$3.3 Million Verdict Affirmed on Manus v. American Airlines
In January 2003, the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit, affirmed a $3.3 million judgment in favor of Stephanie, Lauren and Emily Manus of Benton, Ark., in their lawsuit resulting from the crash of American Airlines Flight 1420 in Little Rock, Ark., on June 1, 1999. This is the only passenger case related to the crash of American Airlines Flight 1420 that was successfully tried to verdict and affirmed on appeal. Jim Jackson, alongside Mike Slack of Slack and Davis, represented the Manus Family in a five-day jury trial. The trial took place in April of 2001 in the U.S. District Court in Little Rock.
"The Manus Family and all victims of American Airlines Flight 1420 faced a horrific nighmare that awful night and suffered even further during this litigation, " Jackson said.
In its January 9 opinion, the court affirmed the damages awarded to the Manus family, noting that, “American did not contest its liability for compensatory damages, leaving only the amount to be determined by the jury.”
The Court of Appeals also commented, “It was for the jury to determine the amount that it felt would adequately compensate Stephanie and her daughters for the terror they experienced during and immediately after the crash itself, as well as for the post-crash trauma they have suffered and will continue to suffer. Although the amounts awarded may well represent the outer limit of that supported by the evidence, we cannot say that the experienced district court abused its discretion by ruling that the verdicts were not excessive as a matter of law.”
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