07/14/2008 Council Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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Lawsuit and Parties: The injured girl's family brought suit against the city, Ford Motor Co. (the manufacturer of the van) and Federal Signal Corp. (the manufacturer of a flasher system installed on the van which failed to properly work when Officer Sawina accidentally pressed the accelerator rather than the brake). Jury Liability Apportionment and Damages: The Hennepin County jury apportioned liability as follows: City of Minneapolis /Officer Sawina — 87.5% Federal Signal — 12.5% Ford Motor Co. — 0 %1 The jury awarded damages to the injured girl of $3.815 million, $30,000 to her injured brother and $172,455.06 to her father. The district court limited the city's liability under the municipal tort cap statute (Minn. Stat. §466.04) to $750,000 for all claimants in a single occurrence.2 Thus, the district court awarded the injured girl $300,000 (limit for a single plaintiff) and her brother $7,522 and her father $14,185. As to Federal Signal, the district court apportioned liability to it pursuant to the existing joint and several liability statute, (Minn. Stat. §604.02) to 50% of the total verdict amount under the "15 x 4" rule, Federal Signal's 12.5% liability (12.5% x 4). Appeal by Plaintiffs Plaintiffs appealed the district court's apportionment, but the Court of Appeals affirmed the district court's decision. In their holding, the Court of Appeals specifically held that the "liability cap on municipal liability is rationally related to the legitimate government objective of insuring fiscal stability to meet and carry out the manifold responsibilities of government" Thus, the tort cap is constitutional. b. The St. Paul Gas Explosion Case: In Re: Maria Avenue Natural Gas Explosion, 1999 WL 417345 (Minn. App. 1999) Facts: On July 22, 1993, a City of St. Paul public works crew working at the corner of Third and Maria Avenue struck a gas line. The city notified the gas company and began evacuating residents. Approximately 20 minutes later, an explosion occurred and three people were killed and several others were seriously injured. Additionally, several buildings were destroyed. ' Ford settled with the injured girl's family prior to trial for $1.194 million. The jury was unaware of the settlement. case. 2 The $750,000 cap was the total amount available for all injured parties, including those not parties to this 8 30 • • •