BEAUMONT - The Ninth Court of Appeals recently affirmed a verdict of more than $841,000 in damages against Schindler Elevator in a personal injury lawsuit.
Court records show Darren Ceasar sued Schindler Elevator and the MCM Elegante Hotel back in October 2017, claiming he was injured while riding an elevator at the Elegante.
According to the lawsuit, the elevator failed to stop at the seventh floor, slammed into the top of the elevator shaft and became stuck. The panic button in the elevator failed to work and Ceasar called 911 from his cell phone. After about half an hour, the fire department arrived and helped Ceasar out of the elevator.
Before the case went to trial, the court granted summary judgment in favor of Elegante, court records show.
Court records further show that a jury returned a verdict for Ceasar and awarded $841,754.82 in damages. The trial court denied Schindler’s motion for a new trial, entered a final judgment on the verdict, and imposed $25,000 in sanctions against Schindler for pretrial discovery abuse.
On appeal, Schindler challenged the exclusion of certain evidence, the jury charge, document production required by the court during trial, sanctions, and the denial of Schindler’s motion for mistrial.
On Nov. 30, the Ninth Court overruled all of Schindler’s issues and affirmed the trial court’s judgment.
Schindler is represented in part by The Aubert Law Firm in Louisiana.
Ceasar is represented in part by the Arnold & Itkin law firm in Houston.
Judge Baylor Wortham, 136th District Court, is the trial court that presided over the case.
Appeals case No. 09-19-00419-CV
Jefferson County District Court case No. D-200813