Request For $45 Million Award In Anoka Train Accident Goes Before Judge
The verdict of $21.6 million to the families of four young adults killed in a 2003 train-car accident was among the largest wrongful-death awards ever in Minnesota. But the case is bigger than that, the families' attorneys said Tuesday. Maybe $45 million bigger.
Claiming that Burlington Northern Santa Fe fabricated, destroyed and withheld evidence that prevented the families from recovering punitive damages, the families' lawyers asked a Washington County judge for sanctions against the railroad of $45 million or more. In addition, lead attorney Bob Pottroff asked that the railroad not be permitted to appeal last June's $21.6 million verdict until the $45 million is paid in full.
