Stock image.
Jacksonville, FL— Jurors Wednesday handed down a $10.3 million compensatory verdict for the crash-related death of a 21-year-old Florida woman, with punitive proceedings scheduled next week before a separate jury. Behr v. Cerda, 2023-CA-001097.
Wednesday’s award in the damages-only case includes $5 million to each of Nell Behr’s parents, Monique and John Behr, for their daughter’s January 2023 death after a head-on collision with Ramon Cerda, in Duval County, Florida. Cerda, who had been drinking at a Jacksonville bar before the crash, pleaded guilty to DUI manslaughter and was ultimately sentenced to 12 years in prison for Behr’s death.
Eatery Investment Group, owner of Whiskey Jax, the bar where Cerda was drinking before the crash, was originally named in the lawsuit, but was not a defendant at trial.
Cerda admits fault for the fatal crash, including liability for compensatory and punitive damages. And this week’s two-day phase of proceedings focused on how to compensate Behr’s parents for her death.
During Wednesday’s closing arguments, the Behrs’ attorney, Davis Goldman’s Aaron Davis, walked jurors through evidence from Behr’s family and friends that he said showed the gravity of her loss on her parents, who had planned to move from Chicago to join their daughter in Jacksonville.
“It’s not like the pain is getting better,” Davis told jurors, after suggesting a range of damages between roughly $30-60 million. “It just doesn’t go away, ever. It’s just a different kind of bond when it’s your kid.”
But while Cole Scott & Kissane’s Daniel Shapiro acknowledged that Behr’s death was devastating to her parents, he told jurors evidence showed they were working through their grief and moving forward with their lives.
“While it is a very unnatural sequence of events to have to bury a child,” Shapiro said, before suggesting a roughly $2.35 million award, “parents persevere.”
Punitive proceedings in the case are slated to begin as soon as Monday. CVN archive subscribers will be able to watch those proceedings live.
Email Arlin Crisco at acrisco@cvn.com.
Not a subscriber?
