Mr. Ryan defended his client when the plaintiffs' decedent was killed in a head-on collision with the defendant's tractor trailer in rural Georgia. After a five-day jury trial in Orleans Parish, a judgment of $2,500,000 was rendered in favor of the decedent's two teen-aged sons, including an award of $175,000 for pre-impact fright. As appellate counsel for Gold Kist, Inc., Mr. Ryan drafted briefs which showed that the jury's verdict was not supported by the record evidence but was rather based on speculative and inflammatory testimony. The appellate court held that the jury's award was manifestly erroneous and reduced wrongful death damages to $1,084,205. The award for pre-impact fright was vacated.
Estate of Cristodoro v. Gold Kist, Inc., 819 So.2d 1034 (La.App. 4 Cir. 1/23/02).