Our Case Results

A Wyoming federal court jury awarded $28.5 million to a Casper, Wyo. woman who was poisoned by carbon monoxide from an outdated and unmaintained furnace in her apartment, The Spence Law Firm said today.

The legal team for Amber Lompe from The Spence Law Firm, of Jackson, Wyo., alleged that the Sunridge Apartments owner and manager ignored warnings that the complex’s 30-year-old fleet of 96 furnaces was dangerous and needed to be maintained or replaced. Wyoming law requires landlords to provide tenants safe housing, including safe and working heat.

Ms. Lompe was poisoned by her furnace in 2011, causing a permanent brain injury that affects her memory, concentration, processing speed, attention, and multi-tasking. She has also suffered from chronic headaches and sleep problems related to the brain injury. Unable to work and attend college as before the injury, she will require numerous medications and other treatment for the rest of her life, doctors testified.

On Thursday, U.S. District Court Judge Alan Johnson entered the judgment of $2.7 million in compensatory damages and $25.5 million in punitive damages against defendants Sunridge Partners, LLC and Salt Lake City-based Apartment Management Consultants, LLC, which manages apartment complexes in 13 states.

Lompe was represented by Tyson E. Logan, and G. Bryan Ulmer, of The Spence Law Firm, LLC, of Jackson, Wyo.

Bryan Ulmer said, “These companies knowingly risked their tenants’ lives, refusing to provide safe, working furnaces in the apartments. The jury worked hard, for three weeks, and they discovered the truth. This verdict will help Amber to get the medical treatment and support she will need for the rest of her life.”

The three-week trial included evidence that Sunridge apartment tenants were not warned after maintenance employee suffered carbon monoxide poisoning and was sent to a hospital emergency room in October 2009. The trial also included allegations that incident photos and witness statements were altered, fabricated, or destroyed as part of a cover-up during the litigation. The furnace from Ms. Lompe’s unit also disappeared, her lawyers said.

Carbon monoxide causes 50,000 emergency room visits a year and more than 1,000 accidental deaths each year in the United States. Trial testimony showed that approximately half of the Sunridge apartments did not have functional carbon monoxide detectors when Ms. Lompe was poisoned.

Tyson E. Logan said, “The jury’s verdict here sends a message that in Wyoming, we expect more from landlords. We won’t allow businesses to put profits over people, where people’s lives are at stake. I hope this verdict will make all of our communities safer in the future.”

The case is “Amber Nicole Lompe v. Sunridge Partners, LLC, et al,” Case 2:12-cv-00088-ABJ in the U.S. District Court for the District of Wyoming in Cheyenne.

JACKSON, Wyoming, March 8, 2013 /PRNewswire/ — A Black Hawk County, Iowa jury found the city of Waterloo liable in a 2008 police car collision that left 22-year-old Jarvis Boggs paralyzed and needing lifelong medical care, The Spence Law Firm LLC said today. Jurors returned a $13.6 million verdict for Mr. Boggs on Wednesday after 11 days of testimony and a day of deliberation.

Spence Law Firm partners Mel C. Orchard, III and G. Bryan Ulmer, of Jackson, Wyo., tried the case to verdict. Mr. Boggs also is represented by Thomas P. Frerichs, of Frerichs, Law Office, P.C., of Waterloo, and John J. Rausch of The Rausch Law Firm, PLLC, of Waterloo.

The lawsuit alleged that a Waterloo police officer sped through a red light – without emergency lights or siren on – and collided with Mr. Boggs’ vehicle at around 12:45 a.m. on Dec. 31, 2008. The officer was accused of reaching a speed of 61 miles per hour in a 35-mile-per-hour zone before the collision. City officials denied responsibility for the crash, claiming Mr. Boggs was speeding and had alcohol and marijuana in his system. Mr. Boggs’ legal team relied on forensic analysis of the police car “black box” data.

Mr. Orchard said, “This verdict helps move Jarvis and his dedicated mother closer to getting the health care he needs. The jurors validated Jarvis’ four-year pursuit of justice against local government officials willing to blame him and cast him aside. The penalties for the mistakes Jarvis made do not include a lifetime of paralysis caused by a police officer’s recklessness.”

