Court Upholds $38 Million Judgment Against Correctional Services Corp. in Boot Camp Case, According to Kobs & Haney
December 02 2003 - 1:03PM
PR Newswire (US)
Court Upholds $38 Million Judgment Against Correctional Services
Corp. in Boot Camp Case, According to Kobs & Haney Original
Judgment in Wrongful Death Case Will Stand, Court Rules FORT WORTH,
Texas, Dec. 2 /PRNewswire/ -- Visiting State District Judge Roger
Towery has ruled that Sarasota, Fla.-based Correctional Services
Corp. must pay a $38 million judgment that was awarded earlier this
summer to the parents of a young man who died at a Mansfield, Tex.,
boot camp in 2001. In August, a jury in Fort Worth's 236th District
Court awarded the family of Bryan Alexander $35 million in actual
damages and $5.1 million in punitive damages following an
eight-week trial. Alexander died from a penicillin-resistant form
of pneumonia he contracted while participating in a six-month boot
camp program as a condition of his misdemeanor probation. Evidence
in the case showed that Alexander, who was 18 years old, died after
CSC employees ignored his pleas for medical attention for days. In
September, Judge Towery set the actual damages at $37.4 million,
including interest, and reduced the punitive damages to $750,000.
CSC responded by asking the court to reduce or set aside the entire
judgment, arguing that there was "no legally or factually
sufficient evidence to support the jury's findings." CSC President
James Slattery told CSC investors during a recent conference call
that the company expected the court to reduce the $38 million
judgment. In his ruling issued yesterday, the judge denied all of
CSC's motions. "We are pleased that once again the jury's verdict
in this case has been upheld," says attorney Jeff Kobs, a partner
in Fort Worth's Kobs & Haney, who represented the Alexander
family along with Fort Worth attorney Bill Lane. "We are confident
that the Courts will continue to deny CSC's repeated attacks on the
jury's decision." As a result of this ruling, CSC has until Dec.
16, 2003, to file its notice of appeal, and the company must also
post a $25 million bond by Dec. 28, 2003, in order to prevent the
Alexander family from attempting to collect the judgment amount.
Interest has been accruing at a rate of $5,250 per day since the
original judgment was entered in September. In a related federal
court action, CSC's insurance carrier, Northland Insurance Co., is
seeking a declaration that its policies do not cover the $38
million judgment. CSC is arguing that the Northland policies should
cover the judgment amount, and that Northland acted improperly in
failing to settle the claims prior to the jury's verdict. For more
information on the court's ruling, please contact attorney Jeff
Kobs at 817.332.5956, attorney Bill Lane at 817.625.5570, or Bruce
Vincent at 214.559.4630 or pager 888.361.8452. DATASOURCE: Kobs
& Haney CONTACT: Jeff Kobs, +1-817-332-5956, or Bill Lane,
+1-817-625-5570, both of Kobs & Haney; or Bruce Vincent,
+1-214-559-4630, or pager, +1-888-361-8452, for Kobs & Haney
Copyright
Correctional Services (NASDAQ:CSCQ)
Historical Stock Chart
From Aug 2024 to Sep 2024
Correctional Services (NASDAQ:CSCQ)
Historical Stock Chart
From Sep 2023 to Sep 2024
Real-Time news about Correctional Services (MM) (NASDAQ): 0 recent articles
More Correctional Services (MM) News Articles