Digital Gets Keyboard Verdict Thrown Out

Digital Equipment Corp. succeeded in its bid to overturn the final award in the only trial that won money for computer keyboard users claiming injury from typing. Digital, owned by Compaq Computer Corp., appealed the $293,385 award to New York clerk Jeanette Rotolo in 1996, the last to survive of three verdicts totaling $5.9 million. U.S. District Judge Jack Weinstein threw out a $5.3-million verdict last year, and Digital won the case after a retrial. Weinstein dismissed a $302,000 award because the claim was filed too late. The U.S. 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals in New York last month voided Rotolo’s award and granted the Maynard, Mass.-based computer maker a retrial, saying Rotolo’s attorney improperly used a videotape as evidence. The reversal is one more victory in the computer industry’s near-perfect record in suits over injuries allegedly caused by their machines.