Date: 04-16-1998

Case Style: Patricia Lynn Herald v. Teri C. Williams

Case Number: 96-SC-1122-DG

Judge: Unknown

Court: Circuit Court, Fayette County, Kentucky

Plaintiff's Attorney: Kendall Robinson, Booneville, Kentucky and Joe C. Savage of Savage, Garmer & Elliott, P.S.C., Lexington, Kentucky

Defendant's Attorney: Benjamin J. Hays, Elizabeth M. Linville, and Mark A. Matics of Hays & Hayes, Winchester, Kentucky and Kevin H. Hable, Virginia H. Snell, and Jean W. Bird of Wyatt, Tarrant & Combs, Louisville, Kentucky

Description: Automobile accident - On May 18, 1990, Patricia Lynn Herald Wilson, plaintiff, was en route to the place of her employment as a school teacher. As she approached the intersection of Man-O-War and Palumbo in Lexington, she was struck by a vehicle being driven by Teri C. Williams, who was intoxicated. At the scene, Williams was arrested and subsequently charged with DUI. She subsequently pled guilty to DUI in the Fayette District Court. Plaintiff claimed compensatory and punitive damages. Defendant denied that plaintiff was entitled to punitive damages under KRS 411.184 because there was no evidence to support such an instruction due to the absence of any evidence of her subjective awareness that her conduct would result in death or bodily harm. The trial court agreed and gave a common law punitive damage instruction.

Outcome: Verdict for plaintiff for compensatory and punitive damages for unspecified sums.

Plaintiff's Experts: Unknown

Defendant's Experts: Unknown

Comments: Affirmed by the Supreme Court of Kentucky. See: 972 S.W.2d 260 (KY 1998). The date shown above is the date of the appellate court decision and not the trial date.