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Settlement surprises jurors

By JAMIE THOMPSON
Published February 2, 2005

ST. PETERSBURG - Two jurors wanted to give the little girl and her mother every penny they asked for: $35.8-million.

Three others were undecided, and the remaining juror, Kristin Coffey, felt the figure was too high.

"I thought, "They cannot be serious,"' she said.

After nearly seven hours, jurors reached a compromise: $9.5-million for Kerriana Johnson, the little girl who lost three fingers in a Dillard's down escalator.

Jurors agreed to consider heavier damages later, in the punitive phase of the trial.

They never got the chance. Lawyers settled the case.

"We were taken aback by the settlement," said juror Cindy Trumble, 62, a retired United Airlines customer service representative.

"We thought they settled for less than we would have come up with."

Still, she and three other jurors said in interviews Tuesday they believed the settlement was fair. The two remaining jurors could not be reached. The panel of five women and one man began deliberating Monday after hearing two weeks of testimony. They quickly focused on one key issue: Who was to blame?

They needed to assign a percentage of fault to Dillard's and to the girl's mother, Lori Medvitz. Whatever they decided for Medvitz would be subtracted from overall damages.

Coffey, a 35-year-old event planner, said she was the lone voice arguing that half the blame lay with Medvitz. Medvitz, 38 at the time, was at the mall with her three children: Kerriana, 5; Timmy, 8; and Elisa, 18 months.

"I thought having three little people at the mall the day after Thanksgiving was a big task," Coffey said.

If Medvitz had paid closer attention, Coffey said, "They wouldn't be in this situation."

Others felt Dillard's was mostly to blame.

"When you throw in the improper maintenance of the equipment with people not doing the right thing, especially with children, it's a recipe for disaster," Trumble said. "It was just waiting to happen."

Jurors ultimately gave 15 percent responsibility to Medvitz and 85 percent to Dillard's.

Coffey said two jurors had agreed to a smaller award believing they could impose further damages during the punitive phase. She said they were upset when lawyers suddenly settled. Other jurors hugged, but seemed annoyed at Coffey, she said.

"I felt like such a jerk when we left the courtroom," Coffey said. "They didn't want any part of me."

During deliberations, jurors discussed the evidence that they believed was most important.

For foreman Michael Hurguy, a 51-year-old tool and die maker, it was the 15 witnesses who testified about having their shoes sucked into the escalator.

"There were so many incidents," he said.

For Trumble, it was the fact that Dillard's had restarted the escalator three hours after Kerriana lost her fingers. And that another shopper's shoe got caught six days later.

The words of Kerriana's attorney Michael Keane - "corporate indifference" - echoed through Trumble's mind.

"It was hard to believe that the senior management of a company that large would be so totally indifferent to this horrendous accident," she said.

She was unimpressed by the video depositions of company leaders in court.

"I felt like they were covering up," she said.

The only person who seemed in any way concerned about what happened was Kevin Sleeman, store manager at the time, who attended the trial every day, Trumble said.

"I felt like he was there to take the rap," she said.

The jurors said they spent the most time discussing how much money to award Medvitz. They felt she deserved something, but were limited by the court.

They could not compensate Medvitz for suffering she endured because of her daughter. They only could award money for her own injury: a chipped bone after her finger was caught in the escalator when she tried to free Kerriana.

They decided the amount Dillard's lawyers suggested was fair: $20,000.

That figure was affected by Medvitz's testimony during the trial, Coffey said.

"She was very cold," Coffey said. "She probably was very tired and worn out, but she could have come across as warmer. I think she would have gotten the jury's sympathy a little more."

Jurors said they were pleased to hear Dillard's would install a new escalator. It's about time, they said. They hoped the company would take safety more seriously.

But most of all, they hoped Kerriana would be okay.

"I hope the award we made provides her an opportunity to rise above this whole thing," Trumble said. "I hope it will ensure that she does not spend her whole life suffering over the loss of those three fingers."

Times researcher Kitty Bennett 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, 00:31:09]