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Escalator suit ends in $15-million deal
By JAMIE THOMPSON
Published February 2, 2005
ST. PETERSBURG - The little girl's attorneys believed they could have gotten more money.
But rather than face uncertainty, years of legal appeals and probable government taxes, they decided to accept a last-minute deal.
They agreed to a $15-million settlement in the case of 7-year-old Kerriana Johnson, who lost three fingers in a Dillard's escalator in 2002.
Dillard's agreed to pay Kerriana $11.2-million, with another $3.8-million for the girl's mother, Lori Medvitz. With the settlement, Kerriana and her mother likely will have their money in 30 days, tax free.
Dillard's also announced Tuesday that it will replace its 32-year-old escalator at Tyrone Square Mall.
"Dillard's made the decision long ago to replace the escalator," said Bob Stoler, an attorney for Dillard's. "It's a coincidence that work started this week."
Company officials also agreed to apologize, and probably will send a letter to Medvitz, lawyers said.
"Dillard's wants to give the family a meaningful apology," said attorney Rob Williams. "They want to move forward."
The settlement ended a two-week trial in which Kerriana's attorneys showed the company used unlicensed workers to save money on escalator repairs, set up a fake service company to avoid state inspections, failed to report dozens of accidents to state regulators and had ample evidence that someone would get seriously hurt on its escalator.
The company has recorded more than 80 incidents since 1998 on its down escalator.
Lawyers reached the settlement after the jury had already awarded Kerriana $11.2-million in damages, with another $20,000 for her mother, Medvitz, in the compensatory phase of the trial. Because the jury thought Medvitz was 15 percent to blame for the accident, that figure would have been reduced to about $9.5-million.
The jury was prepared to consider heavier damages against the billion-dollar retailer in the punitive phase of the trial. Kerriana's lawyers could have asked for up to $40-million more.
But, the lawyers opted for a clean break of $15-million.
One of Kerriana's attorneys, Michael Keane, said the settlement means they will avoid as much as two years of legal appeals. Punitive damages are closely scrutinized by appellate courts and are taxed by the government, he said.
The money, he said, will "give her opportunities she would never have had."
Kerriana's share will be monitored by a court-appointed guardian, Patricia Johnson, until she is 18, lawyers said.
"It is not very often you get a chance to represent pure innocence," Keane said. "This little girl was that."
The settlement also benefits Medvitz, who would have received only $20,000 from the jury.
Medvitz, a 40-year-old secretary, could have put Kerriana in a private school - which some doctors recommended - but not her other three children.
"It can cause a devastating rift," Keane said.
Besides, he said, Medvitz deserves some money.
"She has been through an awful lot," he said. "There's ample money set aside to take care of everything she'll ever need, and to raise her family as she sees fit."
For all the facts Keane recalled during the trial, he said he could not remember precisely how much he and Kerriana's other four attorneys will receive under the settlement.
Florida Supreme Court guidelines suggest 40 percent of the first million, 30 percent of the second million and 20 percent of additional millions.
One of the main goals, Keane said, was to get Dillard's to fix its escalator. The company announced Tuesday that it will install two new escalators, one up and one down. An escalator covered by silver and blue tarps was in a fenced-off section of the mall parking lot across from JCPenney.
Rusty Allen, of the escalator manufacturer Fujitec, said the machine was delivered Monday. He said he planned to begin work Tuesday afternoon and said installation would take between nine and 10 weeks for each escalator.
Dillard's lawyers said a portion of the store may close during installation.
They said the company has made improvements, banning in-house escalator inspections in 2003. Also, Dillard's has assigned a corporate manager to streamline its equipment maintenance nationwide, and is reviewing its equipment needs.
The Dillard's at Tyrone had no incidents on its down escalator in 2004, lawyers said.
It was unclear Tuesday whether insurance would cover any of Dillard's settlement.
At the end of the trial, Judge Walt Logan told jurors they had seen a rare accumulation of legal talent that they were unlikely to witness again, locally or nationally. Kerriana's lawyers went up against five from Dillard's.
Lori Medvitz, wearing a purple suit, flashed a smile at the jury and said "Thank you." She hugged her attorneys, and quietly left the courtroom.
She agreed not to discuss the case as part of the settlement, said Justin Johnson, one of her attorneys.
Jurors said they were relieved the trial was over. end. Several said they would never look at an escalator the same way. One said she had learned enough about escalators to build one herself.
By nightfall, they were back at home, reading up on recent news, walking dogs, cooking dinner.
They said they were satisfied after two weeks of work.
"I wanted two things," said juror Mary Forguson, a 50-year-old who works for Raymond James. "I wanted Dillard's to take care of the girl, and replace that piece of machinery. We did our job, didn't we?"
Staff writers Graham Brink and Lauren Bayne Anderson contributed to this report. Jamie Thompson can be reached at 727 893-8455. Send e-mail to jthompson@sptimes.com
[Last modified February 2, 2005, 04:02:20]
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