Shane Read discusses how Frank Bayuk undercut defense arguments to win a $7 million rollover crash case verdict. You can watch the full trial here.
Because jurors often make decisions about a case’s merits during a trial’s earliest moments, it’s important to discredit opposing counsel’s key arguments during openings in order to bolster your own case. And in the latest episode of Trial Technique Spotlight, Shane Read, one of the nation’s foremost trial consultants, analyzes how Bayuk & Pratt’s Frank Bayuk memorably addressed key defense claims to win a $7 million verdict against Yamaha in a golf car rollover crash case.
A Georgia toddler suffered severe injuries including lifelong scarring when the Yamaha 2013-model “Drive” golf car that her father was driving rolled over as he hit the brakes on a downhill incline. Plaintiffs claimed the golf car’s rear, two-wheel braking system rendered it defective and caused the crash. Yamaha contended that, the father’s driving, combined with after-market modifications on the car that made it bigger, heavier, and faster, caused the wreck.
During his opening on behalf of the plaintiffs, Bayuk addressed head-on Yamaha’s contentions surrounding the after-market modifications, showing jurors clips of crash test video that he said established the golf car would have rolled over even if it had not been modified.
In analyzing the opening, Shane Read says Bayuk’s spotlight on that video from the trial's earliest moments, combined with the way he memorably framed that video to jurors, undercut key defense claims and served as a powerful cornerstone to his own case.
Bayuk, Read points out, makes clear to jurors that, while plaintiffs bore the burden of proving Yamaha was responsible, Yamaha itself bore the burden of proving anyone else was to blame for the wreck. And it was the way Bayuk made that point, Read says, that made it so memorable.
“First, he said Yamaha is just going to blame everyone,” Read says, mimicking how Bayuk pointed fingers around the courtroom as if Yamaha was seeking others to blame. “That theme is very powerful and resonates with a jury.”
Read then notes that Bayuk powerfully introduced the critical crash test video by saying that “If a picture is worth a thousand words… a video is worth a million.”
“That’s something jurors are going to remember for a long time,” Read says, noting those kinds of analogies, when supported by evidence like Bayuk had, can help sway jurors in the key, early moments of a trial.
“Remember, jurors are making up their minds very quickly,” Read says. “That’s why it’s important in opening statement to get your theme out and undercut the opposing attorney’s theme.”
Bayuk’s opening laid the foundation for a $7 million verdict. The jury found Yamaha 51% at fault, apportioning 44% of fault to the child’s father and 5% to the non-party who modified the golf car. However, under applicable Georgia law, the vehicle maker is responsible for the entire verdict.
Read’s discussion here is the latest in CVN’s ongoing series, Trial Technique Spotlight, with Shane Read. Read is a nationally recognized trial consultant and award-winning author who has helped thousands of lawyers transform their deposition, trial, and oral advocacy skills through in-house training programs, one-on-one coaching, and keynote speeches. And in each episode of Trial Technique Spotlight, he uses CVN’s courtroom video to detail the techniques the nation’s top attorneys use, and how to best use them in your own cases. You can learn more about Shane and sign up for his newsletter at ShaneRead.com.
Email Arlin Crisco at acrisco@cvn.com.
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Learn more about Shane Read and how he helps attorneys at ShaneRead.com.
Watch all episodes of Trial Technique Spotlight.