CVN screenshot of plaintiff attorney Tom D'Amore addressing the jury
Portland, OR - An Oregon state court jury has awarded $21.25 million, including $1.25 million in punitive damages, to the family of a man killed by a private security guard during an altercation in a Lowe’s parking lot, and the full trial was recorded gavel-to-gavel by Courtroom View Network.
The Multnomah County jury delivered their verdict on Tuesday in a trial that began on September 5. The panel found property manager TMT Development Corp, property owner Hayden Meadows and three representatives of Cornerstone Security Group liable for the 2021 death of Freddy Nelson Jr.
Former Cornerstone security guard Logan Gimbel, currently serving a life sentence after a second degree murder conviction over the incident, shot Nelson through the windshield of his pickup truck after ordering Nelson to leave the Lowe’s lot, where he claimed he had an arrangement with a store employee to pick up and remove excess wooden palates.
The jury assigned 80 percent liability to TMT, 10 percent to Lowe’s which settled out pre-trial, and 10 percent to Nelson himself. They also found Cornerstone and Gimbel’s conduct to be reckless, which teed up the $1.25 punitive damage award in addition to $20 million in compensatory damages.
Unlimited on-demand video of the full trial, including all witness testimony, is available with a subscription to CVN's online trial video library, which also featured hundreds of other trials featuring many of the top plaintiff and defense civil trial attorneys practicing today.
Attorneys for the Nelson family argued throughout trial that Gimbel needlessly escalated his encounter with Nelson, and that Cornerstone did not provide adequate training for an armed guard. They also blamed TMT for having an overly aggressive “zero tolerance” policy for illicit activity in the parking lot that helped set the stage for Nelson’s shooting.
The defendants took different paths during trial. TMT blamed the shooting on Gimbel and Cornerstone, however Cornerstone argued Gimbel passed the required background checks and reasonably feared for his safety when Nelson allegedly drove his truck in his direction.
Lead plaintiff attorney Tom D’Amore of D’Amore Law Group issued a statement after the verdict came in praising the jury’s decision.
“The jury’s verdict holds TMT Development and Cornerstone Security accountable for fostering a culture of violence that directly led to the tragic and needless shooting of Freddy Nelson Jr,” D’Amore said. “This decision makes clear that the defendants’ confrontational policies and reckless practices will not be tolerated in our community. While nothing can erase the pain of the Freddy’s death, we are proud to have achieved a measure of justice for the Nelson family.”
Attorneys for the defendants did not respond to requests for comment.
The case is captioned Nelson v. TMT Management Co., et al., case number 21CV40742 in Oregon’s Fourth Judicial District in Multnomah County.
E-mail David Siegel at dsiegel@cvn.com