Shelby County Jury Returns $2.5 Million Verdict in I-240 Semi-Truck Collision

On September 4, 2015, Julius T. Malone was driving on Interstate 240 in Memphis when a semi-truck operated by ASF Intermodal moved into his lane. The driver, Irvin Taylor, tried to merge across, and the passenger side of his truck struck the driver's side of Malone's vehicle. ASF later stipulated that Taylor was the at-fault driver, so the dispute at trial centered on what the crash had cost Malone, not on who caused it.

Malone came out of the collision with pain in his upper left leg, injuries to his lower back, and what his doctors described as a traumatic brain injury. The crash also aggravated peripheral artery disease he already had. His wife, Margaret S. Malone, brought her own claims for loss of services and for loss of companionship.

The Malones hired Thomas R. Greer, who tried the case with co-counsel Eric J. Lewellyn. The jury trial ran in Shelby County Circuit Court from September 9 to September 17, 2019. Because liability was conceded, the job was to put numbers to Malone's future: the income he could no longer earn, the medical care still ahead of him, and the daily losses that do not show up on a bill. The team supported each category with economic testimony.

The jury returned $2,519,772. It awarded Malone $375,000 for loss of earning capacity, $400,000 for future medical expenses, $675,000 for past and future pain and suffering, $55,000 for permanent injury, $875,000 for loss of enjoyment of life, and $4,772 for property damage. Margaret Malone received $60,000 for loss of services and $75,000 for loss of companionship and acts of love and affection.

Tennessee caps noneconomic damages. Applying Tennessee Code Annotated section 29-39-102, the trial court cut the total to $1,529,772. That reduction came from the statute, not from any finding that the jury had the facts wrong.

ASF appealed, arguing that the awards for lost earning capacity, future medical costs, permanent injury, and loss of consortium were not supported by the evidence. On February 7, 2022, the Tennessee Court of Appeals rejected those arguments. Writing for the court, Judge Kenny Armstrong concluded that there was material evidence to support the jury's verdict and affirmed the trial court's judgment.