Caplan Cobb Partner Michael Eber Argues for New Trial in $47 Million Trucking Verdict Before Georgia Court of Appeals

Caplan Cobb partner Michael Eber presented oral argument earlier this week to the Georgia Court of Appeals in a high-stakes trucking case arising from a 2017 fatal accident on I-285 South in Atlanta. A jury awarded $47 million against Schneider National Carriers—a verdict Schneider now seeks to overturn on appeal.

Eber argued three principal grounds for why the trial court committed reversible error:  the court wrongfully barred the defense from cross-examining the plaintiff's key witness about his prior status as a named defendant accused of causing the fatal accident; the jury was improperly charged on the sudden emergency doctrine and on the appropriate damages in wrongful death cases; and plaintiff's counsel engaged in improper “anchoring" during closing argument.

At the heart of the appeal is the testimony of the driver whose vehicle struck and killed the decedent. The driver—who had been a defendant in the case before settling—claimed a Schneider tractor-trailer forced his truck into the decedent’s lane. Eber argued that the jury never learned the driver first identified Schneider as the culprit only after being named a defendant himself, giving him a powerful incentive to deflect blame. "Had the jury learned that," Eber argued, "there is a real chance that the outcome of the entire trial would have been different."

Eber briefed this appeal with Caplan Cobb partner Michael Caplan and associates Katie Gamsey and Emily Snow.

The court's decision may have significant implications for how Georgia courts handle witness credibility, damages arguments, and jury instructions in catastrophic injury cases.

Coverage of the argument: Law.com / Daily Report and Law360.