Hilario Cruz, et al. v. Nissan North America, et al.

Summary

A California state court jury slammed Nissan with a $25 million verdict after determining that an SUVs defective brakes caused an accident that killed three people and resulted in an elderly driver being wrongfully charged with vehicular manslaughter.

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Outcome

Damages:

Hilario Cruz - $14,000,000
Araceli Mendez - $7.4 million
Solomon Mathenge - $3.5 million

Case Information

Attorneys

Witnesses

Plaintiff: Cruz, Hilario
Mathenge, Solomon
Defense: Nissan North America
Verdict: $24,900,000

Judge: Randolph Hammock
Jurisdiction: Superior Court of California, Los Angeles
Court: Stanley Mosk Courthouse

Case Number: BC493949
Industry: Automotive
Practice Area: Products Liability

Plaintiff

Cruz, Hilario

Plaintiff

Mathenge, Solomon

Represented By:
Kiesel, Paul (Kiesel Law LLP)

Defense

Nissan North America

Sessions

Attorney

Witness

Type

Description

PM Session

Openings

5 Chapters

	Description	Attorney
00:00:00	Opening Statement	Turnbull, Brett
00:50:23	Opening Statement	Kiesel, Paul
01:16:27	Break
01:36:39	Opening Statement	Klein, Thomas
02:37:12	End of Session

JUN

AM Session

Plaintiff Witness(es)

8 Chapters

	Description	Attorney	Witness	Presence
00:00:00	Witness Direct Examination	Turnbull, Brett	Dickson, James	In Person
00:23:45	Witness Cross Examination	Berry, Mark	Dickson, James	In Person
00:35:26	Witness Re-Direct Examination	Turnbull, Brett	Dickson, James	In Person
00:36:18	Witness Direct Examination	Turnbull, Brett	Gutstadt, Dr. Jeffrey M.D.	In Person
00:42:34	Witness Cross Examination	Senior, Julian	Gutstadt, Dr. Jeffrey M.D.	In Person
00:54:59	Witness Direct Examination	Wolden, Kirk	Carnell, Rebecca	Video Recording
01:21:55	Witness Cross Examination	Tabak, Jordan	Carnell, Rebecca	Video Recording
01:31:58	End of Session

PM Session

Plaintiff Witness(es)

5 Chapters

PM Session

Plaintiff Witness(es)

3 Chapters

	Description	Attorney	Witness	Presence
00:00:00	Witness Direct Examination	Lutz, Ryan	Smith, Anderson	Video Recording
00:36:04	Witness Direct Examination	Lutz, Ryan	Cowart, Rick	Video Recording
01:01:22	End of Session

JUN

AM Session

Plaintiff Witness(es)

8 Chapters

	Description	Attorney	Witness	Presence
00:00:00	Witness Direct Examination	Lutz, Ryan	Rohrer, Jeffrey	In Person
00:20:02	Witness Cross Examination	Tabak, Jordan	Rohrer, Jeffrey	In Person
00:23:57	Witness Direct Examination	Lutz, Ryan	Leiser, Melora	Video Recording
00:57:36	Witness Cross Examination	Senior, Julian	Leiser, Melora	Video Recording
01:07:38	Break
01:15:05	Witness Direct Examination	Lutz, Ryan	Rousseaux, Jon	Video Recording
01:36:52	Witness Cross Examination	Tabak, Jordan	Rousseaux, Jon	Video Recording
01:54:27	End of Session

PM Session

Plaintiff Witness(es)

8 Chapters

	Description	Attorney	Witness	Presence
00:00:00	Witness Direct Examination	Tapley, Jerome	Draper, Gail	In Person
00:09:27	Witness Cross Examination	Klein, Thomas	Draper, Gail	In Person
00:38:50	Witness Re-Direct Examination	Tapley, Jerome	Draper, Gail	In Person
00:39:58	Witness Re-Cross Examination	Klein, Thomas	Draper, Gail	In Person
00:42:31	Witness Direct Examination	Lutz, Ryan	Blenkarn, James	Video Recording
01:16:45	Break
01:39:56	Witness Direct Examination	Lutz, Ryan	Blenkarn, James	Video Recording
02:33:59	End of Session

JUN

AM Session

Plaintiff Witness(es)

6 Chapters

	Description	Attorney	Witness	Presence
00:00:00	Witness Direct Examination	Turnbull, Brett	Duarte, Officer Jeffrey	In Person
00:15:37	Witness Cross Examination	Senior, Julian	Duarte, Officer Jeffrey	Video Recording
00:40:27	Witness Direct Examination	Tapley, Jerome	Blenkarn, James	Video Recording
01:08:15	Break
01:19:43	Witness Direct Examination	Tapley, Jerome	Blenkarn, James	Video Recording
01:51:52	End of Session

