jason
06-29-2007, 02:48 PM
Jury nixes illegal alien's suit over fall in grocery store
By TERRY VAU DELL/MediaNews Group
Article Launched: 06/29/2007 12:00:00 AM PDT
A Butte County jury has found a Gridley supermarket not liable to pay civil damages to an illegal alien who slipped and fell on a grape inside the store.
The plaintiff, who suffered a fractured kneecap in the incident, had sought over $400,000 through her lawyer for past and future medical expenses, and pain and suffering.
The jury was not specifically told the shopper was an illegal alien, only that she "couldn't legally work in this country."
Superior Court Judge Barbara Roberts read a stipulation to that effect to the jury after the woman's San Francisco attorney, Rafael Crespo Jr., had asked her on the witness stand whether the reason that she couldn't pay her medical bills was because she couldn't work.
Crespo said Thursday he only agreed to the clarifying statement to the jury to avoid the whole issue about her illegal status coming out.
"I assumed the stipulation would have a negative impact" on the jury, added the plaintiff's attorney.
Reached for comment Thursday, James Pincin, the attorney for North State Groceries, said the woman's alien status was deliberately never mentioned or an issue in front of the jury.
"The jury found our client was not negligent in this incident," he said.
medical testimony indicating the woman will likely need an entire knee replacement, her attorney asked the jury to order the store to pay her damages of as much as $450,000, an amount the store's lawyer called "ridiculous."
The jury, which heard the three-day civil trial at the Chico courthouse, was out only about an hour on Wednesday before finding the Gridley supermarket not liable for any damages.
Link (http://www.orovillemr.com/news/ci_6256948)
$450,000 ??? GIVE ME A FREAKIN BREAK
:clap: :clap: :clap:
thats 1 for us, 0 for moochers who come over here and try to tear us down
By TERRY VAU DELL/MediaNews Group
Article Launched: 06/29/2007 12:00:00 AM PDT
A Butte County jury has found a Gridley supermarket not liable to pay civil damages to an illegal alien who slipped and fell on a grape inside the store.
The plaintiff, who suffered a fractured kneecap in the incident, had sought over $400,000 through her lawyer for past and future medical expenses, and pain and suffering.
The jury was not specifically told the shopper was an illegal alien, only that she "couldn't legally work in this country."
Superior Court Judge Barbara Roberts read a stipulation to that effect to the jury after the woman's San Francisco attorney, Rafael Crespo Jr., had asked her on the witness stand whether the reason that she couldn't pay her medical bills was because she couldn't work.
Crespo said Thursday he only agreed to the clarifying statement to the jury to avoid the whole issue about her illegal status coming out.
"I assumed the stipulation would have a negative impact" on the jury, added the plaintiff's attorney.
Reached for comment Thursday, James Pincin, the attorney for North State Groceries, said the woman's alien status was deliberately never mentioned or an issue in front of the jury.
"The jury found our client was not negligent in this incident," he said.
medical testimony indicating the woman will likely need an entire knee replacement, her attorney asked the jury to order the store to pay her damages of as much as $450,000, an amount the store's lawyer called "ridiculous."
The jury, which heard the three-day civil trial at the Chico courthouse, was out only about an hour on Wednesday before finding the Gridley supermarket not liable for any damages.
Link (http://www.orovillemr.com/news/ci_6256948)
$450,000 ??? GIVE ME A FREAKIN BREAK
:clap: :clap: :clap:
thats 1 for us, 0 for moochers who come over here and try to tear us down