Court Grants TASER's Motion to Reduce Turner Jury Verdict From $10M to $4.3M
Company Prepares for Appeal Seeking Full Reversal of Verdict
(firmenpresse) - SCOTTSDALE, AZ -- (Marketwire) -- 03/28/12 -- (NASDAQ: TASR), a global provider of safety technologies that protect life, announced that the Federal District Court for the Western District of North Carolina in the case entitled Tammy Lou Fontenot, as Administratrix of the Estate of Darryl Turner, deceased v. TASER International, Inc. granted TASER's motion for remittitur and ordered the reduction of the jury award from $10 million to $4,372,399 after offsets. The Court gave Plaintiff 30 days to accept the remittitur at the reduced amount, and if accepted, the Court will order judgment in the amount of $4,372,399. If judgment is entered the Company intends to appeal based on exclusion of key evidence and other errors. In the event Plaintiff does not accept the remittitur, the Court will order a new trial.
This case involved the death of Mr. Darryl Turner who was a 17-year-old male involved in an altercation with law enforcement at a grocery store on March 20, 2008. Key facts:
A May 2011 study released by the United States Department of Justice found, "current research does not support a substantially increased risk of cardiac arrhythmia in field situations, even if the CED [TASER® electronic control device (ECD)] darts strike the front of the chest." These findings are consistent with prior literature, including the 2009 White Paper by the American Medical Association.
A Harvard cardiovascular pathologist testified that Mr. Turner had hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM), the leading cause of sudden cardiac arrest in young adults.
A May 2011 study in the American Journal of Cardiology found that 25% of all deaths of persons under age 21 are due to cardiac arrest -- and 39% of those cardiac arrests are due to cardiac problems (such as the HCM condition present in Mr. Turner).
The Court excluded the jury from hearing evidence that Mr. Turner had three baggies of marijuana in his sock during the incident which was critical evidence since marijuana is known to exacerbate the risk of cardiac arrhythmias in people with HCM.
Plaintiff's case rested primarily on the testimony of prolific plaintiff expert Dr. Douglas Zipes, who was paid more than $100,000 in this case alone (more than $1,200 per hour) to offer his personal opinions contradicting the published scientific literature.
The court also excluded jury instructions relating to misuse of the TASER ECD by law enforcement and Mr. Turner's contributory negligence, both of which are a complete bar to Plaintiff's recovery of damages under North Carolina law.
The reduced verdict amount will be covered by TASER International's insurance, even if the judgment stands up through the appeals process. TASER will reverse the litigation reserve of $3.3 million relating to the Turner case in Q1 2012. The $3.3 million reserve represented the portion of the original $10 million jury award not covered by insurance.
"While we feel compassion for Mr. Turner's family, we are gratified that the Court reduced what was clearly an excessive verdict," said Doug Klint, President and General Counsel of TASER International. "This case is very similar to the Heston (CA) litigation which was the only other adverse jury verdict against TASER. In that matter, TASER prevailed on appeal to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals on the majority of legal matters. The amount awarded to plaintiffs was reduced from more than $7 million jury verdict to about $1.7 million after post trial motions. It was then reduced to approximately $200,000 by the Ninth Circuit Appellate Court. Similarly, the trial court in this case has significantly reduced the award after post trial motions. The case is now set to begin the appeals process, where we believe we have significant case law to support significant further reduction or complete reversal of this verdict. We intend to continue our vigorous defense of this case through all available means. However, while the Company believes it has a strong case for appeal in the Turner matter, there are no assurances that the Company will again be successful on appeal."
In other legal matters:
Over the last six months, TASER has been successful in winning voluntary dismissals or judgments for dismissal in 18 product liability lawsuits. The company believes its strategy to vigorously pursue the truth in defense of its technology and products is yielding success: the rate of new litigation has fallen to historically low rates.
One of the recent dismissals was in the Virginia case of Sharlene English (Jones) v. TASER International, et al. where plaintiff's attorneys, including John Burton and Peter Williamson, who are Plaintiff's attorneys in the Turner case, failed to meet both a court ordered expert disclosure deadline and also a discovery deadline for responding to TASER's request for admissions. TASER filed a motion for summary judgment based on plaintiff's failure to designate experts and plaintiff's admission that the TASER ECD was not a cause of decedent's death. While TASER's motion was pending, plaintiff voluntarily agreed to dismiss TASER with prejudice in the English matter.
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TASER International, Inc. (NASDAQ: TASR) is a global provider of safety technologies that protect life, prevent conflict, and resolve disputes. More than 16,700 public safety agencies in 107 countries rely on TASER® electronic control devices (ECDs) and AXON on-officer camera systems to help protect and serve. Today, the use of TASER ECDs has saved more than lives from potential death or serious injury while TASER innovations benefit individuals and families too, providing personal protection and accountability while maintaining regard for life. Since 1994, more than 244,000 individuals have relied on TASER technology as a means for effective personal safety. Learn more about TASER International and its solutions at and or by calling (800) 978-2737. Be a part of the TASER community by joining us on , , and .
TASER® is a registered of TASER International, Inc., registered in the U.S. All rights reserved. TASER logo, X2™, Trilogy™ Logs, Smart™ cartridges, EVIDENCE.com™ are trademarks of TASER International, Inc.
Please visit our Investor Relations Safe Harbor Statement at .
For investor relations information please contact Katie Pyra by phone at 480-515-6330 or via email at , or Dan Behrendt, Chief Financial Officer of TASER International, Inc., 480-905-2002.
Steve Tuttle
Vice President of Communications
TASER International, Inc.
Media ONLY Hotline: (480) 444-4000
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Datum: 28.03.2012 - 15:42 Uhr
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News-ID 129511
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