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Jury awards $3-million in electrocution

The man's divorced parents will split the award after jurors ordered Withlacoochee River Electric Cooperative to pay in his death.

By JAMES THORNER
Published January 28, 2005

NEW PORT RICHEY - In one of the richest Pasco County jury verdicts in recent memory, Withlacoochee River Electric Cooperative was ordered to pay the family of an electrocuted Holiday man $3-million.

Thursday's verdict before Circuit Judge W. Lowell Bray concluded two days of testimony to decide how much Withlacoochee, one of the county's three main power companies, owed David Seyer and Judith Klar for the loss of their son, Mark.

Mark Seyer, 35, was electrocuted March 27, 2002, when either he or his work ladder touched a Withlacoochee guy wire that anchored a utility pole at State Road 56 and Bruce B. Downs Boulevard.

An employee of Allied Graphics in Tampa, Seyer had been installing a sign in front of the Seven Oaks neighborhood.

Guy wires aren't supposed to be electrified, but an investigation suggested the wire was so slack that Seyer's contact nudged it into a live wire with catastrophic results.

The power company admitted liability, but Seyer's parents rejected its initial offer of compensation.

"The trial was about what money award would properly compensate the parents for the loss of their son," said Victor Martinez, the attorney with the law firm of Barry A. Cohen, who represented David Sayer.

"The electric company suggested a couple hundred thousand would suffice. We took issue with that."

Seyer's parents, who divorced years ago, retained separate attorneys and split the $3-million award equally. After the lawyers take their cut, each should walk away with about $1-million.

Officials with Withlacoochee, a nonprofit cooperative owned by its customers, couldn't be reached for comment. It was unclear whether the jury award would affect power rates for its thousands of Pasco customers.

The company didn't call any witnesses to the stand during the trial at the West Pasco Judicial Center. That contrasted with Seyer's parents, who called a psychiatrist and psychologist to testify to their mental anguish.

Lawyers for the Seyers were initially concerned that three of six jurors were Withlacoochee customers. The fear proved unfounded after the jury emerged from two hours of deliberation and ordered a $3-million award.

"Three of the jurors were technically co-owners of the company," Martinez said.

[Last modified January 28, 2005, 00:21:17]