Eric Englebardt and Adam Russell Obtain Favorable Verdict
Defendant and another driver were racing their Mustang GT’s through Fountain Inn, South Carolina, including a two mile stretch of Main Street around 3:30 p.m. on a weekday afternoon. Speeds reportedly hit 80-100 MPH.A mile from the accident a police officer saw the speeding Mustangs and gave chase and followed Defendant after the other vehicle turned off. Defendant attempted to flee the blue light and turned right in the middle of downtown Fountain Inn. Because of her speed, Defendant lost control of the car while making the turn and ran into the vehicle in which Plaintiff was a passenger. Plaintiff’s vehicle was sitting at a red light waiting to go forward. The entire chase was caught on the dash cam and shown to the jury multiple times. Defendant was arrested and pled guilty to reckless driving and failing to stop for a blue light. Plaintiff claimed $5300 in actual damages, plus entitlement to punitive damages, and his wife asserted a loss of consortium claim. Plaintiff had received $19,800 from the underlying carriers, representing his share of the full amounts of the policies, which were exhausted in settlement of the claims of the other two occupants of Plaintiff’s vehicle. Plaintiff demanded the full $25,000 in UIM limits from the carrier, and Plaintiff’s counsel wrote letters alleging first party bad faith for failure to pay the UIM benefits. The carrier offered $3,000, which would have brought his total amount to $22,800. The jury returned a verdict of $7,000 in actual damages and no punitive damages on Plaintiff’s claim and a defense verdict on the loss of consortium claim.