Judge Reduces Jury Award in Emotional Distress Case

On Friday, Judge Ray Grubbs (Montgomery County Circuit Court) reduced a $350,000 jury award against Blacksburg to $50,000. Judge Grubbs also denied the town’s motion to set aside the verdict. An article from the Roanoke Times provides additional facts about the case:

Knight had filed a civil lawsuit against the town and the director of the Third Annual Greater Blacksburg Triathlon, held in 2000, claiming they were negligent in failing to warn passing motorists of the race course. Triathlon participant Gary Wayne Taylor, a 30-year-old sports promoter from Lynchburg, died midway through the competition after his bicycle crashed into Knight's car.
Knight told a jury in January that she sought counseling more than a year after the wreck for nightmares and other related trauma symptoms and asked for $750,000 in damages. The jury found the town negligent and awarded Knight $350,000.

In arguing that the verdict should be set aside, the town argued, inter alia, that it should be granted immunity, an argument that Judge Grubbs rejected.

But, Grubbs wrote, because Knight suffered no lasting physical injuries and her mental and emotional trauma were resolved within six months without interfering with her ability to work, the jury’s award was out of proportion to the injury.
Grubbs based his ruling on a Virginia statute that allows judges to reduce jury awards if they are excessive or based solely on sympathy for the plaintiff.

Both sides have indicated that an appeal to the Supreme Court of Virginia is possible. If so, the case would provide an opportunity for the court to again address the issue of damage awards for emotional distress.