Mr. Ulmer said, “The trial exposed the truth of a crash that cost Jarvis his physical freedom. The jurors saw that a police officer running a red light without lights and sirens caused this crash. We hope city leaders in Waterloo and elsewhere will take a hard look at the unacceptably large number of police car collisions around the nation that injure and kill innocent citizens.”

The verdict includes $12.1 million for future medical expenses, $554,313 for past medical expenses and $250,000 each for past pain and suffering, future pain and suffering, past loss of full mind and body, and future loss of full mind and body. The award will be reduced to $10.2 million because jurors found Mr. Boggs to be 25 percent at fault.

The case is “Jarvis Lee Boggs v. City of Waterloo, et al.,” No. LACV114658 in the Iowa District Court of Black Hawk County.

A federal judge ordered a Florida nutritional supplement company to pay more than $5.4 million to St. Louis Rams linebacker David Vobora who took a contaminated supplement that led to a four-game National Football League suspension in 2009, the player’s legal team announced today.

On Friday, U.S. District Court Judge Rodney W. Sippel of the Eastern District of Missouri ruled that Anti-Steroid Program, LLC, also known as S.W.A.T.S, intentionally misrepresented the supplement product in violation of state law. The judgment includes lost NFL compensation and marketing opportunities and $2 million for damage to Vobora’s reputation.

Vobora said, “This monumental judgment cleared my family’s name. We stuck together through threats, ridicule, and unfair stigma. Finally vindicated, I’m relieved that I can refocus on football and help the St. Louis Rams get back to the playoffs when the lockout ends. I’m grateful the Rams organization believed in my character through this trying process.”

Vobora followed steps the NFL suggests before taking nutritional supplements. He called an NFL hotline set up for players with questions about supplements and consulted supplement experts. Before taking the S.W.A.T.S supplement “Ultimate Sports Spray,” Vobora studied the company’s website, which had endorsements from more than 50 NFL players and coaches. He later tested positive for the banned substance methyltestosterone, which was independently found in the S.W.A.T.S supplement.

R. Daniel Fleck, of The Spence Law Firm, LLC, of Jackson, Wyo., and Howard L. Jacobs, of the Law Offices of Howard L. Jacobs, of Westlake Village, Calif., represent Vobora. His agent is Marc Lillibridge, of National Sports Agency, of Chesterfield, Mo.

R. Daniel Fleck, of The Spence Law Firm, LLC, said, “David Vobora vowed to clear his name and he has resoundingly done so. This judgment is believed to be the largest of its kind for any athlete who has been suspended from his or her sport because of a contaminated nutritional supplement. This case should be a warning to all supplement companies to improve their manufacturing processes and ensure their products are steroid-free.”

Howard L. Jacobs, of the Law Offices of Howard L. Jacobs, which is affiliated California counsel of The Spence Law Firm, said, “Ten years of litigation with supplement companies has shown us that this deregulated industry is rife with problems. Contaminated and mislabeled products endanger the careers and health of too many professional and elite athletes. Honest athletes like David Vobora pay a high price when supplement companies are not held accountable.”

Taken by the Rams with the last pick of the 2008 draft, Vobora became the first “Mr. Irrelevant,” as the last pick is commonly known, to become an NFL starter in 14 years. He was a Rams starter at strongside linebacker when the league suspended him in September 2009 and played in 14 games in 2010.

The case is “David Vobora v. S.W.A.T.S,” Case No. 4:10-cv-00810 in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri, Eastern Division.

With just a week remaining before trial, Spence partner and National Board Certified Trial Lawyer, Mel C. Orchard, III, settled a case against Swift Transportation for 3.5 million dollars to compensate a 49 year-old mother and grandmother because of a permanent brain injury.

Christine Williams was traveling to work on a wintery morning in February of 2011, when a tractor-trailer owned and operated by Swift Transportation, struck her from behind and forced her into a telephone pole. After colliding with the pole, Christine’s jeep bounced back into the road and was struck again the by the 50,000 lb. vehicle. Christine was taken to the hospital suffering from the effects of a brain injury surrounded by her loving husband and family. Swift denied that its driver was liable and alleged that Christine lost control of her vehicle without any undue action on the part of the Swift driver. Swift based its answer in part on the fact that Idaho law enforcement could only take the word of the Swift Driver because very little physical evidence remained on the roadway and Christine’s injuries impaired her memory.

