DaimlerChrysler Verdict Thrown Out

DaimlerChrysler said a $259-million verdict against the company was thrown out after an appeals court found it was not responsible for the 1994 death of a 6-year-old boy who was not wearing a seatbelt when he was thrown from a 1985 Dodge Caravan during a collision.

The company said in a statement that the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, Va., reversed a lower court ruling because in the previous trial, “the plaintiff’s lawyer had been permitted to misleadingly state that” the child had indeed been wearing his seatbelt.

The case will be sent back to Charleston, S.C., for a new trial on compensatory damages only.

“The trial court incorrectly allowed the plaintiff’s attorneys to present a highly inaccurate account of DaimlerChrysler’s conduct,” Ken Gluckman, associate general counsel of DaimlerChrysler, said in a statement.

DaimlerChrysler shares closed off 94 cents at $34.06 on the NYSE, before the news was announced.