The State Bar Has Published The Top 10 Verdicts From 2014. The cases range from a wrongful death cases to a battle between two Keg Restaurants.
The highest jury award in 2014 was $30,000,00.00. The case was a wrongful death case. The decedent was hit head on by suspect fleeing a bank robbery in Tempe. A part of the family’s claim was that the Chandler Police and DPS were negligent in maintaining a high speed chase when the danger to the general public out weighed the need to pursue the suspect. The suspect hit the decedent head on at a speed of 113 mph killing both. The jury found the suspect 80% at fault and the remaining 20% attributable to the police agencies.
An interesting case was Cooke et al v. Town of Colorado City, a Federal District Court Case, in which the Cookes moved to the Colorado City area (Short Creek). It took two years for the couple to get sewer services from the City and electrical services from a private company. Colorado City is known for being the home of a sect of the Mormon church the FLDS . The Cooks alleged the city and the company failed to deliver services because of the Cooke’s religious beliefs, specifically that they were not part of the FLDS. The State of Arizona joined in the litigation. The jury ultimately found that the City and power company engaged in a pattern and practice of religious discrimination and awarded the Cooke’s $5.2 Million in damages.
