Yeghiazrian VS. LV Metro. Police Dept.
Sep 16, 2013OUTCOME: Won - Supreme Court Level
Yeghiazarian was killed when a metro officer collided with his vehicle at an excessive rate of speed without siren or lights activated. The deceased had a blood alcohol level of .049. Had the police of ... ficer been driving the posted speed limit, the deceased would have made it through this intersection with time to spare, but the expert disagreed as to how far over the speed limit the police officer was going. Jury assessed 75% to the police officer and 25% to the deceased. LV Metro Police Dept. Appealed, but The Nevada Supreme Court clarified that evidence of a personal injury plaintiff’s blood alcohol content is not admissible at trial unless the BAC is above the legal limit or there is other corroborating evidence of intoxication. The Supreme Court also explained that awards of attorney fees also apply to work performed by an attorney’s staff, which also must be examined under the same standard for reasonableness before fees can be awarded. On a 3-0 vote, justices upheld the payment to five members of Raymond Yeghiazarian’s family. A District Court jury in 2011 awarded the family $2.2 million, but District Judge Jerry Wiese reduced that judgment to $50,000 for each family member. As the justices noted in their decision, the state law at the time of Yeghiazarian’s death “provided for damages in tort actions filed against state entities ‘may not exceed the sum of $50,000.’” The family last year filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against the Metropolitan Police Department. There is no cap in federal civil rights cases.
