Signify North America Corporation (formerly Philips Lighting) obtained the reversal of an $100 million verdict by a Connecticut Superior Court jury—the largest personal injury verdict in Connecticut’s history at the time. Dustin Guzior, Signify’s lead counsel, was named a runner-up “Litigator of the Week” by the AmLaw Litigation Daily for this win.
S&C took over Signify’s defense soon after it was hit with the verdict. The case was filed by an employee in a warehouse owned by a Signify customer who was harmed after a heavy package of lights, which had been shipped by Signify to the worker’s employer, fell on him after a temporary worker knocked it off an unstable rack.
The team first persuaded the trial judge to grant a nearly 60 percent remittitur of damages, reducing Signify’s liability to approximately $50 million. On appeal, S&C argued that the direct cause of the accident was the misconduct of other parties, and that conduct was not a foreseeable consequence of its presumed failure to secure a package for shipment.
In its May 29 decision, a panel of the Connecticut Appellate Court agreed, reversing the remaining judgment and remanding the case with direction to render judgment for Signify.
The S&C team also included Garrard Beeney, Elizabeth Rose and Michael Lemanski.