$760,035 Verdict for News Reporter Struck by Truck in Parking Lot, Affirmed on Appeal

Just after 6 a.m. on September 6, 2017, Richard Devayne Creech was walking through a parking lot at Huntersville Town Hall while listening to his phone. Creech was a news reporter on his way to cover an early assignment. Ian Charles Kenner, driving a truck on behalf of Electricities of North Carolina, Inc., entered the lot, completed a U-turn at the rear, and drove toward Creech. Approximately 12 seconds after the truck entered the lot, Kenner struck Creech. He then backed the vehicle over Creech's leg.

Creech sustained a fractured tibia that required surgery and an extended period of hospitalization and rehabilitation. He filed suit in Mecklenburg County Superior Court against the Town of Cornelius, Electricities of North Carolina, and Kenner personally.

At trial, the defendants argued that Creech was contributorily negligent. The jury agreed that Creech bore some fault, but it also found that Kenner had the 'last clear chance' to avoid the collision. Under that doctrine, a defendant who had the final opportunity to prevent harm cannot use the plaintiff's own negligence as a complete bar to recovery. The jury returned a verdict of $760,035.44 in Creech's favor.

The defendants appealed to the NC Court of Appeals, challenging the jury instruction on last clear chance and requesting a special instruction on a workers' compensation subrogation lien. The appellate court, in a published opinion issued December 17, 2024 (No. COA24-505), affirmed on all grounds. It found sufficient evidence that Kenner had the ability to swerve and the time to act, given the 12-second window in an empty parking lot, and that a reasonable inference supported the conclusion that Creech could not escape the danger in time.

Charles Monnett of Maginnis Howard represented the plaintiff at trial and through the appeal.