Through the discovery process the Spence Team, along with long time friend and co-counsel to the firm, Lowell Hawks of Pocatello, Idaho, discovered that the Swift truck driver had made inconsistent statements to several witnesses. The team also hired one of the best trucking accident reconstruction experts in the country, Bob Caldwell, and Mr. Caldwell and his team determined that the Swift tractor trailer struck Christine from the rear and a rate of speed that was probably too fast for the conditions present. Finally, the trucking company did not produce the “black box” information stored on its tractor trailer which the Spence team successfully argued was to be construed against Swift. The Court agreed and the case was satisfactorily settled.

Paul and Christine Williams are clients that this firm is proud to represent, and they have expressed their sincere gratitude to the Spence Team and long time friend and respected Idaho Lawyer, Lowell Hawks, who brought Mel and his trial team to bear. The Spence Law Firm and Mel Orchard are actively prosecuting numerous other trucking accident cases across the country. If you or someone you know need help protecting your rights after a trucking accident, call the Spence Law Firm today.

At the end of a three-week jury trial, a jury in Texas awarded $3 million for the wrongful death of Joel Don Casey. Casey was tased, beaten, and suffocated to death by Texas law enforcement on February 18, 2005. Kent Spence of The Spence Law Firm, LLC and Rafe Foreman and Susan Hutchison, Foreman, Lewis & Hutchison, P.C., represented the mother of the victim. Casey was tasered, and then hogtied by deputies that responded to a 911 call to provide medical attention for the 52-year-old schizophrenic.

The U.S. Constitution protects individuals’ rights to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures. Kent Spence explained why he took the case to trial: “We trust and rely on police and law enforcement to protect and serve our communities. There is no excuse for this brutal killing. When law enforcement abuses the public’s trust and violates the Constitution by assaulting innocent victims, someone must stand up and fight for people’s rights.”

The Spence team, along with co-counsel Foreman, Hutchison, and Lewis, proved during the trial that the four deputies used unreasonable and excessive force – violating Casey’s constitutional right to be free of unreasonable seizure and to his liberty – and that these civil rights violations caused his death. When deputies arrived, Casey was sitting on the couch smoking a cigar. Deputies used a Taser on him, causing Casey to fall facedown on the couch. Another officer then stunned Casey with a 50,000-volt stun gun numerous times down his side. Casey pleaded, “I’m your friend, don’t kill me, I’m your friend.” Deputies threw Casey down on the street in front of the police car and hogtied him before another deputy dropped a knee on Casey’s neck and popped his head back. As officers threw Casey into the car, he stopped breathing.

The jury awarded $2.4 million to Nagel and $600,000 to her son’s estate. Harris County has appealed the verdict.

A Casper jury awarded a $2,000,000 verdict for the death of a 68 year old Wyoming man who was killed at a Union Pacific Railroad crossing near Cheyenne, Wyoming on December 8, 2003. Bryan Ulmer and Tyson Logan of The Spence Law Firm, LLC, represented the family, along with Mark Macy of Cheyenne, Wyoming, in the Wyoming railroad crossing wrongful death case. The verdict was read in open court in the federal courthouse in Casper Monday morning. The unguarded crossing was located off a service road near Interstate 80, between Cheyenne and Laramie. The deceased, Donald Pribbernow of Riverton, worked for McGarvin Moberly Construction hauling sand from a gravel quarry near the crossing. He and a co-worker had just gotten off work due to bad road conditions and were traveling to Cheyenne when the Union Pacific train blindsided their vehicle on the unguarded grade crossing. Both men died instantly. In violation of their own GCOR rules and regulations, Union Pacific crossing had no warning lights, gates or bells, and the driver’s view of the oncoming train was obstructed by Union Pacific buildings. The railroad had placed a stop sign where motorists did not have a clear view of the tracks.

