An Ohio appellate court Monday overturned a $1.9 million jury award for an injured farmworker, ruling the case should have been dismissed before it got to trial.
The Court of Appeals of Ohio reversed the jury award for Jose Galban Camara, who was injured by farm equipment in April 2019 while working for Gill Dairy LLC.
Mr. Camara suffered serious injuries while attempting to troubleshoot a malfunctioning sand spreader.
Mr. Camara sued Gill Dairy in June 2020, alleging claims of intentional tort and spoilation of evidence. A jury ruled in his favor on the intentional tort claim and awarded him $1,934,000 in compensatory damages.
The company appealed, arguing the trial court improperly denied its motion for summary judgment before the case went before a jury. It also said the trial judge issued improper jury instructions at the close of the trial.
The appeals court ruled Gill Dairy was entitled to summary judgment as a matter of law because the intentional tort claim was misapplied. The court said the jury instruction form incorrectly stated the law as it pertains to intentional tort, which prejudiced Gill Dairy.
The appeals court found there was no factual dispute as to whether Gill Dairy had the specific intent to injure Mr. Camara, which would have been necessary for him to succeed in his lawsuit.