February 4, 2019
Jury Finds Scooter Not Plugged Up, Did Not Blow Up
Malissa Wilson and Joshua Metcalf recently achieved a rare jury trial defense verdict in Claiborne County (MS) Circuit Court on behalf of the manufacturer of an electric scooter. The products liability case involved allegations that the battery in an unplugged electric scooter combusted and caused the complete destruction of the plaintiffs’ home. At trial, the plaintiffs sought to recover damages for the loss of their home and its contents. Malissa and Joshua presented testimony from a certified fire and explosion investigator, as well as the client’s director of research and development, to demonstrate not only that the scooter and its battery were safe and could not have caused the fire, but also that the most likely cause of the fire was a propane gas heater in the same room as the scooter. Convinced by the evidence and the arguments presented, the jury returned a defense verdict in less than an hour-and-a-half. Assisting Malissa and Joshua in trial preparation were Courtney Hunt and Taylor White.
