Dec 30th, 2014

Dismissal of $1.5 million personal injury lawsuit


Shareholders Elizabeth Lampson and Chris Parker won a motion for summary judgment in Lane County in favor of their newspaper publisher client. The lawsuit arose out of an accident between the plaintiff, who was riding a bicycle, and a vehicle operated by a carrier retained to deliver the publisher’s newspapers. Plaintiff sued the publisher, arguing it was vicariously liable for the carrier’s actions. Plaintiff also alleged the carrier was negligent in retaining and supervising this carrier. Counsel moved for summary judgment based on the contention the carrier was an independent contractor that retained exclusive control over the manner in which the work was performed. Counsel also moved against plaintiff’s negligence claim, arguing there was no evidence that the publisher was negligent in retaining or supervising the carrier. The court agreed and granted summary judgment in the publisher’s favor, disposing of plaintiff’s claims in their entirety.