From Deseret News archives:
Court affirms damages in 1985 mower accident
Lamoni Riordan, who was 5 at the time, was injured in April 1985. A riding mower driven by his father, Ken Riordan — who worked for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints — backed over his foot. The accident happened at a church in Kansas City.
The younger Riordan filed suit against the church in 2002, claiming that as his father's employer it was liable. He also accused the church of negligence in maintaining the mower and in training and supervising its employees.
The church contended that the father's parental immunity from the lawsuit by his son also shielded it from liability. Parental immunity has since been eliminated by the Missouri Supreme Court, but it continues to apply to events taking place before Dec. 19, 1991.
A seven-member federal jury had awarded the damages in February 2004. The verdict granted Riordan $420,000 for pain and suffering, nearly $81,000 for past medical expenses and nearly $683,000 for future medical expenses.
The damage award was upheld Friday by the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
Victor Bergman, a Kansas City attorney who represented Riordan, said the church had agreed to pay medical expenses for the first 15 years or so after the accident. He said Riordan sued after the payments stopped and the parties couldn't reach a settlement.
"It was a straightforward case of negligence, and we never really understood why they didn't see it that way," Bergman said.
Mark Arnold, a St. Louis attorney who represented the church on the appeal, said Monday that he could not comment on the ruling.
