Defense Verdict Puts Racetrack Owners in Victory Lane

Obtained a defense verdict on behalf of the owners of a sprint car racetrack following a six-day jury trial in a case that attracted a high amount of media attention in the Central Pennsylvania area.  The plaintiff was a young but experienced sprint car driver who became permanently paralyzed when, during the course of a race, his car collided with another and flipped out of the track. In suing the racetrack, his principal claim was that the track was poorly designed and failed to keep his car on the track after the initial collision. He had signed a release prior to entering the track that night. We were not retained as defense counsel until nearly ten months after a default judgment had been entered against the racetrack.  After an initial evidentiary hearing, the default was opened, and we remained as defense counsel, contesting the issue of liability. The court denied the defendant's later summary judgment motions as to both the release and assumption of risk/no duty arguments.  The court also denied a defense motion to bifurcate, letting the jury hear testimony as to damages as well as liability. The sole pretrial settlement demand had been $5 million (total liability limits), and no settlement offer was made.  The jury returned a 10-2 defense verdict on the initial question on the verdict slip (finding that the plaintiff had released the track from liability) after more than four hours of deliberation.