HUNTSVILLE (Alabama) TIMES

February 2, 2008

 

Migrant widow wins case against Loyd Farms

 

Jury awards $75,000 in suit over man's death

 

Times Jackson County bureau

Huntsville Times

 

SCOTTSBORO - A Jackson County jury awarded $75,000 Thursday night to the widow of a migrant worker in her wrongful death suit against Loyd Farms of Stevenson.

 

The jury of nine women and three men ruled the business, owned by brothers Jack Loyd Jr. and George Loyd, was negligent when it allowed Bonifacio Ortiz Calihua, 30, to ride on a tractor-drawn flatbed trailer that was involved in a collision with another vehicle on July 11, 2003.

 

According to the lawsuit, the collision knocked Calihua off the trailer, killing him.

The jury reached its verdict after deliberating for about 1 1/2 hours.

 

Birmingham attorney Jim Hughey, who represented Calihua's wife, Sylvia, said she "was very pleased with the message the jury sent."

 

The Loyds were represented by Athens attorneys Byrd Latham and Jim Moffatt. Efforts to reach them for comment were unsuccessful.

 

Jackson County Circuit Judge Jenifer Holt of Scottsboro presided over the trial, which started Monday.