David Baugher//November 29, 2024//
A Caldwell County employment case has resulted in a verdict for the plaintiff with the addition of more than $300,000 in sanctions by the judge against the defendants for alleging that a family member of an attorney had spoken with jurors.
“Given the outrageous conduct of the Defendants in this matter, this Court finds by clear and convincing evidence that Defendants acted in bad faith and committed a fraud on the Court,” wrote Judge Ryan W. Horsman.
The matter stemmed from a suit filed by plaintiff Kathleen Hicks against Commercial Metals Company alleging she suffered brain, neck and shoulder injuries in early 2018 while working on a rebar-bending machine. Hicks would later be terminated due to what the defendant characterized as a lack of communication.
However, Hicks’ attorney Brianne Thomas of Boyd Kenter Thomas & Parrish said that contention was baseless and the company was fully informed.
“We proved there was a nurse case manager going with her to every single appointment,” Thomas said, “and reporting back to the employer all the details of the injury, the treatment, the prognosis, the diagnosis, the work restrictions.”
Instead, Thomas said that her client was terminated for exercising her workers compensation rights.
“Our argument to the jury was that they had retaliated against her from the moment she was injured,” Thomas said.
She said that the company claimed it had reached out by phone and mail in an attempt to contact Hicks but the plaintiff denied ever receiving such communications.
Ultimately, jurors found in favor of Hicks and awarded her $300,000 with an additional $90,000 in back pay tacked on.
However, the defense filed a motion for new trial and included an affidavit from two individuals who alleged that Thomas’ father, who had come to court to see his daughter make closing arguments, had approached a group of jurors outside the courthouse and engaged them in conversation.
Thomas’ father denied that he’d spoken to anyone and Thomas herself went to find surveillance video from the area which confirmed his story that the alleged contact had never occurred.
“He walked directly to his car and left during the break,” she said.
At a sanctions hearing, the witnesses claimed they “misremembered” the events, an explanation the judge said “lacked any credibility.”
Thomas filed a motion for sanctions which the judge granted in the amount of $312,450 against both defendants.
Thomas said that the outcome of the workers comp case showed that Hicks was the more credible party in the eyes of jurors.
“I think the jury believed our client and did not believe witnesses for the company,” Thomas said.
Conor Neusel and Stephanie Milner of Thompson Coburn were listed as representing the defendants in the case. They did not return a request for comment.
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$390,000 (plus $312,450 for sanctions)
Workers compensation
- Breakdown: $300,000 for non-economic/$90,000 for back pay/$312,450 for sanctions
- Venue: Caldwell County Circuit Court
- Case Number/Date: 20CL-CC00020/June 1, 2024
- Judge: Ryan W. Horsman
- Caption: Kathleen Louise Hicks v. Commercial Metals Company; CMC Steel Fabricators, Inc.
- Plaintiffs’ Attorneys: Brianne Thomas, Jason Iezzi and Josh Sanders of Boyd Kenter Thomas & Parrish, (Independence)
- Defendants’ Attorneys: Conor Neusel and Stephanie Milner of Thompson Coburn, (St. Louis)
This article credit to MOLawyersMedia