PM Session

Plaintiff Witness(es)

10 Chapters

	Description	Attorney	Witness	Presence
00:00:00	Witness Direct Examination	Turnbull, Brett	Elsdon, John	In Person
00:10:54	Witness Cross Examination	Tabak, Jordan	Elsdon, John	In Person
00:19:19	Witness Re-Direct Examination	Turnbull, Brett	Elsdon, John	In Person
00:21:05	Witness Re-Cross Examination	Tabak, Jordan	Elsdon, John	In Person
00:23:42	Witness Direct Examination	Tapley, Jerome	Blenkarn, James	Video Recording
00:53:07	Witness Direct Examination	Tapley, Jerome	Anderson, Anthony	Video Recording
01:12:35	Witness Cross Examination	Klein, Thomas	Anderson, Anthony	Video Recording
01:24:30	Break
01:44:27	Witness Direct Examination	Tapley, Jerome	Yakushi, Robert	Video Recording
02:41:16	End of Session

JUN

AM Session

Plaintiff Witness(es)

10 Chapters

	Description	Attorney	Witness	Presence
00:00:00	Witness Direct Examination	Wolden, Kirk	Bhakta, Shailesh	In Person
00:13:09	Witness Cross Examination	Tabak, Jordan	Bhakta, Shailesh	In Person
00:18:00	Witness Re-Direct Examination	Wolden, Kirk	Bhakta, Shailesh	In Person
00:18:56	Witness Re-Cross Examination	Tabak, Jordan	Bhakta, Shailesh	In Person
00:21:16	Witness Direct Examination	Tapley, Jerome	Banks, Brandon	In Person
00:27:29	Witness Cross Examination	Berry, Mark	Banks, Brandon	In Person
00:37:12	Witness Re-Direct Examination	Tapley, Jerome	Banks, Brandon	In Person
00:40:45	Witness Re-Cross Examination	Berry, Mark	Banks, Brandon	In Person
00:45:30	Witness Direct Examination	Tapley, Jerome	Yakushi, Robert	Video Recording
02:05:21	End of Session

PM Session

Plaintiff Witness(es)

6 Chapters

	Description	Attorney	Witness	Presence
00:00:00	Witness Direct Examination	Lutz, Ryan	Cruz, Hilario	In Person
00:31:16	Break
00:37:16	Witness Direct Examination	Lutz, Ryan	Cruz, Hilario	In Person
00:42:37	Witness Cross Examination	Klein, Thomas	Cruz, Hilario	In Person
00:58:38	Witness Re-Direct Examination	Lutz, Ryan	Cruz, Hilario	In Person
01:01:57	End of Session

JUN

AM Session

Plaintiff Witness(es)

3 Chapters

	Description	Attorney	Witness	Presence
00:00:00	Witness Direct Examination	Tapley, Jerome	Kanellakopoulos, Dr. Ioannis Ph.D.	In Person
01:11:10	Witness Cross Examination	Berry, Mark	Kanellakopoulos, Dr. Ioannis Ph.D.	In Person
01:36:07	End of Session

PM Session

Plaintiff Witness(es)

9 Chapters

	Description	Attorney	Witness	Presence
00:00:00	Witness Cross Examination	Berry, Mark	Kanellakopoulos, Dr. Ioannis Ph.D.	In Person
01:11:18	Witness Re-Direct Examination	Tapley, Jerome	Kanellakopoulos, Dr. Ioannis Ph.D.	In Person
01:25:21	Witness Re-Cross Examination	Berry, Mark	Kanellakopoulos, Dr. Ioannis Ph.D.	In Person
01:32:05	Break
01:50:44	Witness Direct Examination	Kiesel, Paul	Kotton, Dr. Ryan M.D.	In Person
02:13:35	Witness Cross Examination	Senior, Julian	Kotton, Dr. Ryan M.D.	In Person
02:24:33	Witness Re-Direct Examination	Kiesel, Paul	Kotton, Dr. Ryan M.D.	In Person
02:28:31	Witness Re-Cross Examination	Senior, Julian	Kotton, Dr. Ryan M.D.	In Person
02:30:13	End of Session

JUL

AM Session

Plaintiff Witness(es)

4 Chapters

	Description	Attorney	Witness	Presence
00:00:00	Witness Direct Examination	Tapley, Jerome	Lawson, Louis	Video Recording
00:31:45	Witness Direct Examination	Kiesel, Paul	Mathenge, Solomon	In Person
01:17:24	Witness Direct Examination	Turnbull, Brett	Meyer, Steven	In Person
01:43:25	End of Session

