Dean was a 34 years-old graduate school student at USC who was hit on his motorcycle in an intersection by a car traveling at 40 MPH. After the presentation of the evidence, the jury determined that fault was to be split equally between Dean and the defendant, Mr. Sandoval, and that Dean was entitled to $650,000 for a gruesome leg injury that left him permanently disabled. Determined to make Dean whole, Brian filed post-trial motions for partial judgment notwithstanding the verdict and for new trial due to inadequate damages and insufficiency of the evidence.
The court not only granted both of Brian’s motions, but reversed the jury’s finding of 50/50 comparative fault, placing 100% fault on the defendant as a matter of law. The only issue to be retried was the amount of damages Dean was owed. The case is currently up on appeal.