A court in Missouri rejected a wide variety of requests from trailer builder Wabash National arising from the lawsuit that led to one of the biggest nuclear verdicts ever in trucking and equipment, but the company did win a huge reduction in punitive damages.
The $450 million in punitive damages was slashed to $108 million by Judge Christoper McGraugh of the 22nd Judicial Circuit Court of Missouri in a decision handed down last week.
But on virtually every other request made by Wabash regarding the case that involved a collision with the underride of a Wabash trailer that left two passengers dead, the manufacturer lost.
McGraugh cited Missouri guidelines for assessing the size of punitive damages: how “reprehensible” the conduct of the defendant was; the ratio between actual damages and the punitive award; and a comparison of the award to other penalties that might be assessed for “comparable misconduct.”
“Weighing the evidence against these factors, the Court finds the verdict for punitive damages was grossly excessive and does not comport with Wabash’s constitutional rights, because the amount awarded exceeds the fair and reasonable compensation for the plaintiff’s damages, the aggravating or mitigating circumstances, and the degree of malice of Wabash’s conduct,” the judge wrote.
He described the $108 million judgement as “appropriate.”
Compensatory damages in the case were $12 million. They were not affected by the judge’s order.
But Wabash National (NYSE: WNC) was unsuccessful in its request for a new trial.
Arguments for a new trial
The company’s argument for a new trial focused on several points: that both passengers who died had elevated blood alcohol content; the fact the two men weren’t wearing seat belts was excluded from testimony; and that the court did allow the St. Louis City jury that heard the original case to hear testimony about Wabash’s lobbying efforts regarding regulations on rear impact guard barriers that may have weakened the protection offered by them.
There were also requests relating to the jury selection process.
The 2019 crash occurred in the city of St. Louis near the Seventh Street exit of joint Interstate 44/55. Two men – Taron Tailor and Nicholas Perkins – died after the vehicle they were driving in crashed into the rear of a trailer built by Wabash. Tailor was behind the wheel.
Federal lobbying is an issue
The Simon Law Firm, which represented the families of the victims, made several arguments. One was that Wabash and other manufacturers had lobbied against tighter federal standards on rear impact guards. Another was that Wabash and other manufacturers knew the standards were insufficient but avoided building rear impact guards that would withstand higher-impact crashes.
Wabash, in announcing the judge’s decision Monday, focused on the reduction in the punitive damages without mentioning the defeats on the other requests it had submitted to the appellate court.
It said the accident involved “a passenger vehicle with an unobstructed view [striking] the back of a nearly stopped 2004 Wabash trailer. The accident occurred nearly two decades after the trailer involved was manufactured by Wabash in compliance with all applicable regulations.”
“Wabash continues to believe both that the damages remain abnormally high and the verdict is not supported by the facts or the law,” the company said, adding that it “continues to evaluate all available legal options.”
Wabash stock slid Monday on a day when equities in general were significantly higher. At approximately 2:45 p.m., Wabash National stock was down 4.5% to $11.03. Wabash stock has been pummeled in the past 12 months, down 61.2%.
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