Employment - Alameda County
Jury awards former employee $1.1M for forged letters to new job
On Feb. 28, an Alameda County jury awarded a man $1.1 million in a case against his former employer. In the mid-1990s, plaintiff Omid Beheshti worked as a sales engineer for American Advantech Corp., Sunnyvale. His supervisor was John Liou. In 1999 Behashti won a suit against American Advantech for unpaid overtime and went to work for a different company in 2000. In 2001, immediately following a promotion, his new employer received a letter from a purported debt resolution agency warning that Beheshti had a record of suing employers. A second letter followed six months later. Beheshti claimed that Liou forged the letters in retaliation for the 1999 lawsuit. Liou admitted that he sent the letters, but claimed it was only to warn the new employer about Beheshti, not retaliation.
Beheshti v. Liou
Products Liability - Los Angeles County
Estate of man who suffered fatal head injury awarded $55.2M
On March 5, a Los Angeles County jury awarded $55.2 million to the estate of a man killed by a pickup truck. On April 13, 2004, plaintiffs' decedent Richard Mraz, 48, a longshoreman working as a maritime clerk, was driving a 1992 Dodge Dakota pickup owned by his employer, American President Lines Ltd.. Mraz came to a full stop and got out to inspect some shipping containers. The pickup then started reversing in circles, and Mraz tried to jump back in to stop it. He was knocked down, hit his head on the asphalt, fell into a coma and died on May 1, 2004. Plaintiffs' counsel claimed that DaimlerChrysler received numerous complaints about a transmission defect. DaimlerChrysler claimed Mraz shouldn't have tried to jump back into the truck.
Mraz v. DaimlerChrysler Corp.
Consumer Protection - Los Angeles County
Hummer damaged by ecoterror not new, says jury, awards $47K
On Oct. 17, 2006, a Los Angeles County jury awarded a vehicle owner $46,972 in restitution for money spent buying a car advertised as new. On January 25, 2004, plaintiff Tarek Bourgi, a self-employed man in his 40's, went shopping at the Hummer of West Covina dealership. He purchased a 2004 GMC Hummer H2, listed as new with 43 driven miles for $69,597. Bourgi later noticed a defect in the window and took the vehicle back to the dealership where the service representative found other defects. The vehicle had been one of many vandalized by eco-terrorists in 2003 then repaired and sold as new. Bourgi claimed the car should not have been sold as new, but the dealership claimed the repairs were less than 3% of the vehicle, and was still new.
Bourgi v. West Covina Automotive Holdings
last updated 03/30/2007