ROCKFORD, Ill. — A federal jury in the Western Division of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois returned a $30 million wrongful-death verdict on Friday for the family of Tanicialle Brown, a 30-year-old woman killed when a FedEx tractor-trailer struck the rear of her stopped pickup truck on Interstate 90 near Rockford.

The verdict was returned after a jury trial before U.S. District Judge Iain D. Johnston at the Stanley J. Roszkowski U.S. Courthouse in Rockford. The jury awarded $15 million for loss of society and $15 million for grief, sorrow, and mental suffering sustained by Brown’s surviving mother and two siblings.

Plaintiff’s counsel believe the award is the largest wrongful-death verdict ever returned at the Rockford federal courthouse and the largest award of wrongful-death damages in the Northern District of Illinois.

The case stems from a January 11, 2020 collision on an unlit stretch of eastbound Interstate 90. Brown’s Chevrolet pickup truck was stopped in the rightmost travel lane when it was struck from behind by a FedEx tractor-trailer driven by Douglas Powell. The FedEx truck did not brake, slow, or swerve before impact. Brown suffered catastrophic injuries and died at the scene.

At trial, the defense contended that Brown was negligent for stopping in an interstate travel lane rather than on the adjacent shoulder and asked the jury to assign a substantial share of responsibility to her. Evidence showed that Brown’s vehicle was in park at the time of the collision, the headlamp switch was in the “on” position, and the hazard-flasher switch was in the “off” position.

Plaintiff presented evidence that Powell had an extended, unobstructed view of the roadway ahead and that Brown’s vehicle was visible in sufficient time for an attentive driver to recognize and avoid it. The evidence further showed that Powell did not brake, slow, swerve, or change lanes before striking Brown’s vehicle.

The jury rejected the comparative-fault argument in its entirety, assigning Brown zero percent fault and awarding the full $30 million requested by her family.

“Things did not work out for FedEx for a reason,” said Eric H. Check of the Law Offices of Eric H. Check. “The reason is that FedEx and its agents made a series of bad decisions beginning in the early morning hours of January 11, 2020, and continuing through the end of trial last Friday afternoon. The jury saw those decisions for what they were and held them accountable.”

“We are grateful for the jury’s careful consideration of the evidence and for a verdict that reflects the gravity of the loss suffered by Tanicialle’s family,” said John (“Jack”) K. Kennedy of Kennedy Watkins LLC.

Brown is survived by her mother, Niki White, and her two siblings, who testified at trial about Brown and the effect her death has had on their family.

Plaintiff has moved the Court to include $9,000,000.00 in prejudgment interest, which would bring the total judgment to $39,000,000.00.

The plaintiff was represented by Eric H. Check of the Law Offices of Eric H. Check and John (“Jack”) K. Kennedy of Kennedy Watkins LLC. Defendants were represented by Michael K. Roberts and Meggie Francine Hogan of Scopelitis, Garvin, Light, Hanson & Feary, P.C.

The case is Niki White, as Independent Administrator of the Estate of Tanicialle Brown, Deceased v. Douglas Powell, T1 Transport Inc., and FedEx Ground Package System, Inc., Case No. 3:21-cv-50094, in the Western Division of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.