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Seattle requests retrial in teen's death at CHOP
The city of Seattle is requesting a new trial after a jury found the city negligent in the 2020 death of a teen in the Capitol Hill Occupied Zone, or CHOP.
SEATTLE - The City of Seattle is requesting a new trial after a jury found the city negligent in the death of a teen in the Capitol Hill Occupied Zone (CHOP).
A jury awarded $30.5 million to the family of 16-year-old Antonio Mays Jr. earlier this year. Mays Jr. was shot and later bled to death in the Capitol Hill Organized Protest zone, or CHOP, which was formed in 2020 amid the fallout from George Floyd's death.
Mays' family attorney argued a "system failure" on behalf of the city, claiming medical help was slow to arrive and that Mays Jr. would have lived if he had gotten medical attention sooner.
Mays family attorney Evan Oshan (left) and Antonio Mays Sr. (right)
What they're saying:
Despite jurors finding the city negligent, Seattle maintains Mays Jr. had a 90% or greater chance of dying, regardless of their actions.
In post-trial motions, city attorneys argue the damages were "so excessive," they must have been the result of "passion or prejudice."
The city also claims the jury was not allowed to take the unknown shooter into account, effectively placing 100% of the blame on the city.
Additionally, the city alleges misconduct regarding a key eyewitness who was deemed "unreachable" for trial, but reportedly "recovered" once the verdict was delivered. The city claims this prevented them from confronting the witness' statements.
Seattle ordered to pay $30 million in CHOP teen's death
A jury found the city of Seattle negligent in the 2020 shooting death of 16-year-old Antonio Mays Jr. in the CHOP zone.
The other side:
The city submitted the motions on March 2, and the court has yet to make a ruling on the matter.
The Mays family attorney issued the following statement in response to the city's request for a new trial:
"We asked for $100 million. The jury deliberated for twelve days and returned a verdict of $30.5 million — a reduction of nearly 70%. The record does not support a characterization of this as an excessive verdict.
"Instruction No. 16a…expressly directed the jury to segregate any damages caused solely by the unknown shooter and exclude them from any award against the City. The jury followed that instruction through twelve days of deliberation. The apportionment issue the City now raises was directly addressed by the court before deliberations began.
"The City made no settlement offer at any point in this litigation. The jury heard the evidence, followed the instructions, and rendered its verdict. We are confident the record will speak for itself."
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The Source: Information in this story came from the City of Seattle, a statement from the Mays family attorney Evan M. Oshan, and previous FOX 13 Seattle reporting.