CVN screenshot of defense attorney Jeffrey Hansen arguing on behalf of R&T Logging
Eugene, OR - An Oregon state court jury delivered a a defense verdict last month for a logging company in a wrongful death lawsuit stemming from an intoxicated truck driver crashing and sending his cargo of logs tumbling into another car, and the full trial was recorded gavel-to-gavel by Courtroom View Network.
The Lane County jury returned their verdict on June 27 following an eight-day trial. The family of Sarah Susman sought roughly $73 million in damages for her 2021 death, claiming defendant R&T Logging was negligent in hiring an allegedly unqualified driver with a checkered safety record. Despite the driver being sentenced to 10 years in prison for manslaughter over the incident, R&T successfully argued they reasonably relied on a solid recommendation from another company with an established reputation and shouldn’t be held responsible for the driver’s individual conduct.
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During the trial R&T faced accusations of inadequately vetting the driver, Shane McVay, who usually worked for R&T’s trucking partner, Wolf Creek. Attorneys for the Susman family told the jury that logging companies like R&T frequently engage in a practice called “double brokering” which involves contractors trading and swapping hauling jobs with minimal regulatory oversight, a process that can be so opaque shippers are often unaware which entity is actually moving their freight.
They sought $13 million in economic damages and $60 million in economic damages, telling jurors that even a cursory check in the online federal Safety and Fitness Electronic Records database would have revealed red flags about McVay’s safety record.
The plaintiffs described a close relationship between the management at R&T and Wolf Creek, which is no longer in operation, and suggested that friendliness took the place of critical safety vetting which they said should have kept a driver with a record like McVay’s off the road.
Attorneys for R&T, the sole defendant in the case, insisted to jurors throughout the trial that their hiring practices were consistent with industry standards. In closings attorney Jeffrey Hansen said those claims had been backed up by expert witness testimony, and that R&T is a logging company, not a trucking company.
Hansen also cited testimony and video from the first state trooper who arrived on the scene of the accident, who initially noted that McVay did not show obvious signs of intoxication, which suggested he was largely able to hide his chronic alcoholism. Hansen also pointed to expert testimony that refuted suggestions McVay’s truck had been improperly loaded.
Hansen told CVN after the trial concluded that his client is relieved by the jury's unanimous decision.
"While R&T and the Cook family have always believed that the company and its employees did nothing wrong, they continue to offer their condolences to the Susman family,” he stated.
Representatives for the plaintiffs did not respond to a request for comment from CVN.
The Susman family was represented by D’Amore Law Group.
R&T Logging was repressed by Chock Barhoum LLP.
The case is captioned Susman v. R&T Logging, case number 23CV17883 in Lane County Circuit Court.
E-mail David Siegel at dsiegel@cvn.com