A recent jury awarded $10 million to a car crash victim, but due to comparative fault, he will only receive half. General Motors is seeking to overturn a court decision that could expose it to significant liabilities over defective ignition switches. Additionally, a court ruling upheld a $2 million verdict against the L.A. County Sheriff's Department for failing to protect a detainee who was severely beaten.

1. NEWS You Can Use
From the Walker Advertising Research Desk 8/24/16
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Courtesy news clipping service provided to clients of Walker Advertising. All material is copyrighted by respective
publications. For copies of complete articles, contact your sales rep or Walker Advertising at 1-800-4WALKER.
1. Accident victim will get $5 million, LA jury rules
Adapted from L.A. Daily Journal, 8/17/16
A L.A. County Superior Court jury awarded a 38-year-old man $10 million for severe injuries sustained in a
car crash. However, under the Comparative Fault Rule, driver Antonio Pureco will only receive half the
award because the jury determined he was equally at fault for the collision. Pureco was attempting to make
an unsafe U-turn with his right blinker on when he was broadsided by 18-year-old David De La Torre Carrillo.
Carrillo was travelling at 53-58 miles per hour (mph), exceeding the 35 mph speed limit. After the collision,
Pureco spent two weeks in a comma. He was left with significant cognitive impairments including dementia.
Doctors testified the crash likely shortened his life by seven years and will probably cause him to develop
Alzheimer’s disease. “Because of the comparative faults, he is not likely to have enough money for himself.
It’s going to transform his family to caregivers,” said plaintiff attorney John Carpenter of Carpenter,
Zuckerman & Rowley LLP.
2. GM Seeks New Court Hearing
Adapted from Wall Street Journal, 8/12/16
General Motors Co. (GM) is trying to overturn a previous court decision that could expose it to hundreds
of potential lawsuits and up to $10 billion in liabilities over its defective ignition switches. The 2nd
U.S. Court
of Appeals in Manhattan had denied GM’s attempt to use its 2009 bankruptcy to shield itself from pre-
bankruptcy claims. The appeals court found that GM had evidence the ignition switches were faulty during
the bankruptcy proceedings, but concealed this knowledge until early 2014, violating consumers’
constitutional right to due process.
3. Budget concerns spur changes to driver’s license bill
Adapted from L.A. Daily Journal, 8/15/16
A bill originally intended to restrict California’s ability to revoke driver’s licenses due to unpaid traffic fines
has been amended over concerns it would adversely impact the state’s budget. As originally written, the bill
could have lowered California’s annual revenue by $150 million to $400 million. The revised bill would
extend a traffic ticket amnesty program instituted last year. Between Oct. 1, 2015, and April 30, 2016,
104,105 people regained their driving privileges under the program, according to a report by the Judicial
Council.
4. Court: Insurers may still be liable if they settle
Adapted from L.A. Daily Journal, 8/17/16
Insurance companies that offer to settle quickly for the full policy limits may still be liable for bad faith
claims. That’s the takeaway from a unanimous decision by a three-judge 2nd
District panel on August 15. The
panel found that the reasonableness of insurer Mercury Casualty Co.’s claims-handling conduct was factually
questionable. The case involved a 2011 hit-and-run by a drunk driver who badly injured two pedestrians.
After the accident, Mercury quickly offered to pay each victim $15,000—the policy limit—in exchange for a
release of claims. The insurer then requested two extensions after counsel for the victim requested a small

2. NEWS You Can Use
From the Walker Advertising Research Desk 8/24/16
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
Courtesy news clipping service provided to clients of Walker Advertising. All material is copyrighted by respective
publications. For copies of complete articles, contact your sales rep or Walker Advertising at 1-800-4WALKER.
change in the wording, specifying the settlement would not affect the court-ordered restitution. During this
time, the drunk driver was sentenced to three years in jail and ordered to pay restitution totaling $165,000,
money the justices noted would be considered separate from potential civil damages for pain and suffering.
The injured pedestrians finally sued the driver, and pursued Mercery for the resulting $3 million settlement.
The appeals court affirmed the lower court ruling in favor of the victims, noting Mercury “failed to protect
their client from an excess verdict by refusing to settle once [the injured parties] accepted the offer [of
policy limits] but proposed a slightly modified version of the release.”
5. Embattled hip replacement maker hit with new lawsuit
Adapted from L.A. Daily Journal, 8/15/16
A Missouri woman has filed a lawsuit in L.A. Superior Court, allegeding Wright Medical Technology Inc.’s
hip implant was defective as designed. Sixty-four-year-old Virginia Lester had her right hip replaced in May
2010. The lawsuit alleges she suffered from decreased mobility and persistent pain, and that she discovered
the metal-on-metal implant was shedding metal debris into her bloodstream. She had the implant removed
around three months later. The suit further accuses Wright Medical and Dr. Harlan Amstutz, who designed
the device, of failing to properly test the implant for safety, and then failing to train surgeons how to implant
them correctly. The lawsuit claims other problems associated with the implant include bone cysts, pseudo
tumors, component loosening, and high levels of metal ions. Wright Medical is currently facing more than
1,200 lawsuits over the hip implant.
6. Court eases path for detainees to sue for abuse; Verdict against deputies upheld in jail beating
Adapted from L.A. Daily Journal, 8/16/16, and from L.A. Times, 8/16/16.
On August 15, the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a $2 million verdict against the L.A. County
Sheriff’s Department over a jailhouse beating. In 2009, two detainees were placed in a padded “sobering
cell.” Jonathan Castro, who had been arrested for public drunkenness, was attacked by the other detainee,
who beat Castro unconscious. Deputies allegedly failed to check the unmonitored cell despite Castro’s pleas
for help. Castro was hospitalized for almost a month and spent four-years in a long-term care facility. The
beating left him with cognitive problems, including severe memory loss. In court, Castro was represented by
John Burton of Pasadena.
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