Ningur Akoglu and Ian Ceresney participated in the trial of Abigail M. Cameron et al. v. Volkswagen AG et al., in which a Milwaukee Jury unanimously rejected the plaintiff’s claim of inadvertent release of her seat-belt buckle and denied $18 million recovery against the Volkswagen defendants.

On March 26, 2010, after deliberating for a day, a jury of six women and six men returned a verdict in favor of Volkswagen AG and Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. By a unanimous vote, the jury found that the plaintiff was not utilizing the available seat belt in her 1999 Volkswagen Jetta at the time of the accident and that the damage award would have been $18 million.

Even though the jurors denied recovery by finding that the plaintiff was not belted, they still had to answer the damages question on the verdict form. The plaintiff had asked the jury to award her an amount close to $28 million for her past and future medical expenses, loss of income, and pain and suffering. But the jury determined that a reasonable damages award would have been approximately $18 million.

The Volkswagen defendants were represented by local trial counsel and by Volkswagen’s national counsel, Ningur Akoglu and Ian Ceresney of Alliott Group's law firm member Herzfeld & Rubin, P.C., New York, NY.

For more information on this case please visit Herzfeld & Rubin's webiste at www.herzfeld-rubin.com/temp/20100410.htm

Article Date: 26th April 2010

Author: Mark Meyer

Firm:Herzfeld & Rubin, P.C.