By Scott Lauck
A trucking company agreed to pay $1.4 million to the family of a grandmother who died in a car accident in St. Louis County.
According to documents filed with the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri, the settlement, which stems from Diane Veehoff’s May 18, 2007, death, was split among her nine children and grandchildren.
Veehoff was killed when a tractor trailer owned by Swift Transportation Co. crashed into stopped traffic on Interstate 44 near Fenton. The truck’s driver, Donald Ferguson, also died.
Jury selection for the trial had already begun on Oct. 7, when the attorneys reached the agreement.
“We resolved the case around 11 a.m., and I would anticipate that opening statements would have taken place that afternoon,” said the Veehoffs’ attorney, Morry Cole, of Gray, Ritter & Graham in St. Louis.
Judge Catherine D. Perry approved the settlement following a Nov. 19 hearing.
The Reno, Nev.-based trucking company’s attorney, James Jarrow, of Baker Sterchi Cowden & Rice’s Kansas City office, did not return a phone call seeking comment.
According to the agreement, five of Veehoff’s children — Daniel Veehoff, Casey Veehoff, Rebecca Wahlert, Garry Feld and Timothy Feld — received about $151,000 each.
Four of Veehoff’s grandchildren — Mark Edward Feld, Benjamin John Feld and two minors identified only by their initials — each received about $38,000. The grandchildren’s father was Diane Veehoff’s son who preceded her in death.
The remaining $60,000 was to go to Veehoff’s estate for property damages.
Gray, Ritter & Graham received about $367,000 in attorney fees and $64,000 in expenses. The fees represent 27.5 percent of the settlement.
■ $1.4 million settlement
Wrongful death/automobile accident
■ Court: U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri
■ Case Number/Date: 4:07-cv-1323/Oct. 7, 2008
■ Judge: Catherine D. Perry
■ Plaintiffs’ Experts: Thomas Green, Chicago (reconstruction); Robert E. “Jay” Marsh, Little Rock, Ark. (economist)
■ Last Pretrial Demand: $1.5 million
■ Last Pretrial Offer: $1.4 million
■ Insurance Carrier: Mohave Insurance
■ Caption: Daniel Veehoff, Casey Veehoff, Rebecca Wahlert, Garry Feld, Timothy Feld, Casey Veehoff as Personal Representative of the Estate of Diane Veehoff, deceased, Mark Edward Feld, Benjamin John Feld, S.F., a minor, by and through Next Friend Mark Edward Feld, J.F., a minor, by and through Next Friend Mark Edward Feld v. Swift Transportation Co. Inc.
■ Plaintiff’s Attorney: Morry S. Cole, Gray, Ritter & Graham, St. Louis
■ Defendant’s Attorneys: James R. Jarrow, Robert F. Chandler
and Matthew S. Hendricks, Baker Sterchi Cowden & Rice, Kansas City
Missouri Lawyers Media., 319 North Fourth Street, Fifth Floor, St. Louis, Missouri, 63102
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February 16, 2009
