Court of Appeals Reinstates Whirlpool Dishwasher Jury Verdict -- $1.7 million

Court of Appeals Reinstates Jury
Verdict Against Whirlpool

In an appeal filed by Lynn Johnson, lead counsel for both jury trials, and Matt Birch, plaintiffs argued that the role of evaluating the credibility and persuasiveness of competing theories is a matter reserved for the jury and that plaintiffs' engineering expert, Jim Martin, used scientific methods that were generally accepted and reliable in reaching his conclusions. The Tenth Circuit agreed and held that it was improper for the trial court to elevate defendant's expert's theory to the level of established scientific fact. The determination of which theory had more merit should have been decided by the jury, not the judge, the Tenth Circuit said.

Shamberg, Johnson & Bergman, Chtd., recently won another ruling from the Tenth Circuit forcing Whirlpool to pay the full amount of post-judgment interest — dating back from the original judgment entered in July 2005, rather than from the amended judgment entered following the Tenth Circuit's December 2007 ruling. This has resulted in a net gain of more than $100,000.00 in interest.

After more than seven years of litigation, Shamberg, Johnson & Bergman, Chtd., won an appeal to the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals, helping to restore justice to a Louisburg, Kan., family who lost their 24-year-old daughter in a fire caused by a defective Whirlpool dishwasher. (See Spring 2001 Newsletter for previous report).

In reversing the District Court's decision to vacate a jury verdict and grant Whirlpool judgment as a matter of law, the Tenth Circuit determined that the trial court had abused its discretion by improperly excluding the testimony of one of plaintiff's experts. The Court of Appeals mandated that the trial court enter judgment on the jury's original $1.7 million verdict.

The Tenth Circuit's December 2007 ruling followed two jury trials to determine whether a 1996 Kenmore New Generation dishwasher, manufactured by Whirlpool, was defective and caused a February 16, 2000, fire that killed emily McCoy and destroyed the McCoy family's house.