Sayles Werbner Announces $71 Million Verdict in Bus Crash Case; Bus Company, Owner Found Responsible for Fatal Crash near Terrell.

DALLAS -- A Dallas County jury has found Dallas-based Discovery Tours of Texas and its owner Eric Rockmore liable for a June 24, 2002, bus accident near Terrell, Texas, that killed five people and injured many more.

The jury of five men and seven women awarded a total of almost $71 million to 20 plaintiffs on behalf of 17 teenagers who were injured in the bus crash. The verdict handed down today in Judge Mary Murphy's 14th District Court followed nearly three days of deliberations.

"Today's verdict can't bring back those who died, and it can't take away the physical and mental scars suffered by those who were on the bus that day," says attorney Mark Werbner of Sayles Werbner in Dallas, who represented the family of one injured victim, 15-year-old Nick Stout. "What we hope it will do is send a clear message to other transportation companies that their passengers get the care they deserve."

The bus was carrying a youth group from Metro Church of Garland to a church camp in Louisiana when it hit a concrete abutment on Interstate 20. The crash tore the bus into pieces, killing four children and the driver, Ernest Carter.

Tests later showed that Mr. Carter was under the influence of cocaine and Valium at the time of the crash. Telephone records indicated Carter did not get the amount of rest the federal government requires prior to getting behind the wheel.

Jurors spent a portion of the more than 3-week trial listening to testimony from Nick Stout's father. He told the jury that his son's injuries, including permanent brain damage, debilitating damage to his right leg, and the loss of one ear, mean Nick will need constant care for the rest of his life. The younger Stout's doctor testified that the teen now has the mental capacity of a third grader.

In addition to Mark Werbner, the Stouts were also represented by Eric Pearson and John Conway of Sayles Werbner. The jury awarded Nick Stout and his family approximately $36 million in actual damages. The remaining 18 plaintiffs were awarded a total of nearly $33 million in actual damages. Each of the 20 plaintiffs was awarded $100,000 in punitive damages, for a total punitive damage award of $2 million.

Other plaintiffs in the case were represented by attorneys David Schiller and Stephen Khoury of Dallas. Mr. Rockmore and Discovery Tours were represented by attorney Rob Miller of Dallas.