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General Motors Corporation v. Pegues12/8/1998
DATE OF JUDGMENT: March 25, 1996
TRIAL JUDGE: HON. GEORGE C. CARLSON JR.
COURT FROM WHICH APPEALED: PANOLA COUNTY CIRCUIT COURT
NATURE OF THE CASE: CIVIL - PERSONAL INJURY
TRIAL COURT DISPOSITION: JIMMY PEGUES WAS AWARDED DAMAGES TOTALING $3,529,600.
DISPOSITION: AFFIRMED
. Jimmy Pegues, a resident of Panola County, Mississippi, was involved in an automobile accident on April 27, 1986. Pegues argued that a defective ball joint on a 1982 Chevrolet pickup truck broke, causing him to lose control of the vehicle, leave the roadway, and crash into a concrete box culvert resulting in severe disabling injuries, including but not limited to, the amputation of his left leg. General Motors (GM) argued that the ball joint broke only after impact, and that Pegues's drunk driving and speeding was the proximate cause of the accident. The jury returned a unanimous verdict in favor of Pegues for $3,529,600, and the trial court entered its judgment accordingly. GM filed a motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict, or in the alternative, for a new trial or a remittitur, all of which the trial court denied. Aggrieved, GM argues on appeal: 1) that they are entitled to judgment because the physical facts disproved Pegues's claim, 2) that the verdict is contrary to the overwhelming weight of the evidence, 3) that Pegues's expert was improperly allowed to testify about matters beyond his competence as an auto mechanic, 4) that Pegues's prejudicial references to irrelevant "side-saddle gas tank litigation" and alleged "problems" with other ball joints required a new trial, and 5) that the damage award was excessive and unsupported by proper evidence. Finding no error to the issues raised, we affirm the judgment entered on the jury's verdict.
FACTS
. In 1982, GM sold a Chevrolet pickup truck as a new vehicle to James Scott. In May 1985, Scott sold the pickup to Womble and Prides, an automobile sales and service operation, who in turn, sold it to Pegues's brother, Ezell. On or about April 27, 1996, Pegues borrowed the pickup truck from his brother, and was traveling along Highway 6 in Panola County, Mississippi. Pegues stated that he had been "hanging out" with friends and admitted to drinking beer that evening. After dropping his friends off, Pegues testified that as he was driving home in the right lane, he went down a hill over a "dip" in the road, and approximately a half mile later something caused the pickup to veer left off of the road. Pegues stated that he was able to slow down, return to the road, and regain control of the truck. Pegues testified that since he was approximately two miles from his home, he thought he could get the truck home before anything else occurred. Pegues stated that he sped up and "that's when it was coming off the road again. And while it was coming off the road it was burning my hand when I tried to pull it back on the road, and I was steady fighting it." Pegues stated that he was unable to get the truck back onto the road. He testified, "I was turning back to the right, but it was going to the left." Pegues was unable to regain control of the vehicle, and it crashed into a concrete box culvert. Pegues testified that that was the last thing he remembered until regaining consciousness in the hospital approximately three weeks later. Pegues stated that he suffered catastrophic injuries in the accident, which necessitated extensive hospitalization and fourteen separate surgeries, including the amputation of his left leg. At the time of trial, the cost of medical care for these injuries was $190,424.16.
. Pegues argues that the sole proximate cause of the collision and his result
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