CASES OF INTEREST ETC.

Have seen some interesting cases reported in the news last couple of weeks...

In late September, a Belleville, Illinois jury ordered that a father pay his daughter $6 million dollars for molesting her 16 years ago, when she was 6 years of age. The defendant filed for bankruptcy just a week before the verdict, but counsel for his daughter indicated that the bankruptcy filing won't protect him from paying at least a part of the verdict. Of particular note, the jury apparently saw a videotape of 6 year old plaintiff Lindsey Smith describing the abuse to a nurse at a sexual assault unit at a local hospital. The defendant had been arrested in 1988 when his then wife caught him in a locked bedroom with Lindsey. He pled guilty to a reduced charge in 1989 and was sentenced to 60 days of jail on nights and weekends. At the trial the defendant did admit making his daughter perform certain sexual acts on one occasion. Lindsey testified to a series of incidents.

In addition, in early October, a West Virginia jury found that a gun maker was not liable for the shooting of two police officers by a felon. Two New Jersey officers had sued Sturm, Ruger & Co. alleging the maker should pay damages because one of their guns had been used to shoot them. The article implied that the injury to the officers wasn't foreseeable. The pawn shop that had sold the guns did pay the officers 1 million. A clerk at the shop had sold the guns(and 11 others)to a Tammi Songer who purchased the guns for James Gray, a felon who could not legally buy the guns. Apparently Gray had picked out the guns and carried them out the door - Songer simply paid for them. Gray later sold one of the guns to a three time felon, Shuntez Everett, who shot the officers and was killed in the same gun fight. Both Songer and Gray spent time in prison for their role in the purchase.