PM Session

Plaintiff Witness(es)

4 Chapters

	Description	Attorney	Witness	Presence
00:00:00	Witness Direct Examination	Turnbull, Brett	Meyer, Steven	In Person
01:33:41	Break
01:51:03	Witness Cross Examination	Klein, Thomas	Meyer, Steven	In Person
02:46:01	End of Session

JUL

AM Session

Plaintiff Witness(es)

6 Chapters

	Description	Attorney	Witness	Presence
00:00:00	Witness Cross Examination	Klein, Thomas	Meyer, Steven	In Person
01:08:07	Witness Re-Direct Examination	Turnbull, Brett	Meyer, Steven	In Person
01:11:17	Witness Re-Cross Examination	Klein, Thomas	Meyer, Steven	In Person
01:11:57	Break
01:22:45	Witness Direct Examination	Kiesel, Paul	Mathenge, Solomon	In Person
02:14:38	End of Session

PM Session

Plaintiff Witness(es)

6 Chapters

	Description	Attorney	Witness	Presence
00:00:00	Witness Cross Examination	Klein, Thomas	Mathenge, Solomon	In Person
01:13:40	Break
01:30:20	Witness Direct Examination	Kiesel, Paul	Mathenge, Solomon	Transcript Reading
01:33:55	Witness Direct Examination	Lutz, Ryan	Luepke, Peter	Video Recording
02:26:16	Witness Direct Examination	Lutz, Ryan	Treadwell, Gary	Video Recording
02:30:02	End of Session

JUL

AM Session

Plaintiff Witness(es)

10 Chapters

	Description	Attorney	Witness	Presence
00:00:00	General Case Activities
00:04:02	Witness Direct Examination	Lutz, Ryan	Treadwell, Gary	Video Recording
00:14:22	Witness Direct Examination	Tabak, Jordan	Wertheimer, Dr. Jeffrey Ph.D.	In Person
00:28:35	Witness Cross Examination	Wolden, Kirk	Wertheimer, Dr. Jeffrey Ph.D.	In Person
00:49:27	Witness Re-Direct Examination	Tabak, Jordan	Wertheimer, Dr. Jeffrey Ph.D.	In Person
00:50:53	Break
01:07:10	Witness Direct Examination	Turnbull, Brett	Johnson, Robert	In Person
01:47:33	Witness Cross Examination	Senior, Julian	Johnson, Robert	In Person
02:07:21	Witness Re-Direct Examination	Turnbull, Brett	Johnson, Robert	In Person
02:08:30	End of Session

PM Session

Plaintiff Witness(es)

7 Chapters

	Description	Attorney	Witness	Presence
00:00:00	Witness Direct Examination	Lutz, Ryan	Arndt, William	Video Recording
00:36:21	Witness Direct Examination	Lutz, Ryan	Mendez, Araceli	In Person
00:52:26	Witness Cross Examination	Klein, Thomas	Mendez, Araceli	In Person
01:02:19	Witness Direct Examination	Lutz, Ryan	Nord, Rick	Video Recording
01:24:10	Break
01:56:14	Witness Direct Examination	Wolden, Kirk	Surana, Rajesh	Video Recording
02:37:25	End of Session

JUL

AM Session

Plaintiff Witness(es)

10 Chapters

	Description	Attorney	Witness	Presence
00:00:00	General Case Activities
00:02:06	General Case Activities	Pittman, Adam	Cruz, Hilario	Transcript Reading
00:07:29	Witness Direct Examination	Wolden, Kirk	Mathenge, Juliet	In Person
00:34:00	Witness Cross Examination	Tabak, Jordan	Mathenge, Juliet	In Person
00:42:00	Witness Re-Direct Examination	Wolden, Kirk	Mathenge, Juliet	In Person
00:43:49	Witness Re-Cross Examination	Tabak, Jordan	Mathenge, Juliet	In Person
00:45:43	Break
01:03:45	Witness Direct Examination	Wolden, Kirk	Mathenge, Michael	In Person
01:27:30	Witness Cross Examination	Tabak, Jordan	Mathenge, Michael	In Person
01:34:35	End of Session

JUL

AM Session

Defense Witness(es)

4 Chapters

	Description	Attorney	Witness	Presence
00:00:00	Witness Direct Examination	Berry, Mark	Levitt, Mr. Andrew	In Person
00:59:41	Break
01:13:58	Witness Direct Examination	Berry, Mark	Levitt, Mr. Andrew	In Person
02:00:51	End of Session

PM Session

Defense Witness(es)

