Not Even Time

Everyone knows that getting people to agree is difficult and it is even harder to get six people sitting on a jury to agree on a verdict, let alone in short period of time. Gerber Ciano Kelly Brady partners Kristin Moro and Jeffrey Migdalen recently received a defendant’s verdict with the jury deliberating for under an hour.

The plaintiff, a 70-year-old female, lost her footing coming down from a landing off an interior stairwell of a condominium that Kristin represented. The plaintiff claimed that the stairway tile, which was the same color as the flooring tile, was dangerous as there were no signs indicting there was a step down from the landing to the hallway. She slipped and fell into the wall resulting in a wrist fracture which required surgery, scaring on her face and carpal tunnel complications.

The plaintiff demanded $450,000 to settle the case. We came to the table with $225,000 at mediation which was unsuccessful. Our client then made a final offer of $150,000 the week before trial which was available until the trial started. After the jury was paneled, we argued our motions in limine, which precluded two witnesses for the plaintiff and a medical expert. Following the motions, the plaintiff came back to accept the $150,000, which was now off the table. The plaintiff accused our client of bad faith and moved for a mistrial. The court denied the motion and stated that the settlement was not approved by the court and thus there was no settlement.

At trial, Kristin and Jeffrey established that the plaintiff went up the same stairs just hours before without incident. Kristin and Jeffrey demonstrated that the plaintiff went up and down the stairs every time she visited as the elevators were often not working. Kristin and Jeffrey were also able to establish that the plaintiff wore bifocal glasses and a mask which they argued in summation likely clouded the plaintiff’s glasses. Critically, Kristin and Jeffrey established that the plaintiff told the super she missed the step and lost her footing. After 3 days of trial, the jury came back with a unanimous verdict in 50 minutes, finding that the condo was negligent but that the negligence was not a substantial factor in causing the injury.

The verdict shows how Kristen and Jeffrey’s careful trial preparation and their skillful use of evidence showed the plaintiff was responsible for her accident and gave the jury the evidence they needed to conclude that our client was not at fault. The Gerber Ciano Kelly Brady team of skilled trial attorneys develops the evidence that gives our clients the aggressive defense they need. Let us show you how we can do that for you. Contact Kristen at Kmoro@gerberciano.com, Jeffrey at JMigdalen@gerberciano.com or Mike Harris at Mharris@gerberciano.com to discuss how we can assist you with your trial cases.