$165.5 Million Verdict for Family Killed in FedEx Truck Crash on I-10
After trial: The verdict was affirmed on appeal. The New Mexico Court of Appeals upheld it, and on May 19, 2022 the New Mexico Supreme Court unanimously affirmed the full $165.5 million award.
Won by Scherr Legate.
A Santa Fe jury awarded $165.5 million, the largest verdict in New Mexico history, to the survivors of a young mother and her daughter killed when a FedEx tractor-trailer plowed into their stopped pickup at highway speed on Interstate 10.
What happened
Shortly after 1:30 a.m. on June 22, 2011, a FedEx Ground tractor-trailer traveling at 65 mph struck a pickup truck that was stopped or nearly stopped on Interstate 10 between Las Cruces and Deming, New Mexico. The driver never braked. The collision killed Marialy Venegas Morga, 22, and her 4-year-old daughter. Their 19-month-old son, buckled in the back seat, survived with severe injuries. The FedEx driver also died in the crash.
Alfredo Morga, the husband and father, brought suit against FedEx Ground Package System and the network of contractors operating the truck. Scherr and Legate, PLLC, represented the plaintiffs throughout the litigation.
At trial, the jury heard evidence that FedEx Ground bore primary responsibility for the conditions that led to the collision. Jurors allocated 65 percent of fault to FedEx Ground, 10 percent each to three contractor entities, and 5 percent to the decedent driver. The compensatory damages included $61 million for the wrongful death of the 4-year-old, $32 million for the wrongful death of her mother, $32 million for the surviving infant son's injuries, and $40.125 million for Alfredo Morga's emotional distress and loss of consortium. No punitive damages were awarded.
In January 2015, the jury returned a total verdict of approximately $165.5 million, the largest civil award in New Mexico history and the largest motor vehicle verdict in the United States that year according to the National Law Journal. The trial court denied FedEx's post-trial motions for remittitur or a new trial.
FedEx appealed, arguing the damages were excessive and unsupported by the evidence. The New Mexico Court of Appeals affirmed in February 2018, ruling there was 'sufficient evidence' supporting all compensatory damages and that the award did not shock the conscience. FedEx escalated to the New Mexico Supreme Court, which unanimously affirmed on May 19, 2022, finding the verdict was not the product of juror passion or prejudice and that substantial evidence supported each component of the award.
Sources
This account is drawn from contemporaneous public reporting and the court record.
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