TheBakersfieldCalifornian.com

A Kern County jury awarded $2.1 million Friday to the mother and two daughters of a man who was killed in 2008 when a city parks worker drove over him as he rested on the grass at Jefferson Park.

The verdict followed more than two full days of deliberation and several days of sometimes emotional testimony from family members of Armando Morataya, who was 54 at the time of his death.

The two daughters -- Erika Morataya, 32, and Cindy Morataya, 24, both of Houston -- and Mr. Morataya's mother, Maria Ramirez, 74, of Bakersfield -- were plaintiffs in the case.

"Prayer works," Erika said after the verdict. "I just want to give all the glory to God.

"We're just happy this is over with," she said. "My dad can now rest in peace."

Both daughters said they have forgiven Timothy Ornelas, the park employee who on July 10, 2008, was driving a Ford F-150 over a small rise when he struck Morataya, crushing his chest. Morataya died at Kern Medical Center eight days later with his daughters and mother at his side.

The city agreed before the trial that it was liable, and that the negligence of Ornelas, then 45, caused the death. Ornelas was also named as a defendant in the suit.

The jury awarded the daughters $400,000 each. Ramirez was awarded about $1.3 million.

The plaintiffs cried frequently during the trial while listening to testimony, looking at photos shown to the jury or hearing the victim's old letters and poems read aloud.

More tears were shed following the complex verdict, which awarded the plaintiffs in several categories.

The case against the city was led by Los Angeles attorney Brian Panish of Panish Shea & Boyle LLP. The former Fresno State football player is known for getting juries to award big verdicts in personal injury cases.

Bakersfield attorney David Cohn of Chain Cohn Stiles also represented the family, as did Deborah Chang, a lawyer with Panish's firm.

Attorney Michael O'Dell of Bakersfield firm Clifford & Brown represented the defendants. He left the courthouse immediately after the verdict.

Because the city admitted liability and agreed Morataya had "no fault" in the incident, the only focus of the case was to determine damages.

But how does one place a value on human life, asked juror Louis Wildman, a Cal State Bakersfield professor of educational administration.

"It's a very difficult thing to do," Wildman said. "We did the best we could."

Wildman questioned the city's strategy of not settling, an approach Panish called "rolling the dice."

"I believe this should have been mediated," Wildman added. "The city should have seen to it that this case was settled. Now here we are nearly three years later."

Outside the courtroom following the verdict, Cohn said the jury sent a message to the city that a human life cannot be discounted.

"It could have been a much higher verdict," he allowed. But in the end, "justice was done in this case."

Wildman noted that during deliberations, the jury started out at $1 million for each daughter, but some pushed to lower the figure significantly.

Panish said Kern County jurors are known to be conservative with civil awards, but he complimented the jury for appearing to take its duty seriously.

"The city wanted to roll the dice," Panish said. "The jury didn't buy it."

Bakersfield attorney Thomas Brill in 2004 won a $7.2 million jury verdict in a personal injury case against the city -- a figure he believes may be the largest of its type here.

Brill, who was not involved with the Morataya case, said there's some truth to the common belief Bakersfield juries will not return big verdicts.

"I think the jurors here can be reasonable if you have the right case," Brill said. "Folks here can be very caring."

Brill was among a half-dozen or so local personal injury lawyers who stopped by the courtroom Wednesday to watch closing arguments in the Morataya case. They came to see Panish, a prestigious figure in the industry.

"He did a great job, I thought," said Brill, who also praised the defense team's work.

"Mike (O'Dell) had his hands full," he said. "He was dealing with a tough case and handled it as well as could be expected."

As for verdict predictions, Brill on Thursday called it somewhere in between Panish's request for $9 million and O'Dell's for $350,000-$450,000.

"I think the jury is going to come back with a verdict closer to what Mr. O'Dell asked for," he said.

It turned out he was right.

Daniel Rodriguez of Bakersfield firm Rodriguez & Associates said he believes he has earned record personal injury settlements against both the city and the county -- but the numbers are confidential.

As to getting a sizeable jury verdict here?

"Yes. It's difficult, but it can be done and it has been done," Rodriguez said. "I've done it."

Milt Younger of Younger Lemucchi Law said he couldn't think of anyone who has gotten a significant sum from a jury in a personal injury case against the city.

"Do I think this is a conservative jury town? Hell, yes," Younger said. He figures similar cases are worth two to three times more, generally speaking, in Los Angeles than Bakersfield.

Younger said he knows Panish well and that "he has this capacity to get big verdicts" out of juries.

"He's got a hell of a record as a lawyer," he said.

But Panish faced an uphill battle.

"I'm surprised he took the case in Bakersfield," Younger said. "He knows how lousy verdicts are around here."

Younger himself got an $18.6 million settlement for a city parks worker who lost his legs in 2000 when two trucks collided, but that case wasn't against the city.

Erika and Cindy Morataya said they hope to hold a small ceremony at Jefferson Park, at the site of the accident, before they go back home.

They need to return to the scene one more time before they can truly say goodbye to their father.

"Because of what we've just been through, we hope it means there's less chance that this will ever happen again to anyone else," Cindy said.

"Fortunately we're very strong in our faith," she said. "That's the only way we could ever get through this."