7 Chapters

	Description	Attorney	Witness	Presence
00:00:00	Witness Direct Examination	Berry, Mark	Levitt, Mr. Andrew	In Person
00:52:51	Witness Cross Examination	Turnbull, Brett	Levitt, Mr. Andrew	In Person
01:20:10	Break
01:40:10	Witness Cross Examination	Turnbull, Brett	Levitt, Mr. Andrew	In Person
02:22:52	Witness Re-Direct Examination	Berry, Mark	Levitt, Mr. Andrew	In Person
02:28:51	Witness Direct Examination	Senior, Julian	Girvan, Daniel	In Person
02:52:37	End of Session

JUL

AM Session

Defense Witness(es)

7 Chapters

	Description	Attorney	Witness	Presence
00:00:00	Witness Direct Examination	Senior, Julian	Girvan, Daniel	In Person
00:18:43	Witness Cross Examination	Wolden, Kirk	Girvan, Daniel	In Person
00:52:02	Witness Re-Direct Examination	Senior, Julian	Girvan, Daniel	In Person
00:55:03	Witness Re-Cross Examination	Wolden, Kirk	Girvan, Daniel	In Person
00:57:11	Break
01:08:44	Witness Direct Examination	Klein, Thomas	Young, Dr. Douglas Ph.D.	In Person
01:56:04	End of Session

PM Session

Defense Witness(es)

2 Chapters

			Description	Attorney	Witness	Presence
		00:00:00	Witness Direct Examination	Berry, Mark	Leaphart, Eldon	In Person
		00:55:18	End of Session

JUL

AM Session

Defense Witness(es)

8 Chapters

JUL

AM Session

Defense Witness(es)

8 Chapters

	Description	Attorney	Witness	Presence
00:00:00	Witness Direct Examination	Senior, Julian	DeVore, David	In Person
00:12:14	Witness Cross Examination	Kiesel, Paul	DeVore, David	In Person
00:28:49	Witness Re-Direct Examination	Senior, Julian	DeVore, David	In Person
00:31:14	Witness Re-Cross Examination	Kiesel, Paul	DeVore, David	In Person
00:32:14	Witness Direct Examination	Berry, Mark	Walker, James Jr.	In Person
00:59:34	Break
01:12:54	Witness Direct Examination	Berry, Mark	Walker, James Jr.	In Person
02:07:00	End of Session

PM Session

Defense Witness(es)

7 Chapters

	Description	Attorney	Witness	Presence
00:00:00	Witness Direct Examination	Berry, Mark	Walker, James Jr.	In Person
01:04:19	Break
01:20:05	Witness Direct Examination	Berry, Mark	Walker, James Jr.	In Person
01:21:12	Witness Cross Examination	Tapley, Jerome	Walker, James Jr.	In Person
02:20:31	Witness Re-Direct Examination	Berry, Mark	Walker, James Jr.	In Person
02:23:15	Witness Re-Cross Examination	Tapley, Jerome	Walker, James Jr.	In Person
02:26:40	End of Session

JUL

AM Session

Defense Witness(es)

5 Chapters

JUL

AM Session

Other

2 Chapters

PM Session

Closings

2 Chapters

PM Session

Closings

5 Chapters

JUL

AM Session

Closings

6 Chapters

JUL

PM Session

Verdict

4 Chapters

JUL

Recording Disclaimer: This proceeding was recorded in full.

Hilario Cruz, et al. v. Nissan North America, et al.

Summary

Outcome

Sessions

AudioCaseFiles

Essentials

Training Libraries

	Description	Attorney	Witness	Presence
00:00:00	General Case Activities
00:01:59	Witness Cross Examination	Tabak, Jordan	Carnell, Rebecca	Video Recording
00:04:29	General Case Activities
00:06:16	Witness Direct Examination	Lutz, Ryan	Smith, Anderson	Video Recording
01:20:47	End of Session

	Description	Attorney	Witness	Presence
00:00:00	General Case Activities
00:06:43	Break
00:24:10	Witness Direct Examination	Berry, Mark	Leaphart, Eldon	In Person
01:31:18	Break
01:42:05	Witness Cross Examination	Tapley, Jerome	Leaphart, Eldon	In Person
02:39:44	Witness Re-Direct Examination	Berry, Mark	Leaphart, Eldon	In Person
02:44:06	General Case Activities
02:45:12	End of Session

			Description	Attorney	Witness	Presence
		00:00:00	Closing Statement	Turnbull, Brett
		01:04:27	End of Session

			Description	Attorney	Witness	Presence
		00:00:00	General Case Activities
		00:03:41	Reading of the Verdict
		00:42:25	General Case Activities
		00:45:31	End of Session