Lead trial attorney for the Plaintiff, Bryan Ulmer, applauded the Casper jurors. “This jury understood that the value of Mr. Pribbernow’s life was more about the experiences and values he gave to his family, not just his income potential. I’m proud of this family for having the courage to take Union Pacific to court to make this crossing and others less hazardous for all of us.” Ulmer was pleased with the verdict. “We trusted the jury to do what was right, fair and just, and on behalf of the Pribbernow family, I thank them for their service.”

We took the Union Pacific Railroad to trial in Wyoming Federal Court on behalf of the family of Don Pribbernow, who was killed in a train-truck collision at a dangerous grade crossing in southeast Wyoming. Pribbernow was killed leaving work in his pick-up truck with a friend and co-worker, when they attempted to drive across the unguarded and dangerous crossing. Motorists’ views at the crossing were severely obstructed by a stopped train to the left and Union Pacific buildings to the right, and the only stop sign at the crossing was over sixty feet (60’) from the tracks. We argued at trial that the Union Pacific had a duty to improve the crossing – either by adding lights and gates, or some other active protection for the dangerous crossing – or close it. The jury awarded Don’s family $2,000,000 for their losses of care, comfort, and society in noneconomic wrongful death damages, the largest noneconomic damages wrongful death verdict ever in Wyoming. Since the trial, Union Pacific closed the dangerous crossing.

A Wyoming jury found Chevron U.S.A. Inc., negligent and responsible for a man’s death and awarded a verdict of $1.2 million in wrongful death damages. Truck driver Tom Coffey fell to his death on Chevron’s property near Kemmerer, Wyoming, in 2014. Spence trial lawyers Tyson E. Logan and Noah W. Drew represented Sharon Coffey, Mr. Coffey’s widow, in the wrongful death case against Chevron, claiming that Chevron was responsible for Coffey’s death because it failed to provide a reasonably safe place for Mr. Coffey to work, and because its safety equipment was unreasonably dangerous.

During the 2-week jury trial in federal court in Casper, Wyoming, Tyson Logan argued that Mr. Coffey was killed on Chevron’s property using Chevron’s faulty equipment–he fell to his death approximately 10′ while loading molten sulfur into the top of a tanker trailer. Chevron required that workers like Coffey use a “safety cage” guardrail system while they worked at height at the facility, but, the third, bottom guardrail from the safety cage had been removed before the day Mr. Coffey fell to his death. Chevron knew the cage was missing a guardrail, but left it in use and required workers continue to use it.

In his closing argument, Logan argued to the jury that Chevron “cut corners and disregarded safety equipment, hacking off rails that would have saved a man’s life. And they left Sharon Coffey alone out there in that house . . . Does it matter; or not? Do we care?”

The jury’s verdict found Chevron negligent for Mr. Coffey’s death, and assessed 63% of the fault on Chevron, and 37% of the fault on Coffey’s employer, and 0% on Mr. Coffey himself. Chevron’s lawyers argued to the jury that the safety cage was safe, and that even if Chevron was negligent, it was only 20% responsible for the fatality. Under Wyoming comparative fault law Chevron is required to pay its 63% of the total damages verdict.

The case was filed in the United States District Court for Wyoming, civil case No. 16 cv 001-S. Judge Skavdahl presided over the trial.

The Spence Law Firm has settled a case against employees of Three Sons, LLC, a construction company that was performing a highway construction project when employee Ashley Woodcock was killed by dangerous industrial heavy equipment. We represented Ashley’s mother. Ashley, the 21 year-old victim, was working on a highway construction project on Interstate-80 in Wyoming when she was backed over and killed by the company’s grader. The dangerous equipment did not have an operable backup beeper alarm system.

Emily R. Rankin and The Spence Law Firm sued Three Sons, LLC’s employees and managers. The case was especially difficult because of the Wyoming workers’ compensation bar to recovery against Three Son’s, Ashley’s employer. Emily Rankin was able to uncover evidence that proved Three Sons employees had operated the grader for months without a backup alarm, despite numerous requests to the company’s managers that it be repaired. The heavy equipment operator also had many other close calls with equipment and operators on the ground, yet the company’s managers allowed him to continue to operate the unsafe grader. Rankin commented about the settlement: ”Ashley’s mother was so courageous throughout this case. We are satisfied that the dangerous operation that killed Ashley was exposed, and that those responsible were held accountable for her tragic death. We hope that our hard work will protect other Wyoming workers in the future.”

