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David
Hurt, et al v. Coyne Cylinder Company
This
was a product liability action which was tried on two
occasions before U. S. District Court Judge Jerome Turner,
Western Division, Memphis, Tennessee. This case involved
an acetylene cylinder which caught on fire and exploded
in the rear of a welding truck and which burned the
Plaintiff over 80 percent of his body as he was attempting
to put out the fire. The case was initially tried in
Memphis, Tennessee, and once the Plaintiffs put their
case on before the jury, a 17 day recess was ordered
to allow the trial of a criminal defendant. Thereafter,
the case resumed and, after two days of deliberation,
resulted in a verdict for the Defense. The case was
appealed to the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals and a reversal
and new trial was awarded. On retrial in 1992, Plaintiffs
received a total verdict of 6.7 million dollars, utilizing
essentially the same witnesses and proof as was used
in the first trial. Plaintiff's attorneys were Ralph
Chapman, of CHAPMAN, LEWIS & SWAN, Clarksdale, Mississippi,
and T. Robert Hill of Hill Boren, Jackson, Tennessee.
The defense attorney was Robert Green of Neely, Green
and Fargarson, Memphis, Tennessee.
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