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Lawyers' Detective Work Pays Off

By Rebecca Riddick
March 29, 2007

When they got the case, Miami attorneys Thomas and Elizabeth Culmo had virtually no information about the allegedly defective motor scooter that had caused their client a serious spinal injury.

There was no company name, logo, or vehicle identification number on the scooter. It was purchased at a seasonal Christmas kiosk at the Dolphin Mall, which was no longer in business and had no insurance. When they discovered that the scooter probably was manufactured in China, they were told that it would be nearly impossible to recover damages unless the company had assets in the United States.

Despite those obstacles, the Culmos won a $2.7 million settlement for Jorge Perez of Doral, FL, a deaf man with cerebral palsy who fell off his Chinese-manufactured Leoch scooter after the front wheel came loose. The Culmos achieved the settlement through international detective work. They tied a Garden Grove, CA, company, Leoch.com LLC, to the scooter's manufacturer, Shenzhen Leoch E-vehicle Co. Ltd. in the Chinese city of Shenzhen. As a result, they were able to settle with Leoch.com's liability insurer, Evanston Insurance Co. in Evanston, IL.

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