The Spence Law Firm has extensive experience litigating industrial accidents and wrongful death cases involving heavy equipment and machinery like the hazardous grader that was involved in this case, both in Wyoming and across the country.

The Spence Law Firm, LLC obtained a $1,000,000 settlement after three days of what was to be a week long federal trial in Jackson, Wyoming. Mel C. Orchard, III and Emily R. Rankin represented a man that was properly stopped at an intersection between Victor and Driggs, Idaho. As he was waiting to turn left, he was struck from behind by a Grand Targhee Resort shuttle bus at highway speeds.

The man suffered a traumatic brain injury, and required a two-level cervical fusion and two shoulder surgeries. The firm put forth evidence by the client’s treating physicians, friends and loved ones to prove his severe injuries. Unfortunately Idaho law imposes a limit on non-economic damages (pain, suffering, enjoyment of life etc.) of just over $300,000 that capped the amount that the client could recover from Grand Targhee.

Historical data and studies have shown that such limits (caps) on damages in personal injury lawsuits are ineffective and unrelated to the skyrocketing cost of health care and insurance premiums.

On August 19th, 2013, Jerry Justice was working as a vacuum truck driver and sent to remote location outside of Meeteetse, Wyoming, to assist Saga Petroleum in evacuating natural gas liquids from a pipeline. On the day he was injured, Saga Petroleum was running a “pig” through the natural gas pipeline when the pig became lodged at a valve junction. Due to inadequate planning, improper equipment and unsafe actions at the worksite, the job site filled with volatile gas vapors. The natural gas vapors ignited engulfing the worksite in a fireball, which severely burned Jerry Justice. Jerry suffered 2nd and 3rd degree burns to his hands, arms, head and neck. He also suffered severe emotional trauma and post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) as a result of the explosion. The Spence Law Firm represented Jerry and filed suit against defendants Saga Petroleum and Bower Petroleum in the Fifth Judicial District Court for the District of Park County in September of 2014. After nearly two years of litigation, Mr. Justice’s case was successfully resolved prior to trial for a confidential amount.

Due to the dangerous nature of oil and gas operations, oil and gas operators and service companies have a responsibility to promote safety in the workplace. The failure to promote safety and enforce safety can lead to devastating results. The Spence Law Firm has a team of investigators and trial lawyers with decades of experience representing injured workers in serious burn injury cases. To learn more, contact us today.

Case brought against Bell Helmet by a bicyclist who received a severe head injury while wearing a helmet.

Settlement
Confidential settlement.

Bryson Bell received serious injuries to his ankle resulting in a fusion after a Wagstaff Crane Company operator lifted an improperly rigged bunk of plywood over Mr. Bell’s head. The rigging allowed the plywood sheets to slide out and pummeled Mr. Bell’s back and ankle. It was recommended that he have a below the knee amputation, however at the time of settlement, he was still using the leg and walked into the settlement conference without aid.

A two million ($2,000,000.00) settlement was reached against Wagstaff Crane Company and AIG Insurance Company.

After six days of trial in Denver County District Court, Colorado, for a young woman who suffered a brain injury as a result of carbon monoxide poisoning, Spence partners Bryan Ulmer and Tyson Logan successfully settled the brain injury personal injury claims against the defendant property owner and his company. The confidential settlement came while the jury was deliberating over a damages verdict. In his closing argument, Ulmer had argued that proper compensation for the plaintiff's injuries was $10 million.

The case stemmed from a CO leak at a vacation rental house that sent 23 people to the emergency room in Vail, Colorado. On the night of January 1, 2014, a 16-year-old girl was poisoned by carbon monoxide gas as she slept in a short-term rental home. The rental home had a faulty gas boiler and ventilation system that caused dangerous levels of carbon monoxide to be released into the home. Colorado law mandates that residential rental properties be equipped with carbon monoxide detectors. The Spence Firm brought negligence claims against the property owner.

