Montana Supreme Court Upholds $4M Work Injury Verdict

The Montana Supreme Court has upheld a default judgment that led to a nearly $4 million award for a man who was seriously injured while unloading logs at a Frenchtown pulp mill in 2008.

As part of Smurfit-Stone Container Corp.’s 2009 bankruptcy case, the company agreed to accept a complaint from Allen Ginn of Bonner in exchange for limiting the amount of potential damages. However, the company did not immediately reply.

District Judge John Larson entered a default ruling in 2012, saying Smurfit-Stone was liable for Ginn’s injuries, which included a brain injury and fractures to his back and pelvis. In January 2014, a Missoula County jury awarded Ginn and his wife $3.97 million for lost earnings, future care and other damages.

Smurfit-Stone appealed, but the justices ruled that Smurfit-Stone willfully defaulted by ignoring the complaint.