Appeals court upholds record $165M-plus judgment in I-10 crash

LAS CRUCES - The state Appeals Court on Tuesday reaffirmed a judgment  of more than $165 million against FedEx over a 2011 crash west of Las Cruces that killed three people and left a baby severely injured.

The lawsuit stemmed from a nighttime crash in which a FedEx-contracted big rig truck slammed into a parked or slow-moving GMC passenger truck at Mile 117 on Interstate 10 — about 20 miles west of Las Cruces.

Two of the three occupants in the pickup were killed: 22-year-old Marialy Venegas Morga and her 4-year-old daughter, Ylairam Morga, both of El Paso. Surviving was Venegas Morga's son, Yahir Morga, who was 1 at the time, according to Sun-News archives.

The driver of the contracted FedEx truck, El Pasoan Elizabeth Quintana, also died as a result.

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Marialy Venegas' husband, Alfredo Morga, wasn't traveling with his family at the time of the crash. He later filed a personal injury and wrongful death lawsuit against FedEx over the loss of his wife and daughter. Marialy Venegas' parents — Rene Venegas Lopez and Georgina Leticia Venegas — also joined in the lawsuit.

FedEx's appeal

In January 2015, a Santa Fe jury issued a $165.5 million verdict in the case, the largest civil award in New Mexico history. FedEx sought a new trial or a decrease in the judgment award from a state judge, which was denied.

FedEx then appealed to the New Mexico Court of Appeals, arguing the state judge had been mistaken in rejecting the request for a new trial or a lower judgment. The company argued the verdict was "not supported by substantial evidence" and was "tainted by passion, prejudice, partiality, sympathy, undue influence, or a mistaken measure of damages," according to court records.

The Appeals Court, however, rejected the company's argument.

"(W)e affirm the jury's verdict," Tuesday's opinion states.

Attorney James Scherr of El Paso, who represented the Morgas, said the Appeals Court issued a well-reasoned legal opinion that backs up the authority of juries to decide important issues. He said the lawsuit exposed FedEx's business practice at the time of outsourcing its truck driving to contractors, who drove vehicles with FedEx logos. He said those drivers didn't have safety training for driving early-morning hours, the "most dangerous time to be on the road." 

"FedEx needs to take responsibility for what they did," he said.

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Las Cruces attorney Joseph Cervantes, a state senator, is also representing the family.

FedEx's media relations division issued the following statement in response to the Court of Appeals opinion: "Safety is our highest priority, both within our company and across the network of service providers and their employees. While our thoughts and concerns remain with those affected by this tragic accident, we respectfully disagree with the appellate court's decision and are reviewing our legal options at this time."

Looking back

The initial $165.5 million verdict was apportioned by the jury in the following ways:

• $61 million for the wrongful death of Ylairam Morga
• $32 million for the wrongful death of Venegas Morga
• $32 million to Yahir Morga for the loss of his mother
• $40.125 million to Alfredo Morga for emotional distress and the loss of his spouse and child
• $208,000 to Venegas Lopez for the loss of his daughter
• $200,000 to Georgina Venegas for the loss of her daughter

FedEx was deemed liable for 95 percent of the total, roughly $157.3 million, while 5 percent of the liability was attributed to Venegas Morga.

Interest accruing

A state judge had awarded a 5 percent yearly interest on the award for the years leading up to the judgment, which took the total award from the original $165.5 million up to roughly $178 million. Post-judgment interest is also accumulating.

FedEx had challenged the award of pre-judgment interest before the Court of Appeals, but the court affirmed the granting of the interest.

There's a chance FedEx could appeal the case to the New Mexico Supreme Court.

Scherr said the appeals court's opinion was "so well-written, the law is so clear on this, and the facts are so overwhelming in favor of what happened in this tragedy, it would be surprising if FedEx continued trying to appeal this case further."

"That's up to them," he said.

While the case was being appealed, Venegas Morga's parents settled their portion of the award with FedEx.

Diana Alba Soular may be reached at 575-541-5443, dalba@lcsun-news.com or @AlbaSoular on Twitter.