Two weeks before trial, after more than a year of litigation, the defendants admitted liability. The property owner and his company admitted that they were negligent because they failed to provide CO detectors to protect the renters at the home. As a result, no alarms sounded when the house filled with CO on the night of the incident.

After admitting liability, a 6-day jury trial followed focused entirely on the extent of Ms. Leise’s injuries. The team of Spence lawyers retained leading expert doctors in the fields of carbon monoxide poisoning, neurology, neuropsychology, neuro-imaging, and vocational rehabilitation and economics to evaluate the case and testify about the resulting damages. These doctors and experts testified that because of the carbon monoxide exposure, Ms. Leise suffered a permanent brain injury. As a result, she suffered cognitive deficits, depression, and PTSD, all common sequelae from CO poisoning. The defense lawyers argued that the plaintiff was malingering and that she suffered no permanent damages from the poisoning. Carbon monoxide is a colorless, odorless, tasteless, and lethal gas that causes cellular death and injury when it enters the bloodstream.

In his final rebuttal argument to the jury before deliberations, Logan argued that “the defendants just don’t get it… they don’t get that they took Ms. Leise’s future away… and this is an opportunity for you, as jurors, to help her get her future back.”

During jury deliberations the case was successfully settled for a confidential amount. The case was filed in Denver County District Court, with the Honorable Eric Elliff presiding. The case number is 2016-CV-032197.

JACKSON, Wyo., July 9, 2014 /PRNewswire/ — A Wyoming state court jury announced its verdict of more than $5.1 million for an oilfield worker who was seriously injured in a mismanaged oil well maintenance operation, The Spence Law Firm said today.

The legal team for Blake Horr, of Douglas, Wyo., alleged that he sustained serious and permanent injuries on April 11, 2011 in a “work-over operation” at a Merit Energy-controlled, owned and operated well site at the Lost Soldier Unit in Bairoil, Wyo.

Evidence was presented in the District Court of Sweetwater County that Merit’s “company man” ordered Mr. Horr’s crew to perform maintenance operations without ensuring the well was safe from trapped pressure between the blowout preventer stack and rubber wellhead components.

Mr. Horr suffered shattered bones and severed nerves when a rubber component shot out of the CO2-injected well into his left hand and arm.

Defendant Merit Energy asserted that the entire incident was the responsibility of Mr. Horr’s employer, Basic Energy Services, Inc. After eight days of evidence and argument, and a day of deliberations, the jury found that Merit Energy was negligent and assessed 45 percent of the liability to Merit Energy, 45 percent to Basic Energy Services, Inc., and 10 percent to Mr. Horr. Merit will be responsible to pay over $2.3 million to satisfy its percentage of the damage award.

The jury awarded Mr. Horr past and future medical expenses, economic losses and lost earning capacity, and damages for pain, suffering, disability and loss of enjoyment of life. With limited use of his left arm and hand, Mr. Horr can no longer take on work requiring bilateral dexterity.

G. Bryan Ulmer of The Spence Law Firm, LLC, of Jackson, Wyo., represent Mr. Horr.

Bryan Ulmer said, “Our region’s oil and gas fields are extraordinarily productive but also dangerous. We hope this jury’s verdict sends a message that more must be done to improve and prioritize worker safety in our oilfields and prevent the tragedies Blake and other workers have endured.”

The Spence Law Firm said, “Blake is an exceptional young man who will be disabled for the rest of his working life. This verdict will help him to get the medical treatment and support he will need to rebuild his life and find a new career path. We are grateful for the hard work of the court and jury in this case.”

The case is “Blake Horr v. Merit Energy Company, LLC,” Case CV-2012-584-L in the District Court of Sweetwater County, Wyoming, Third Judicial District.

A $12 million settlement during trial for an injured contract worker who suffered chronic regional pain syndrome caused by serious burn injury from an explosion at a gas plant in Utah.

$13.6 million verdict in car crash paralysis case causing quadriplegia for young driver hit by police car who was speeding and ran red light in Iowa.