Judge Sean O’Donnell wrote in his ruling that the city had not met its burden “to undo what the jury decided.”
The King County Superior Court has denied the city of Seattle’s request for a new trial after a jury in January awarded the family of 16-year-old Antonio Mays Jr $30.5 million and determined that the city was negligent and liable in his 2020 death in a Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone (CHAZ) shooting.
Judge Sean O’Donnell wrote in his ruling that the city had not met its burden "to undo what the jury decided." He pushed back on the city’s claims that the delayed emergency response to the shooting of Mays only would have made a marginal difference in the outcome, writing "the Plaintiffs’ experts testified, in essence, that it was the delay in transportation caused Mr. Mays, Jr’s death. There was sufficient evidence to support this conclusion, when analyzed under the evidentiary thresholds necessary to prevail on these motions."
He also pushed back on the city’s claims that the jury had improperly placed full financial responsibility on Seattle instead of dividing the blame. "The jurors were specifically instructed to only consider damage related to the City’s conduct. The verdict form was consistent with that instruction, and this Court presumes the jurors followed that instruction. The alternative theory is that the jury imported the shooter’s culpability to the award, but the jury was specifically instructed not to do that."
The judge wrote that other misconduct claims raised by the city, including "undue passion by the jurors" and that the city was denied the opportunity to cross-examine Robert West, the teen who survived the shooting that killed Mays Jr, do not "reach the level of harmful prejudice that warrants a new trial."
Judge O’Donnell wrote that the compensation was "not a detached-from-reality award," noting that while it was a significant sum, "nothing in the evidence, the arguments, or the law, shows this is a verdict fueled by some outside or irregular force or event, including irrationality or sympathy, such that those forces tainted the verdict." The Seattle Attorney's Office said it intends to appeal the judge's ruling.
In the early hours of June 29, 2020, 16-year-old Mays Jr was shot inside CHAZ. Mays sustained at least eight gunshot wounds to the head, chest, and extremities after people acting as security for CHAZ opened fire, thinking Mays Jr and West were "white supremacists." West was left permanently disabled from the shooting. Protesters attempted to transport Mays out of the zone for medical help, however, barricades installed by the city impeded their path and Seattle Fire Department medics fled a "designated casualty zone," citing safety concerns. The killing remains unsolved, with no charges filed in nearly six years.
Oshan Law, the trial counsel for the Mays family, said in a statement following the judge’s ruling, "This ruling confirms what twelve jurors already told the City of Seattle. When you abandon your duty to protect citizens, there are consequences. Judge O’Donnell considered every argument the City raised and found none of them sufficient. The verdict stands. Antonio Mays Jr.’s injuries were survivable. The City’s failure to act cost him his life. A jury said so. A judge has now confirmed it. We hope the City will accept responsibility and do the right thing."
Antonio Mays Sr, the father of Mays Jr, said, "My son came to this city and this city turned its back on him. My attorney sat in that courtroom every day because Antonio deserved someone to be there for him. I sat there as his Dad because I had to fight for him — his legacy, his honor. They were slandering my son. I had to show up and fight against that. Today, the court confirmed what the jury already said — his life mattered. The City cannot keep running from that."
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