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(USGovernment-News.Com, November 18, 2014 ) Salt Lake City, UT -- A court ruling of a recent bicycle accident case ended with a surprise-twist when an attorney from Craig Swapp & Associates had his day in court.
The plaintiff was riding her bicycle west on a sidewalk in Salt Lake City. When she got to a crosswalk, still moving west, she began to cross the street when the “walk” signal prompted her to. At that time, a northbound facing driver (defendant) attempted to turn right. The car turned in front of the bike-rider, causing the two to collide.
When it came time for the vehicle driver to report the incident to her insurance company, Geico, they denied the claim, largely based on the lie that was told to them by the driver: that the bicycle rider had actually caused the crash.
Meanwhile, the plaintiff was dealing with roughly $4,000.00 in medical bills.
The plaintiff’s attorney, Bobby Udall of Craig Swapp & Associates, advised to sue the defendant in small claims court. Geico, who knew about the lawsuit, did not show up. A default judgment was entered in the bike rider’s favor for $10,000.00, which is the jurisdictional cap. Geico then appealed the lawsuit, thinking they would have better luck at the District Court in Salt Lake City.
Attorney Udall had the chance to cross examine the driver of the car in front of the judge and court reporter. It was there that the driver admitted to seeing the cyclist for “at least four seconds”. Udall moved forward by questioning her about the assertion that the rider had actually hit her, not the other way around. He then brought it to the court’s attention that if that were the case, the vehicle would have shown damage on the passenger side, but in fact, the damage was in the front.
The driver then made an excuse that a pothole in the road had caused the biker to jump perpendicularly over the car and yet still land in the crosswalk. Attorney Udall then questioned the driver about her inconsistent assertion that her vehicle was "north of the crosswalk", yet the rider somehow ended up in that same crosswalk. Suddenly, the defendant refused to respond.
In closing, Attorney Bobby Udall explained to the judge that the defendant’s version of the facts defied the law of physics. The judge turned to the defendant and confirmed that she agreed the story was 100% discreditable. Therefore, the plaintiff was subsequently awarded the full $10,000.00 plus court costs.
For more information on the law firm that handled this case so wittingly, go to http://www.craigswapp.com.
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