Erin Achenbach//December 5, 2024//
A St. Charles County civil suit has resulted in a $300 million judgment for abuse that occurred while the plaintiff was a toddler.
The plaintiff was only identified as “G.T.” in the suit against Susan McLaurie and James McLaurie. The case was heard through a bench trial in St. Charles County Circuit Court by Judge W. Christpher McDonough and a verdict was handed down in favor of the plaintiff on Oct. 30.
According to the suit, the plaintiff suffered physical and sexual abuse by the defendants between the ages of 3 to 5 while temporarily in custody and care of the defendants at various times. James McLaurie repeatedly sexually and physically abused the plaintiff and Susan McLaurie repeatedly physically abused the plaintiff, leaving the plaintiff with both physical and deep emotional scars.
The plaintiff asserted negligence claims against the defendants in that each defendant negligently supervised the plaintiff separately. When Susan McLaurie was supposed to be supervising G.T., she did not, which allowed the plaintiff to be abused by James McLaurie, and vice versa.
Attorney Grant Boyd of O’Brien Law Firm in St. Louis represented G.T.
James McLaurie was criminally prosecuted in St. Charles County and convicted at trial of sexually abusing the plaintiff. A defendant ad litem — Blake Markus of Carson & Coil in Jefferson City — was appointed for defendant Susan McLaurie because she died before the action was filed.
According to Markus, his role as defendant ad litem is “to try to find insurance coverage or work against the insurance company to try to get them to pay for a claim.”
The first and last pre-trial demand was the $303,000 policy limit. Liberty Mutual was the defendants’ insurance carrier.
The defendants were found 100 percent at fault, and the breakdown of the $300 million total value was $150 million against each.
Boyd said that while they weren’t necessarily satisfied with the outcome of the case “given the horrors the girl experienced,” it was encouraging that courts were taking these cases seriously.
“We are encouraged that courts in our state are better understanding and recognizing, especially in this judgment, the unbelievable damages that childhood abuse causes not only immediately but for a lifetime,” Boyd said.
Markus agreed that the case was “atrocious.”
“Absolutely atrocious facts … underly the case,” Markus said. “I believe that there is insurance coverage, and I will undergo my duties to make sure the insurance company pays out on the behalf of the deceased.”
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- Amount of verdict, judgment or settlement: $300 million
- Breakdown and distribution of total value: $150 million against each defendant
- Allocation of fault: 100 percent against defendants
- Type of action: Other Personal Injury
- Venue: St. Charles County Circuit Court
- Case Number/Date: Oct. 30, 2024/2311-CC00467
- Plaintiffs’ Experts: None
- Defendants’ Experts: None
- Injuries: emotional, psychological, physical
- Caption: G.T. v. Susan McLaurie, James McLaurie
- Plaintiff’s Attorneys: Grant Boyd of O’Brien Law Firm
- Defendant’s Attorneys: None
- First Pretrial Demand: $303,000
- Last Pretrial Demand: $303,000
- First Pretrial Offer: $0
- Last Pretrial Offer: $0
- Insurance Carriers: Liberty Mutual (for defendants)
This article credit to MOLawyersMedia