PHOENIX (Legal Newsline) – A cab company will be on the hook for a more than $800,000 payout after one of its drivers stuck two pedestrians jaywalking, killing one and injuring the other.
The Arizona Court of Appeals reached that decision August 9 in a lawsuit against Discount Cab, which fought the findings of varying liability for the accident on the part of its driver.
The driver had glanced at his phone and dispatch monitor to find his next fare’s contact information before he struck Gary Thomas Benedict II and Stephanie Hoff. Benedict II died as a result.
The ensuing lawsuits were consolidated but the trial produced slightly different results. As for Hoff’s claim, the jury awarded her $2 million but found her 60% at fault, leaving an $800,000 check for Discount Cab to pick up.
Benedict’s estate’s claim resulted in $182,000 for his two daughters but found him 70% at fault – a tab of $54,600 for Discount Cab.
Each verdict came from a different combination of jurors, and Discount Cab argued the verdicts were inconsistent. The judge rejected that post-trial argument, and the company’s appeal followed.
The Court of Appeals found that the mother of Benedict’s daughter had authority to sue on her daughters’ behalf. It also turned down the company’s argument that it could only be liable for the driver’s actions if it could be proven that he was an employee instead of a contractor.
The jury was told it could find the driver was an agent of Discount Cab if they thought he had actual or apparent authority to act on its behalf.
“Here, the superior court’s instruction on actual authority was supported by the evidence,” Judge Steve Williams wrote.
“Although Discount Cab denied the existence of an agency relationship, Tejada drove a vehicle conspicuously displaying Discount Cab’s logo and phone number and used communication equipment Discount Cab installed in the vehicle to communicate with and to receive fares from Discount Cab.”
As for whether the verdicts were inconsistent because different jurors reached different findings on the driver’s liability, the court found previous cases supported affirming the verdicts.
“Hoff and Benedict were not passengers traveling together in a car, but instead were pedestrians who each voluntarily headed across the dark street in the middle of the block,” the decision says.
“The jury also heard a witness testify Benedict grabbed Hoff’s hand and seemed to tug her as they crossed the street. Accordingly, while the jury apportioned different percentages of fault to the two, the verdicts are not irreconcilable or inconsistent.”