Montrose couple receives $900,000 in DUI crash case

BY DAVID SINGLETON
Times-Shamrock Writer

A Luzerne County Court jury that heard four days of testimony and argument awarded a Montrose man and his wife $750,000 in compensatory damages for a 2009 crash that left the husband with neck and back injuries.

After jurors returned the verdict Thursday but before the punitive damages phase of the trial could begin, Michael and Jennifer Spadine agreed to accept $900,000 from Travelers Insurance to fully resolve their lawsuit against Pittson-based Linde Enterprises Inc. and one of its employees, Richard Kemmerer, the couple’s attorney said.

The Spadines sued the company and Kemmerer in 2011, alleging Kemmerer was driving drunk and acting within the scope of his employment when his Linde-owned truck collided with the couple’s pickup on Cherry Street in Montrose on Nov. 3, 2009.

Spadine was injured in the crash, suffering disc protrusions to his neck and back, said Scranton attorney Michael J. Pisanchyn Jr. who, along with attorney Douglas A. Yazinski, represented the couple.

Pisanchyn said Kemmerer, who left the scene of the crash, had a blood-alcohol level of 0.225 when Montrose police later stopped him.

A toxicologist testified the defendant’s blood-alcohol level, which was more than three times the legal limit of 0.08, was the equivalent of 10 to 12 beers, Pisanchyn said.

“It sends a message to the drunk drivers and companies that allow their vehicles to be taken home that you better be careful,” he said.

Online court records indicate Kemmerer, a Sweet Valley resident, pleaded guilty to driving under the influence in Susquehanna County Court in December 2009. He was sentenced to six months of probation and fined $350.