Jim Boeheim and Syracuse University sued by victim’s family over 2019 fatal crash

[Briancuse]

it was an ice storm and doesn’t matter. I am just telling you what the argument will be.

That's fine and I hope the family is taken care of.

 

[jgeorge322]

That's fine and I hope the family is taken care of.

they wont be receiving any life altering compensation. That being said, money isnt everything and I hope they are surviving through the grief.

 

[Bayside44]

Im sure he will do something for the family.Not saying he is obligated too, but knowing the man he is.

Opening up the wallet is something any lawyer will stop. Never turn on the water hose.

 

[moqui]

i honestly don't blame the family for doing this.

jb, sure
su? c'mon

 

[Capt. Tuttle]

So heres how this works.

a. The university is def not liable because jb was coming home from work and i think after dinner. That will get tossed out. He wasnt in the course and scope of his employment. I think the law is pretty clear on this.

b. Jb has some exposure because he as over the speed limit. The question will be could he have avoided the accident if he was going slower or more careful considering the conditions. The estate of this guy will probably get some expert to say he could have and that will be enough to get to a jury.

practically speaking howver, i would presume jb has sufficient insurance. So this will be taken care of by them. I dont blame the family. They probably arent well off. This will be a way to get some compensation even if ppl think the lawsuit is a bit bogus.

that said, this claim probably isnt worth a lot. Believe it or not, The recoverable damages for death claims in ny arent all that great. If this guy was single and not a high earner and assuming he died Or was unconscious, relatively quick which i think he did the claims prob worth like $250k maybe $500k tops. You add in the questionable liability, the fact that jb is beloved here and a jury likely wont want to find against him, and youre probably talking a settlement in low six figures tops. Thats well within whatever insurance jb will have. If bet this would go away for between $75-100k but itll be confidential.

btw this isnt “jb taking care of the family”. This is how the civil system works and why you buy insurance.

If SU is the owner or leasee of the car, it is on the hook as well. For instance, before legislative changes, car companies that leased vehicles were held financially responsible for accidents in those vehicles. In short, the owner bears the financial responsibility, unless the vehicle was stolen or was being used outside the scope of his employment, and even then it would likely be used for indemnification from the driver, rather than getting SU out of the case and not being responsible to the plaintiff.
The first hurdle is the extent of liability on both sides. NY is a comparative negligence state. If they are both 50/50 at fault, the damages would be cut in half.
Then damages: expected lifetime earnings, retirement, medical insurance, etc., reduced to present value. Likely little conscious pain and suffering as I believe the death was all but instantaneous, if I recall the news articles.
If he has a wife or kids, they will have losses as well. Adult children though have little claim.
I would hope JB would have at least a $5M umbrella with an underlying $1M liability policy.
I would assume that JB is insulated from personal liability with trusts, LLCs, Corps, etc., except his wages, of course.
This will settle.

 

[UpstateSM]

Scumbags.

Who?

 

[Capt. Tuttle]

still not enough for vicarious liability. He would be covered by Syracuse insurance however in that instance.

if Syracuse owned the vehicle they could allege the university was negligent for providing the vehicle to jb but that’s even flimsier than vicarious liability argument.

Wrong - owners are liable.

Article 11 Vehicle Traffic Law | Civil Liability Negligence

Title 3 Article 11 Section 388 Vehicle and Traffic Law | Civil Liability. Negligence in use or operation of vehicle attributable to owner. Indemnity, Liability.

ypdcrime.com

 

[Capt. Tuttle]

it was an ice storm and doesn’t matter. I am just telling you what the argument will be.

That's well and good, but it's not a strict liability statute, so there must be some evidence that his speed was a contributing factor. Not sure that will hold much water.

 

[721Comstock]

Insurance companies will settle this not JB. I can’t even fathom the nexus to have SU as a party

Deep pockets.

Oh, and he was at a game earlier in the evening, so - reasons?

See: deep pockets.

 

[Capt. Tuttle]

Scumbags.

Would that a loved one of yours isn't taken suddenly through actions of someone else.
They have lost a husband and father, in addition to his financial contributions to their lives. This is the system by which they may air their grievances and hope to be made financially whole, at least.
It seems it's better in your mind that a family suffer devastating emotional and financial loss than have your beloved coach and college be spared some temporary inconveniences.

 

[Capt. Tuttle]

Regardless, too fast for conditions. Believe he was speeding though.

I think the proof, as I understand it, does not bear that out. JB didn't lose control of his vehicle. He was trying to avoid an accident and the guy ran out in front of him.

 

[Mareiniss]

most cars have data recorders now. Probably would have been tripped by the impact. I’m sure the cops pulled the vdr and that’s why they know how fast he was going.

It seems almost like an unavoidable accident, but it’s all moot because insurance will cover everything. I’m sure that both SU and Boeheim have plenty of insurance, and there seems to be enough gray area to justify some sort of payment. The Brinones vehicle probably had insurance that will contribute, as well.

What is the gray area? According to one P-S article, it was dark, roads were icy in spots, and both vehicles were speeding:

“Examination of the Event Data Recorder, otherwise known as the ‘black box’, revealed that the Boeheim vehicle was traveling at approximately 66 mph at five seconds before the impact and at approximately 54 mph at the time of impact. ... The event data recorder of Brinones’ vehicle indicates that he was traveling at 67 mph five seconds before he lost control of his vehicle and struck the guardrail.”

