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WHEN THE JURY SPEAKS, CORPORATE AMERICA LISTENS!
(Why the Dominos Pizza Jury Made a Difference)

     Can a jury verdict affect the way a company does business? Can it change corporate policy? Can it do something good for society? The answer is yes. And this is a strong reason why we should protect the jury system.

     After a jury in St. Louis awarded $78 million in punitive damages against Domino's Pizza, the world's largest pizza delivery company finally dropped its fast delivery policy. Domino's previously guaranteed delivery of its pizzas within 30 minutes, and gave customers $3 off for late pizzas.

     However, this enticing marketing strategy has led to hundreds of claims against Dominos as people were injured by the delivery drivers. This policy has been blamed for causing Domino's drivers to speed and drive recklessly, to meet the 30 minute deadline.

     In the St. Louis case, Jean Kinder suffered head and spinal injuries when a Domino's driver ran a red light and smashed into her car. Kinder and her daughter were on their way to a bowling alley when the accident occurred. The $78 million figure was apparently the amount Domino's paid in one year to customers for late pizzas.

     This case demonstrates the importance of our jury system. In recent year, corporate interests have been pressuring Congress to limit the amounts that juries can award in such cases. If laws like these are passed, they will severely weaken our system's ability to promote safe practices on the part of big business. Because of large verdicts such as the one in the Domino's case, companies are forced to modify or eliminate products that are a threat to public safety.

     In the past, products such as automobiles, asbestos, and infant's cribs have been redesigned or removed from the market in response to the threat of substantial jury verdicts. Without that threat, companies will have far less incentive to take on the expense of redesigning or removing dangerous products. The Consumer Federation of America estimates that 6,000 deaths and millions of injuries are prevented each year because of the threat of jury verdicts against the makers of defective products. In order for our jury system to continue serving this purpose, big corporate lobbyists must not be allowed to tamper with it.

© Law Offices C. Joe Sayas, Jr.