Kathy Winger et al v. Critelli Properties et al.
Nov 12, 2013OUTCOME: Polk County Jury returned a verdict totaling $1,137,500.00 in favor of Plaintiffs. It is believed the jury's verdict is the largest Iowa verdict under Iowa's relatively new adult parental consortium statute. Case is still on Appeal
On July 23, 2011, 21 year old Shannon Potts was killed when she fell from a second story balcony of the Grand Stratford Apartments. The subsequent investigation revealed that the balcony railings were ... only 32 inches high in violation of the Des Moines Housing Code which required 42 inch railings. Records showed that the defendant property owner, CM Holdings, LLC, had received four prior notices from the City of Des Moines that the railings were defective and in need of replacing prior to Shannon's fall. Mark Critelli, a Des Moines property owner who has been declared a "habitual violator" of the Des Moines Housing Code for repeated health and safety violations, was a 50% shareholder in CM Holdings LLC.