Two Verdicts • $16.8 Million • November 4, 2016
What a day! On November 4, 2016, Votava Nantz & Johnson did something no other law firm has ever done in Missouri: obtain two multi-million dollar verdicts for their clients in different cases on the same day. Both verdicts occurred in Missouri courtrooms within hours of each other.
Coleman v. Comcast of Missouri
Brett Votava and Andrew Nantz obtained a verdict of $13.8 million for
William “Bill” Coleman. A Jackson County jury in Independence, Missouri
unanimously found in favor of Bill. He had been severely injured in a June
2013 crash with a Comcast truck parked illegally on a major Lee’s Summit,
Missouri road. The truck was also parked in violation of company policies and
the driver failed to use proper safety measures including warning cones and
safety lights. Bill will never walk again as a result of his injuries.
Comcast blamed Bill as the sole cause of the crash and never made any offer to
settle the case.
Moore v. City of Ferguson
A unanimous jury in St. Louis, Missouri delivered a $3 million verdict to Todd Johnson for the family of a man tased to death by Ferguson, Missouri police officers. In 2011, a Ferguson, Missouri police officer shot Jason Moore four times with a taser gun in violation of city and manufacturer guidelines. Mr. Moore was having mental problems and was found naked and unarmed by police. Mr. Moore was allegedly tased for non-compliance by the officer but the taser gun download showed that he was tased four times for 21 seconds out of a 23 second period – meaning he never had a chance to comply. Mr. Moore died soon after from respiratory depression and cardiac arrest leaving behind a young son, wife and mother.