Jim Boeheim, other driver, both speeding in fatal crash; DA says no charges

DA William Fitzpatrick said the final accident reconstruction report confirms that no crimes were committed in the crash that killed a man walking on I-690.

www.syracuse.com

 

[walsh2012]

jb, sure
su? c'mon

su has more $$$ than jb, they pay his salary

 

[Mareiniss]

If SU is the owner or leasee of the car, it is on the hook as well. For instance, before legislative changes, car companies that leased vehicles were held financially responsible for accidents in those vehicles. In short, the owner bears the financial responsibility, unless the vehicle was stolen or was being used outside the scope of his employment, and even then it would likely be used for indemnification from the driver, rather than getting SU out of the case and not being responsible to the plaintiff.
The first hurdle is the extent of liability on both sides. NY is a comparative negligence state. If they are both 50/50 at fault, the damages would be cut in half.
Then damages: expected lifetime earnings, retirement, medical insurance, etc., reduced to present value. Likely little conscious pain and suffering as I believe the deathwas all but instantaneous, if I recall the news articles.
If he has a wife or kids, they will have losses as well. Adult children though have little claim.
I would hope JB would have at least a $5M umbrella with an underlying $1M liability policy.
I would assume that JB is insulated from personal liability with trusts, LLCs, Corps, etc., except his wages, of course.
This will settle.

This is exactly right. NYS law deems the negligence of the driver (Boeheim) to automatically be the negligence of the owner of the vehicle (SU). Many people don’t know this, but it’s the law.

That’s why you have to be VERY careful about letting anyone else drive a car that’s titled in your name. If they screw up, you’re on the hook too.

In this case, the comparative negligence of the decedent - Jiminez - will be weighed against Boeheim’s. It appears to me that Jiminez may have been negligent, too, in failing to get out of the roadway in a timely manner. If Jiminez was 25% responsible, the jury would theoretically reduce his recovery by 25%, and so on. But this case will never get to a jury. The insurance companies will almost certainly resolve the case well before that point.

 

[orangenauburn]

He was going 66 in a 55 I belive the Article says

So keeping up with traffic

 

[chugg21]

Oh man, a litigated claims thread. Just what I was hoping for after spending my day dealing with litigated claims!

 

[Gotothehole]

Bad Press

 

[kcsu]

It was a terrible accident. Speeding combined with the poor driving conditions will almost certainly result in a valid claim. Im sure the insurance company will settle.

 

[jgeorge322]

Politically Incorrect Warning:
Another take. How about the unfortunate decedent was conducting himself "too unwisely for conditions."

From the report:
The disabled car, driven by Alberto Brinones, was cited for having unsafe tires as a contributing factor in the accident, according to the report. The car also had inoperable rear marker lights.
"A secondary contributing factor is pedestrian error/confusion, as the pedestrians remained on the dark highway dressed in dark clothing for a prolonged period of time after being aware of on-coming vehicles nearly colliding with the Dodge Charger," the report read.

Ya think Alberto Brinones will get sued for his negligence? In a shared negligence case Boeheim's share would be (I'm guessing here) 25% - if he was speeding. How did they know he was going 65 mph. I don't doubt it, I just wonder how it was discerned. A tragedy for sure, but another example of mining the deep pockets.

Don't mean to sound hard-hearted. Just seems like the predictable result of risky behavior with JB serving as the ultimate aligner of the fates.

brinones probably had a minimum policy. In nys, there is joint and several liability w auto accidents. If jb gets hit with 1%, he has to pay his share and whatever the other guy cant pay. You make a point though, maybe there are others to blame, including the decedent.

 

[jgeorge322]

That's well and good, but it's not a strict liability statute, so there must be some evidence that his speed was a contributing factor. Not sure that will hold much water.

again, im just telling you what thet will argue. read my post and youll see it.

good call on owner liability though. I didnt know that.

 

[Capt. Tuttle]

again, im just telling you what thet will argue. read my post and youll see it.

good call on owner liability though. I didnt know that.

I understand what you were saying, but I was clarifying that speeding, in and of itself, does not make JB liable. Has to be shown that it was a contributing factor.

 

[Col. Bleep]

Bad Press

Perhaps the overriding factor.
With SU potentially on the hook it has no reason to drag out litigation.
Expect a fairly quick settlement with the university's insurer paying it all ...possibly seeking limited indemnification from Boeheim's insurer.

 

[orangecuse]

One thing I didn't see mentioned here from the posters that are obvious attorneys or have experience in the insurance industry is a claim called "zone of danger." This allows potential recovery for parties that were also present or in that "zone" (immediate area) that can commence a cause of action for compensatory damages relative to psychological, emotional distress, trauma, etc. even without sustaining any physical bodily injury.

Wrongful death cases involve pre-impact terror, conscious pain and suffering and economic loss. The first is typically a 'capped' monetary amount, which isn't a significant amount from a compensatory figure standpoint. Since the deceased died instantly, there will be a minimal compensatory amount for conscious pain and suffering. The largest amount for compensatory damages potential falls in the economic loss category, which is often where the highest figures come from. However, I don't believe (if I recall correctly) that the deceased was married or had any minor children where they were financially dependent on him.

This being the case, along with the comparative negligence offset, it doesn't appear to be one of high monetary value, certainly not one that would tap into JB's umbrella policy, but settled in the underlying coverage exposure area. Moreover, if SU did own the vehicle, its policy would be primary (with liability following the vehicle) and cover the loss 100% and JB's personal policies would be secondary or excess insurance to the school's primary coverage.

 

[Jake]

It will be settled quietly.

 

[JoeSU]

Feb 2019.
21 months ago.

I find myself wondering about the timing, filing right before the start of the hoops season.
Probably hoping JB and SU will want to settle this quickly and without going to trial.