prior to the crash.  When Allen brought the TrailBlazer in for service on April 9, 2009, he told service department employees that something wasn’t right with the vehicle’s rear axle.  However, the employees didn’t check the rear tires, even though that’s the first item that should have been checked according to the General Motors service manual.  Furthermore, the right rear tire that blew out was known to have had a bald spot as early as January 2009, when it was rotated from the front to the rear axle by workers in the Flemington service department.

The Allens’ daughter, Carla Ceasar, was driving the SUV when it overturned.  Her son and daughter were also in the vehicle, along with Allen and his wife, Erna.  Hager says Ceasar sustained serious head injuries in the wreck, and still suffers migraines, hearing loss and involuntary hand tremors.  Roy Allen was 82 when the accident happened, and died later from an illness not related to the accident.  His wife Erna was 73 at the time, and sustained neck, shoulder and back injuries that will require treatment for the rest of her life.  One of Ceasar’s children suffered minor injuries and emotional trauma.

Following a 13-day trial before Judge W. Hunt Dumont, the Essex County jury awarded $7.5 million to the family.  However the punitive part of the damages was later reduced from $5 million to $3 million.  Compensatory damages were $2.5 million.

The case is Carla A. Ceasar, Erna D. Allen and the estate of Roy D. Allen, et al v. Flemington Car and Truck Country, et al.  The appeal was heard by the Superior Court of New Jersey Appellate Division, Docket No. A-1464-12T3.  The trial was held in the Superior Court of New Jersey, Law Division, Essex County, Docket No. L-7665-09.  Kevin Barber and Christopher W. Hager of Niedweske Barber Hager, LLC represented the plaintiffs/respondents/cross-appellants in the appeal, and Alan White, Alexander Gillespie and Becky Caruso of Bonner Kiernan Trebach & Crociata, LLP represented the defendants/appellants/cross-respondents.

Posted in Blog

Comments are closed.

News Categories

Read about other Top Jury Verdicts

The Rochester Diocese Offers a $147 Million Settlement to Sex Abuse Survivors

The Rochester Diocese Offers a $147 Million Settlement to Sex Abuse Survivors

The Rochester Catholic Diocese is offering a $147 million settlement to sex abuse survivors. This offer comes as a federal ba[Read More...]
Jury Awards $77.5 Million to an Army Veteran in a 3M Earplug Case

Jury Awards $77.5 Million to an Army Veteran in a 3M Earplug Case

A jury in Pensacola, Fla., federal court on Friday ordered 3M to pay $77.5 million to a U.S. Army veteran who said he suffe[Read More...]
The New Mexico Supreme Court Upholds $165 Million Damage Awards in a Deadly FedEx Crash

The New Mexico Supreme Court Upholds $165 Million Damage Awards in a Deadly FedEx Crash

The New Mexico Supreme Court on Thursday upheld $165 million of jury awards against FedEx in a wrongful-death lawsuit stemmin[Read More...]
Noom Reaches a $56 Million Class Action Settlement Over Its Autorenewal and Cancellation Policy

Noom Reaches a $56 Million Class Action Settlement Over Its Autorenewal and Cancellation Policy

Weight-loss program Noom has agreed to a $56 million settlement to resolve class action claims regarding its autorenewal and [Read More...]
Virginians Will Receive $489 Million in a Payday Loan Settlement

Virginians Will Receive $489 Million in a Payday Loan Settlement

Online payday loan companies that charged as much as 919% interest will spend $489 million to reimburse some 555,000 borrower[Read More...]

#LegalNews

@@TheNTLtop100

Contact Us | Terms of Use | Privacy Policy

Attorney information and content provided on this website is provided for the benefit of members of The National Trial Lawyers and as a public service by Legal Associations Management, Inc. The website and all data are the property of Legal Associations Management, Inc. Data, including without limitation attorney information and content, on the site may not be mined, sold, or used commercially for any purpose without the explicit written consent of Legal Associations Management, Inc. This site may not be accessed by any automated program for extracting data for any use. By accessing and using the site you agree that you will not develop, support or use software, devices, scripts, robots, or any other means or processes (including crawlers, browser plug-ins and add-ons, or any other technology) to scrape data or otherwise copy profiles and other data. Unauthorized use or attempted unauthorized use of this system may subject you to both civil and criminal penalties.