LAGUNA BEACH : Denise Brown Wins Jury Award in Accident

Denise Brown was awarded $104,000 Thursday for injuries she suffered during a 1989 car accident, bringing to close a trial that was originally postponed when her sister, Nicole Brown Simpson, was found slain in June.

Brown, of Monarch Beach, sued Enterprise Rent-A-Car after a motorist in a rental car pulled out of a Newport Beach parking lot in October, 1989, and veered across several lanes of traffic. Brown tried to swerve to safety but struck the car from behind.

“He didn’t yield at all,” said Brown’s attorney, Brad Howard. “Denise is pretty happy with the outcome.”

Howard said Brown suffered severe back injuries in the crash, running up surgical and medical bills topping $35,000. He asked the jury to award at least $185,000 to compensate his client’s pain and suffering.

An attorney for the rental car company had argued to an Orange County Superior Court jury that Brown’s injuries stemmed from a second car accident 11 days later in October, 1989. In that accident, Brown was traveling in heavy traffic when she was rear-ended by another vehicle. Howard countered that the cars in the second accident were moving too slowly to cause serious injuries.

Still, Enterprise attorney Robert Charboneau said he was pleased with the jury’s decision because the award was less than Brown was requesting, but in keeping with the total Enterprise believed the case was “worth.”

“We believe the jury did a good job,” he said.

The case was originally set for trial June 13, but was postponed when Nicole Brown Simpson and friend Ronald Goldman were found slain outside Simpson’s Brentwood home. Former football great O.J. Simpson faces trial in the killings. Since the deaths, Denise Brown has taken on the role of spokeswoman for the Brown family.

Both attorneys had asked jurors to disregard the O.J. Simpson case and decide the civil case based solely on the facts.

“It has been a very, very stressful time for Denise, as you can imagine,” her attorney said.