LITTLE ROCK — Jurors deliberating the damages lawsuit brought by Nancy Chu against American Airlines did not reach a verdict Tuesday, leaving federal court after 5 hours and 40 minutes of closed-door talks.
U.S. District Judge Henry Woods presented the jurors with 10 questions to answer in reaching their verdict, nine of them about an affair between Chu and an American employee sent to care for her after the June 1, 1999, crash of Flight 1420 at Little Rock National Airport, Adams Field.
The first question: How much money should Chu receive for her injuries, and are those injuries are expected to improve?
Chu was in seat 16A when the plane overran the runway in a storm, struck a light stanchion and careened over an embankment. The plane broke in half at row 18 before burning. Eleven died, including the pilot, and most of the other 129 passengers were hurt.
Woods told the eight-member jury to consider Chu's pain and suffering, her lost earnings, any loss of future income and the reasonable expense of any help she might need to recover. He told the jury that the damages award must be "reasonable" but left that word open to interpretation.
The rest of the questions involve Jim Struthers, who was assigned with another American employee to provide assistance to Chu as part of the airline's Customer Assistance Relief Effort, or CARE, Team.
The jurors are to decide, unanimously:
- Was American negligent in training Struthers?
- If so, did that make Chu's condition worse?
- How much should she be awarded for that?
- Did Struthers act within the scope of his employment when he engaged in the sexual relationship?
- If he did, was such behavior extreme and outrageous?
- If so, how much did that aggravate Chu's problems?
- If so, how much should she be awarded for that?
- Does Chu deserve punitive damages in addition to those already awarded?
- If so, how much?
The jurors began deliberating at 12:10 p.m., ordering out for hamburgers and sandwiches. Three times, a federal marshal accompanied the four who smoke downstairs for a break.
Deliberations resume at 9 a.m. today.
Some of the medical evidence was still in dispute in closing arguments.
Frank Branson, one of Chu's attorneys, argued that the former stockbroker's assistant suffered brain damage from a head injury, a diagnosis with which six doctors agreed. But American argued that Chu had presented no proof that she had struck her head.
"The concept of her brain injury has snowballed," said American attorney Gail Gaines, who argued that none of Chu's doctors suspected a brain injury until the attorneys suggested it. American is not contesting that Chu's brain scans show some abnormalities, only the cause.
Gaines spent most of her closing argument on the affair with Struthers, calling Chu's allegations of outrageous behavior nothing more than "trumped-up claims." She said the relationship, while regrettable, was nothing more than a love affair between two people.
Branson said American was using "smoke and mirrors" to defend itself, pulling out all of its resources to discredit Chu. He said that, while American has accepted responsibility for the crash, the three-week trial showed the airline didn't want to pay Chu a fair amount.
He suggested to jurors that her economic damages were between $3.6 million and $5.9 million. He did not suggest an amount for a punitive award, but during jury selection had suggested they might consider damages as high as $250 million.
While the jury was deliberating, a lawsuit brought by former Central High School English teacher Nancy Wood was settled out of court. Wood broke her neck when she was thrown from her seat, 19E.
Chu's case is multilayered. In addition to the punitive claim concerning Struthers, she reserved her right to participate in a separate punitive-damages trial expected later this year. That trial will focus on whether American's pilot exercised a high degree of care in landing the plane, or if he was reckless. Passengers who have settled cannot share in any money that might be awarded in that case.
The two other Flight 1420 cases that have gone to trial involved international passengers, whom Woods has ruled cannot sue for punitive damages. The plaintiffs, both university students, received $11 million and $6 million in jury awards for their injuries. American has appealed the $6 million award.
An estimated 39 cases remain. Woods has set trial dates for 16 of them, including one Monday involving a Bryant woman who was returning from Arizona with her two small children.
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