Page 43 - ATR 6 2018 web
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Reptile Theory
Attorney Jerry Sallings advises how to prepare for trial lawyers
in an especially litigious environment
By Bethany May
Managing Editor
In October, the Arkansas Supreme
Court decided to strike Issue 1 from the
election ballot, removing the opportu-
nity for Arkansans to have their votes
tallied on tort reform. The litigious
environment that the ballot measure
would have corrected has been espe-
cially punitive to the trucking industry,
where trial lawyers have used accident
and injury cases to persuade juries to
award “nuclear verdicts” in the tens or
even hundreds of millions of dollars
to victims of accidents involving big
trucks.
A particularly high profile case
out of Texas this year ended with a
jury awarding almost $90 million to a
woman involved in a tragic crash with
a big truck after she lost control of her “TO THE EXTENT THAT THEY CAN TAKE YOU ALONG,
own vehicle in inclement winter weath- TAKE THE WITNESS ALONG THIS PRIMROSE PATH
er and crossed the median and collided OF ‘YES,’ ‘YES,’ ‘YES,’ AND THEN AT THE VERY END,
with a truck.
How can juries be persuaded to THEY WILL NARROW THE QUESTIONS DOWN. AND
come to this kind of conclusion? IF YOU’VE SAID ‘YES’ ALL ALONG, THEN AT THE END
On Oct. 2 and 3, the Arkansas YOU ARE STUCK.”
Trucking Association hosted the 2018
ATA Safety Symposium. During one ses-
sion, Wright, Lindsey, Jennings attorney —JERRY SALLINGS, ATTORNEY
Jerry Sallings presented on the reptile AT WRIGHT LINDSEY, JENNINGS
theory — a strategy of plaintiff lawyers
to try to run up verdicts and gain a
favorable edge.
In their article, “Atticus Finch the ethics of ‘animalizing’ human Regardless of how ethical the strat-
Would Not Approve: Why a Courtroom beings, “To equate men and women egy is, trial lawyers have found that it
Full of Reptiles is a Bad Idea," authors serving on a jury with reactive sub- works. So what is the reptile theory and
Stephanie West Allen, Jeffrey Schwartz mammals is both offensive and objec- how could it affect you?
and Diane Wyzga do attempt to refute tionable.”
ARKANSAS TRUCKING REPORT | Issue 6 2018 43
