Trial Success—Favorable Verdict Under Policy Limits

Douglas Burrell and Anelise Codrington achieved a remarkable victory in Columbia County, Georgia, resulting in a verdict of $20,000 - an amount below the joint settlement offer made by our client and a co-defendant.

The case stemmed from a low-speed accident that resulted in minor damage to both vehicles but was complicated by allegations that the insured driver was under the influence of drugs and alcohol. The insured admitted liability. Despite these challenges, our defense strategy delivered an outstanding result.

Plaintiff’s counsel argued that the accident had ruined his client’s life and described the insured driver as a danger to society. The plaintiff was diagnosed with a shoulder sprain and presented just over $9,000 in special damages, yet sought $135,000 in compensatory damages. Before trial, we tendered our policy limits, but the plaintiff declined, seeking additional recovery from her UM carrier and punitive damages - despite being aware of a policy exclusion for punitive damages. She elected to proceed to trial.

We successfully moved to trifurcate the trial and obtained favorable rulings on key evidentiary issues, including exclusion of prejudicial criminal history records and a prohibition on any mention of the insured’s current incarceration for the alleged murder of his wife.

During Phase 1 of the trial - handled primarily by Anelise Codrington - the plaintiff requested $135,000 in compensatory damages. However, after the jury heard compelling evidence that the plaintiff had continued to travel and work as a mail carrier following the incident, and after reviewing her medical records, they awarded just $20,000 - the exact amount proposed by the defense. The jury included a nurse.

Before the Phase 1 verdict, we again offered to settle for policy limits, which the plaintiff rejected. Phases 2 and 3 of the trial, which addressed punitive damages, were led by Douglas Burrell. Although the jury found that punitive damages were warranted in Phase 2, they awarded only $2,334.85 in Phase 3 - far below the $353,000 requested by the plaintiff.

Thorough case development, targeted motion practice, and compelling trial advocacy led to a highly favorable outcome well below policy limits. This was a significant win for the defense and a great result for our client.

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