Prosecutor Settles DUI Crash Suit to Cap Costs

The drunk driving civil suit against Deputy District Attorney Marilyn Seymour was settled for $1.2 million to avoid further pay-out to women she injured in a 2010 Long Beach crash, attorneys said Wednesday.

The Los Angeles Superior Court jury late Tuesday found Seymour, a Compton branch prosecutor,  responsible for the crash that occurred when she admittedly drove home drunk from The Beach Club Sports Bar & Grill near 7th Street and P.C.H. that night. Seymour apologized in court for putting the victims through the ordeal but disputed the $2.4 million the plaintiffs sought in their lawsuit.

Seymour maintained that she drove the speed limit at the time her car rear-ended that driven by Chelsea Caughran and carrying passenger Jocelyn Hernandez, who maintain Seymour was driving 70 m.p.h. Seymour's had, at .26, more that three times the legal DUI limit. Seymour declined to comment outside court.

On Wednesday, attorneys in the case offered some further explanation about how the case late in the day Tuesday settled after a verdict.

According to plaintiff's attorneys Diane Corwin and Michael Alder, the jury awarded $1,031 in compensatory damages--$900,000 to driver Caughran and $131,000 to Hernandez. During phase 1, the jury also decided that Seymour’s behavior constituted either malice--which typically is a finding when a defendant should have known their actions might cause injury--oppression, or fraud. Following phase 1, the plaintiffs argued for punitive damages, Corwin said. The settlement, however, was received before phase 2 was started. After the verdict, the lawsuit was agreed to be settled at $1.2 million.

“The defense already decided there were going to be punitive damages. Seymour wanted to settle for a known amount rather than have the jury possibly come up with a higher figure,” said Corwin, explaining why the settlement was for $169,000 more than the jury's initial verdict.

Seymour was arrested by Long Beach Police for drunk driving in 2010. Her case was later sent to the Attorney General’s office for an impartial final decision as to whether Seymour committed a misdemeanor or a felony. “It was automatically categorized as a misdemeanor because it was Seymour’s first DUI," said Corwin. 

The original court complaint listed LA County as the defendant, but was later dismissed when it was found that Seymour was “not in the course and scope of her job when the accident happened,”according to Corwin.  Seymour has admitted responsibility for her actions and will pay the $1.2 million to Caughran and Hernandez. Testimony during the trial indicated she was attending DUI-related classes.

 Defense Attorney Di Rocco notes that Seymour is still a Deputy District Attorney and employed by the Compton Branch office. “No one is happier that the plaintiffs are compensated in reasonable amount than Ms. Seymour. She is very pleased that the jury came back as they did and that led us to settlement,” said Di Rocco in his official statement to Patch.

The reason for settling for $1.2 was because it was a reasonable figure, added Di Rocco.

Attorneys for both sides met after the verdict with jurors. “As a lawyer you always try to figure out what hit home and what didn’t hit home and why. And you analyze that and you use it next time you try a case," Di Rocco said.

 “Many of the jurors believed that the girls were significantly injured and that their amount would adequately cover their needed medical expenses,” said Corwin. In her official statement to Patch, Corwin stated, “The victims are pleased that the defendant has finally taken responsibility for all of the damages she caused when she intentionally got behind the wheel at three times the legal limit. And we hope that she’s learned something from this experience and that it won’t happen again.”