$12.8M Awarded in Florida DUI Fatality Trial

A Duval County jury recently awarded $12.8 million in total damages in a civil trial stemming from the DUI-related death of 21-year-old Nell Behr in Jacksonville, Florida. The case arose from a February 2023 crash where Ramon Cerda, who had been drinking at a local bar, drove his vehicle into oncoming traffic, colliding head-on with Behr's car. The impact proved fatal for Behr, leading to Cerda’s criminal conviction for DUI manslaughter and a 12-year prison sentence.

Cerda admitted liability for the crash, which allowed the trial to proceed solely on the question of damages. The court bifurcated the proceedings into compensatory and punitive phases, with separate juries convened for each.

The Trial

The first jury awarded $10.3 million in compensatory damages to Behr’s family two weeks prior to the punitive phase. This figure reflected the profound emotional and financial toll of the loss on the family. The second jury was then tasked with determining the appropriate punitive damages against Cerda to penalize and deter similar conduct.

Over the course of the three-day punitive damages phase, Cerda appeared in court while still serving his sentence. His attorney, Daniel Shapiro of Cole, Scott & Kissane, urged the jury to weigh Cerda’s limited financial means and the reality that he was already serving a lengthy prison term. “This wasn’t some CEO of a company that was out, and drank, and killed somebody. That’d be a different situation,” Shapiro told jurors. “This is not somebody with… money.”

Conversely, the Behr family's attorney, Thomas Scolaro of Scolaro Law, argued that Cerda’s habitual drunk driving demonstrated a reckless disregard for human life that warranted a strong punitive response. He cited evidence showing that Cerda had driven while intoxicated on multiple occasions before the fatal incident. “He knew he was playing Russian roulette with people’s lives. And it just so happened… to be Nell Behr’s turn,” Scolaro said. “That conduct needs to be punished.”

The Punitive Damages

The jury ultimately awarded $2.5 million in punitive damages, bringing the total verdict to $12.8 million. This substantial figure reflects the jury’s assessment of the egregiousness of Cerda’s conduct and the need to send a message about the dangers of impaired driving.

Punitive damages, unlike compensatory damages, are designed to punish the defendant and deter similar misconduct. In this case, the jury clearly agreed with the plaintiff’s argument that Cerda’s behavior was not an isolated mistake but part of a dangerous pattern of recklessness.

What’s Next

While the criminal justice system has already imposed a 12-year sentence on Cerda, the civil judgment adds another layer of accountability. Whether or not the Behr family will ultimately be able to collect the full amount from Cerda remains uncertain, especially given his limited assets. However, the civil verdict stands as a significant moral and legal statement.

Cases like this serve not only to compensate victims but also to underscore the importance of responsible behavior on the roads. With impaired driving remaining a persistent issue nationwide, the outcome of this case reinforces the principle that individuals who willfully endanger others will be held accountable, not only criminally, but civilly as well.