Angela Pope-Morgan, et al. v. Leilei Chen, et al.

Summary

A California state court jury returned a roughly $21.3 million verdict June 14 in favor of two young women alleging they sustained serious traumatic brain injuries after their van was rear-ended by an 18-wheeler truck.

The Los Angeles County jury found FBM Group Corporation and driver Leilei Chen liable for a 2017 accident that plaintiffs Asia and Sarah Morgan claim left them with permanent neurological injuries after Chen supposedly became distracted by dropping a water bottle and rear-ended the van in which they were riding.

Attorneys for the defendants argued the accident resulted from the van’s driver traveling dangerously below the speed limit, but the jury ultimately found FBM Group 82 percent liable for the accident while assigning 18 percent liability to the van’s driver, reducing the collectible award to just over $17 million.

Outcome

Verdict for plaintiffs.
Total damages: $21,253,467

Apportionment of fault: Leilei Chen: 82%
William Morgan: 18%