Jeff Rickard won a $900,000 verdict for a client who lost his right arm and suffered serious leg and hip fractures in a tractor rollover accident.
The case exposed the “gray market” in which used tractors made for sale only in Japan are later imported into the U.S. without authorization of the manufacturer. Those tractors are built narrow and light to use in the rice paddies of Japan, but they do not meet U.S. safety standards.
The claims against the American company that imported and sold the “gray market” tractor were settled prior to trial for $550,000. The claims against the Japanese manufacturer were dismissed for lack of personal jurisdiction, but the claims against the American distributor for negligent failure to warn proceeded to trial and resulted in the favorable verdict.
