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A St. Louis Circuit Court judge has reduced the amount of punitive damages that must be paid by Lafayette-based trailer manufacturer Wabash National Corp. as a result of a verdict issued against the company in September over its liability in a fatal crash.
Judge Christopher E. McGraugh said the original $450 million amount awarded by the jury was “grossly excessive” and not in line with the company’s constitutional rights.
In his ruling dated March 20, Judge McGraugh denied Wabash’s motion for a new trial and motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict.
However, the judge said the punitive damages awarded by the jury “exceeds the fair and reasonable compensation for the plaintiff’s damages, the aggravating or mitigating circumstances, and the degree of malice behind Wabash’s conduct.”
As a result, the judge has lowered the punitive damages to $108 million. The $11.5 million in compensatory damages awarded to the plaintiffs remains unchanged.
The company, which began doing business simply as Wabash in 2022, was sued by the families of two men who died in a 2019 crash involving a trailer manufactured by the company.
A Volkswagen driven by Taron Tailor collided with the back of the trailer and went under it, killing Tailor and his passenger, Nicholas Perkins. Court documents showed the trailer’s rear-impact guard failed.
In filing the lawsuit, the victims’ families claimed Wabash was negligent and manufactured a defective product that was involved in the crash.
The company said after the verdict was handed down—and again on Monday after the judge’s order—that the crash occurred nearly two decades after the trailer involved was manufactured by the company in compliance with all applicable regulations.
Wabash also maintains that the jury was not presented with crucial evidence, including that Tailor’s blood alcohol level was above the legal limit and neither the driver or passenger were wearing seatbelts at the time of the crash. Attorneys said the car was traveling in excess of 55 mph when it hit the back of the trailer, a speed that would have resulted in fatalities no matter what safety equipment was installed.
“Wabash continues to believe both that the damages remain abnormally high and the verdict is not supported by the facts or the law,” the company said in a statement Monday. “The company continues to evaluate all available legal options.”
Wabash declined to provide any additional comments to Inside INdiana Business.
The Indiana Lawyer contributed to this report.
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