Mitsubishi Motors Loses Appeal, Must Pay $6 Million
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[08/16/2007] Aug. 16 (Bloomberg) -- Mitsubishi Motors Corp. must pay an injured college soccer player more than $6 million after an appeals court denied the Japanese carmaker's bid for a new trial in a sports-utility vehicle rollover case.
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Aug. 16 (Bloomberg) -- Mitsubishi Motors Corp. must pay an injured college soccer player more than $6 million after an appeals court denied the Japanese carmaker's bid for a new trial in a sports-utility vehicle rollover case.
Chefik Simo, then 18 and a freshman at Furman University in Greenville, South Carolina, was riding in a 2000 Mitsubishi Montero on Interstate 85 in October 2002 when the driver swerved to avoid another car, according to court papers. The vehicle he was in tipped over and was hit by a tractor-trailer.
Simo ``was the top soccer recruit in the country'' and suffered injuries that left him unable to pursue a professional career, the federal appeals court in Richmond, Virginia, said in a 21-page opinion yesterday.
The former player sued Mitsubishi in federal court in Greenville in 2004. A jury awarded him damages of $7 million, an amount the trial judge lowered to $6.05 million after the carmaker claimed the original amount was excessive. Mitsubishi appealed the verdict.
The appeals panel yesterday rejected the company's challenge to testimony about vehicle stability and Simo's future earning power.
Dan Irvin, a U.S. Mitsubishi Motors spokesman, said today in a statement that the company is disappointed with the decision and ``is carefully reviewing its options for further appeal.''
Player's Dream
Kenneth Anthony, a lawyer representing Simo, said today in a phone interview that he's pleased with the decision, although Simo can't play soccer anymore ``and that was his dream.''
Simo graduated from the University of Virginia and is working in the sports business, according to Frank Branson, another of Simo's lawyers.
Mitsubishi Motors shares fell 7 Japanese yen to a one-year low of 169 in trading today in Tokyo. Shares of the company have fallen 14 percent this year.
The appeals case is Simo v. Mitsubishi Motors Corp., 06-1529, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit (Richmond, Virginia).
Chefik Simo, then 18 and a freshman at Furman University in Greenville, South Carolina, was riding in a 2000 Mitsubishi Montero on Interstate 85 in October 2002 when the driver swerved to avoid another car, according to court papers. The vehicle he was in tipped over and was hit by a tractor-trailer.
Simo ``was the top soccer recruit in the country'' and suffered injuries that left him unable to pursue a professional career, the federal appeals court in Richmond, Virginia, said in a 21-page opinion yesterday.
The former player sued Mitsubishi in federal court in Greenville in 2004. A jury awarded him damages of $7 million, an amount the trial judge lowered to $6.05 million after the carmaker claimed the original amount was excessive. Mitsubishi appealed the verdict.
The appeals panel yesterday rejected the company's challenge to testimony about vehicle stability and Simo's future earning power.
Dan Irvin, a U.S. Mitsubishi Motors spokesman, said today in a statement that the company is disappointed with the decision and ``is carefully reviewing its options for further appeal.''
Player's Dream
Kenneth Anthony, a lawyer representing Simo, said today in a phone interview that he's pleased with the decision, although Simo can't play soccer anymore ``and that was his dream.''
Simo graduated from the University of Virginia and is working in the sports business, according to Frank Branson, another of Simo's lawyers.
Mitsubishi Motors shares fell 7 Japanese yen to a one-year low of 169 in trading today in Tokyo. Shares of the company have fallen 14 percent this year.
The appeals case is Simo v. Mitsubishi Motors Corp., 06-1529, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit (Richmond, Virginia).
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