Charles F. Otey, ESQ
Brooklyn Daily Eagle
Plantiff's attorney Michael Romenus was probably concerned the jury might award his client might lose the case if the jury decided that the instant accident was not the proximate cause of her injuries. He accepted a high-low (in court parlance, hi-lo) overseen by Justice Schack and put on the table by defense counsel James Whalen. It was agreed by the parties that no matter what verdict the jury returned -- this was a damages-only trial -- the plaintiff's recovery would be no more than $5 million and no less than $1 million.
The jury rejected most of plaintiff's contentions, coming in with a total sum of $8,470! They compensated her only for lost wages and medical expenses. The plaintiff's gross recovery amounted to the stipulated $1 million.
Hi-los aren't that rare. Next week we'll tell about another one – reported by Justice Kurtz -- involving a $1 million stipulation reached in a trial before Justice Mark Partnow.
**Charles Otey's column appears each Monday in the print edition of the Brooklyn Daily Eagle
