From VerdictSearch New York

Jury: Gruesome gaffe not cause of couple's distress

A jury found that two plaintiffs were not entitled to damages for an incident in which a funeral home gave them a severed limb. The matter dates to Jan. 31, 2005, when the suit's plaintiffs, Andrea and Christopher Runyan, went to a funeral home to retrieve a dead relative's belongings. They later discovered that the bag contained a decomposing leg from an unidentified person. The Runyans, then married but now divorced, sued the funeral home and the hospital in which their relative had died, claiming that the incident and a resultant media blitz caused post-traumatic stress disorder that led to a suicide attempt by Mr. Runyan. The defendants convinced the jury that the Runyans' emotional distress was not related to the gruesome mixup.

VIEW THE FULL CASE NEGLIGENT INFLICTION OF EMOTIONAL DISTRESS - Suffolk County
Runyan v. Central Suffolk Hospital

Teen sneaks contraband into school, gets $70K in settlement

An upstate school for special-needs children agreed to pay $70,000 to a teen who burned his larynx inhaling the contents of an aerosol can that he had smuggled into the facility. The payment settled a lawsuit that was filed by Lawrence Yantz Jr. In August 2008, Yantz, then 17, snuck an aerosol can into New Windsor's McQuade Children's Services, where he was residing. One of the school's teachers was aware of Yantz's scheme and apparently helped him. Yantz later inhaled the can's contents and sustained chemical burns that caused permanent lung damage. He sued the teacher and the school, alleging negligent supervision and security. The defendants contended that Yantz was responsible for his actions, but the matter ultimately was settled.

VIEW THE FULL CASE NEGLIGENT SECURITY - Orange County
Yantz v. McQuade Children's Services

Jury sides with tenant in co-op renovation dispute

A Bronx man prevailed in a nearly four-year-long battle to combine the adjacent apartments he owned in a cooperative residence. The dispute began in October 2006, when David Gellman, a resident of the River Terrace Apartments, applied to buy the unit next to the one he already owned. The purchase application contained a rider specifying that the deal would be canceled if Gellman could not combine the two units. The co-op's board of directors approved the sale but later rejected Gellman's renovations. Gellman sued, alleging breach of the purchase contract. The matter proceeded to a trial, and a jury sided with Gellman, awarding $44,000 for the diminished value of his apartments. The co-op was also ordered to allow Gellman's renovations.

VIEW THE FULL CASE CONTRACTS - New York County
Gellman v. River Terrace Apartments Inc.