Student makes valuable contributions to wrongful death settlement

Not every law student can say they’ve made major contributions to a legal case, but current 2L John Gauger is gaining practice-ready experience while making a difference in the community. In addition to attending Mitchell Hamline, Gauger works nearly full-time under alum Jeff Sieben ’01, partner at SiebenCarey Personal Injury Law. The two recently saw the completion of a wrongful death settlement, a case that had a resolution a long time coming.

“It was too important to pass up the settlement,” Sieben said about the case’s conclusion. “It provides life-changing stability for Peter Davis’s family, both now and in the next generation.”

Davis, a construction worker from Stillwater, was killed after being crushed by a dump truck in downtown St. Paul in 2022, and his widow, Kristy, was recently awarded an $8.5 million settlement. More importantly, the settlement also included non-monetary aspects to help improve safety for the construction field: the defendant company agreed to hire a new safety director and incorporate the video of the incident leading to Davis’s death into their training process for new drivers.

During the year and a half of litigation, Gauger got exposed to all aspects of the Davis case, which included hours-long depositions and inspections, filing 40-plus subpoenas, coordinating with over a dozen experts, client meetings, and mediations. On top of that, it proved to be a true learning experience as several novel issues played out throughout the case.

“It showcased the new changes in this style of case—it’s becoming more data-driven than it used to be,” Sieben remarked. The two sifted through thousands of pages of data from phones, police body cameras, and surveillance footage, figuring out how to make the data usable and persuasive. “John was instrumental. He’s had an interest in fitting technology into law, and that’s helped me.”

Gauger also played a critical role when a summary judgment motion was brought against them. He prepared a 16-page memo integrating facts, discovery, and caselaw analysis for the legal writer on the case, Scott Wilson, to prepare a brief for the court. About this work, Wilson said, “I have never seen a non-lawyer make as big a contribution in a case as John did in this one.”

This was also one of the first cases since legislation passed in Minnesota recognizing damages for conscious pain and suffering for a decedent. “We haven’t heard of too many cases showcasing what the value of that could be,” said Gauger. He and Sieben had to rely on experts outside the state to figure out how to forge a path and implement the new statute for Davis’s case.

“We contacted lawyers from Texas, we contacted lawyers from Wisconsin, we contacted lawyers who had done these things before—but really, that’s all people and relationships,” said Sieben. “You could be the best reader and writer, but you’re very limited unless you reach out and multiply the force you have through these other connections.”

Developing a professional network is something Sieben has enjoyed seeing Gauger already do as a law student, because it mimics his own experience. “Those networks of people, they started here at Mitchell Hamline, and they just keep growing,” Sieben said.

One of those crucial connections is that of a mentor. Gauger said about his experience, “I’ve only been able to do what I’ve done because Jeff gives me those opportunities. You don’t get that everywhere. I’ve loved my mentorship with Jeff and want to be a mentor to as many people as I can too.”

This is a legacy that Sieben is passing down, having been given similar mentorship opportunities from his uncle and godfather Bill Sieben ’77 when he himself was a new attorney. And as to mentoring a current student from his alma mater, he said, “That’s to my benefit. I would say I’ve had a co-counsel on the case, and in our conversations, I see that energy of wanting to learn more. It’s fun to see.”

For both Gauger and Sieben, this case highlighted just how much the law is a human process.

“I think the driving force for both of us was that collaboration piece,” said Gauger. “I felt the underlying push of wanting to do the right thing for our client and her family, and that really willed us through the times when things felt tough.”

It has been a long road coming for this case; almost as remarkable is the personal journey Gauger experienced along the way. After earning his bachelor’s degree and paralegal certificate from Hamline University, Gauger started working under Sieben as a paralegal in 2022. At the time, he knew nothing about personal injury law but soaked in everything from understanding how cases move along to specialized vocabulary and medical knowledge of anatomy.

Law school was always a thought at the back of his mind, but it wasn’t until he saw what the work was really like at SiebenCarey that he actively pursued applying to law school at Sieben’s encouragement.

“It’s been a lot to handle both, but it’s been extremely rewarding,” Gauger said about the practical learning experience made possible by Mitchell Hamline. He cited crossover between classes like the first-year writing program, civil dispute resolution, or first-year torts and his work with personal injury law. “It really accelerated my growth and learning, both in the classroom and at the firm.”

Gauger has stayed on with Sieben throughout his 1L and 2L years so far, primarily working on the Davis case through its resolution. Since then, he has been certified as a student attorney.

“I can’t imagine doing anything else,” Gauger said about his plans following graduation next year. “I’ve got a lot more to learn, but I’ve absolutely fallen in love with what we do and helping people. You don’t ever get burnt out from it because you know you’re making a difference.”