Date: 08-16-2011

Case Style: Toni Elmore v. Shuttle Stop, Inc.

Case Number: CJ-2009-180

Judge: Kenneth Adair

Court: District Court, Okmulgee County, Oklahoma

Plaintiff's Attorney: Dennis F. Seacat and Carol Seacat, Seacat & Seacat, Okmulgee, Oklahoma

Defendant's Attorney: Jerry Fraley and Kelly Hensley, Beeler, Walsh & Walsh, P.L.L.C., Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

Description: Plaintiff sued Shuttle Stop on a premises liability theory claiming that she sustained a back injury when she slipped and fell on a foreign substance on the floor of Defendant's store in Morris, Oklahoma. She claimed that the condition was a hidden danger that Defendant either created or should have known existed and failed to warn or correct the condition. Plaintiff claimed to have suffered a herniated disc in her back from the fall.

Defendant denied any notice of the dangerous condition and questioned whether Plaintiff's injuries were proximately caused by the accident.

Outcome: Plaintiff's verdict for $600,000.00.

Plaintiff's Experts: Richard Hastings, Tulsa, Oklahoma by video.

Defendant's Experts: Samji Framjee, Tulsa, Oklahoma by video.

Comments: Editor's Notes: According to Carol Seacat, Plaintiff initially filed suit in small claims court and was told by the judge to dismiss and get an attorney. Defendant offered Plaintiff $10,000 to settle before trial and Plaintiff countered at $400,000.

One juror reportedly refused to sign the verdict because God told him Plaintiff should be $300,000 and another refused to sign because the verdict was not for enough money.