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Arkansas Jury Refuses to Hold Chrysler Liable for Train Accident

28 October 1998

Arkansas Jury Refuses to Hold Chrysler Liable for Train Accident

    AUBURN HILLS, Mich., Oct. 28 -- Chrysler Corporation
scored a legal victory today when a federal jury in Fort Smith,
Arkansas concluded that the company was not responsible for injuries suffered
by a 16-year-old after her teenage friend admitted driving a 1985 Jeep
Cherokee into the front of a speeding train.
    Plaintiff's attorneys asked the jury to award Willa Jari Lovett almost $15
million dollars in damages.  The jury concluded that Chrysler was not
responsible for this accident, and refused to award any money.
    "While the accident was a tragedy, the jury properly based its decision on
the facts and law, rather than emotion," said Chrysler attorney Ken Gluckman.
    On February 5, 1995, Ms. Lovett and two girlfriends were driving to a
friend's home in Alma, Arkansas.  Ms. Lovett was sitting in the rear and was
not wearing a seat belt.  According to trial testimony, the teen driver failed
to stop at a stop sign, and drove the Jeep vehicle into the front of the
train.  The mile long, fully loaded 11 million pound train was travelling at
approximately 47 m.p.h. at the time.
    The impact of the crash caused the Cherokee to rapidly rotate so that its
left rear slammed into the train.  That violent impact propelled the Jeep
Cherokee across the roadway, where it rolled over.  Ms. Lovett suffered
catastrophic brain injuries.
    But instead of suing the inexperienced driver who caused the accident, the
personal injury lawyers decided to sue the deep pocket, Chrysler Corporation,
claiming that the Jeep Cherokee's lift gate, which was ripped apart by the
train's engine, should have stayed intact, and as a result, Ms. Lovett should
not have been ejected out of the vehicle.
    "This is a case where our system of justice worked because it defies
common sense to see how Chrysler could be held responsible for someone driving
into the path of a speeding train," said Gluckman.  "When a driver collides
with a train moving at almost 50 m.p.h. the results are bound to be tragic,
especially when the most important safety device -- the seat belt -- is not
used.  This decision sends a clear message to plaintiff's personal injury
lawyers: that juries will place limits on the litigation lottery."
     The jury also found that another defendant, Union Pacific Railroad
Company, was not liable for Ms. Lovett's injuries.
    "We are gratified that this jury upheld the critical legal principle that,
in a court of law, people must be held responsible for their actions,"
Gluckman said.
    "Unfortunately, this principle -- which should be the bedrock of our legal
system -- seems to be applied only infrequently, even in the most clear-cut
cases, like the Kiefer trial in Starr County, Texas."
    In that September verdict, a south Texas jury hit Chrysler with $64
million in damages stemming from the deaths of a California couple who died in
a fire after being hit head-on by a negligent driver.  In that case, every
single defect claimed by the plaintiffs was to a part of the pickup truck that
had been tampered with by the owner or a previous owner.  Some of the home-
made dangerous modifications included:
    *  taking a hammer to the fuel system;
    *  replacing the pickup's gas cap with a cap from a 35 year old car;
    *  and carrying around 40 gallons of gas in World War II vintage
       containers.

    Chrysler intends to appeal the Kiefer verdict.