King William Jury Awards $1.25 Million to Trucker Punched in the Face at a West Point Diesel Pump
After trial: We found no appeal or reduction of the verdict against Webb. As of the September 2020 federal ruling, Webb had not paid any part of the judgment, and Mullins' suit for uninsured motorist benefits from his employer's insurer failed and was affirmed by the Fourth Circuit in 2021.
Leonard Mullins, a 57-year-old truck driver, was punched in the face by another trucker at a fuel station in West Point, Virginia, on June 11, 2015. He suffered facial fractures and post-concussive syndrome with lasting balance problems and light sensitivity. A King William Circuit Court jury awarded him $1.25 million in compensatory damages after less than an hour of deliberation.
What happened
At about 4:50 a.m. on June 11, 2015, Leonard Mullins, then 57, was filling his tractor-trailer at Milby's Oil in West Point, Virginia. He was using both diesel pumps at once. Charles Webb, a 42-year-old truck driver who arrived behind him, demanded that he free up a pump. After a few words, Webb, who stood 6 feet 3 inches and outweighed Mullins by roughly 100 pounds, punched him in the face and threw him to the ground.
The punch caused a comminuted, displaced fracture of the left zygomatic arch (the cheekbone), a non-displaced fracture of the left lateral orbital wall, and fractures through the left maxillary wall. Mullins was later diagnosed with post-concussive syndrome, in January 2017. His treating neurologist at the VCU brain rehabilitation unit, Dr. William Walker, testified that Mullins had a traumatic brain injury with continuing symptoms, including permanent balance problems and sensitivity to light. In May 2017 Mullins was given permanent sedentary work restrictions, which ended his career behind the wheel.
Mullins sued Webb and Webb's employer, C.P. Anderson Trucking, Inc., in King William Circuit Court (case no. CL17-90). The employer was dismissed before trial, so the jury considered only Webb's liability. Webb's lawyers argued that Mullins had provoked the confrontation and that Webb acted in self-defense. They also disputed how badly Mullins was hurt and offered evidence that his work restrictions were overstated.
Mullins' lawyers, Geoffrey R. McDonald, Frank H. Hupfl and Justin M. Sheldon of Richmond, presented a vocational expert on his lost earning capacity and a life-care planner on his future medical needs, along with the treating neurologist. Judge B. Elliott Bondurant presided.
The jury deliberated for less than an hour before returning a verdict of $1,250,000 in compensatory damages for Mullins. Virginia Lawyers Weekly reported the result in February 2019 and listed it among the state's million-dollar verdicts for 2018.
The verdict was against Webb individually. Mullins later sued his employer's commercial auto insurer, Harco National Insurance Company, in federal court in Richmond, seeking uninsured motorist benefits, because Webb had not paid any part of the judgment. The district court ruled for Harco in September 2020, finding that Webb was not using his truck as a vehicle when he threw the punch, and the Fourth Circuit affirmed in an unpublished opinion on October 19, 2021, with Hupfl and McDonald again appearing for Mullins.
Sources
This account is drawn from contemporaneous public reporting and the court record.
- 1.Virginia Lawyers Weekly, 'Trucker hurt by punch to face during gas pump argument: $1.25 million verdict', Feb. 5, 2019·Archived copy
- 2.U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, Mullins v. Harco National Insurance Co., No. 20-2088, Oct. 19, 2021·Archived copy
- 3.Virginia Lawyers Weekly, Mullins v. Harco National Insurance Company, Sept. 28, 2020
- 4.Midkiff, Muncie & Ross, 'The Eastern District of Virginia Declines to Expand UM Coverage in Virginia', Sept. 2020·Archived copy
- 5.Geoff McDonald & Associates, P.C. (firm)·Archived copy
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