LAS VEGAS (AP) – The Nevada Supreme Court upheld the jury’s findings that illusionist David Copperfield and the MGM Grand Casino Hotel were not financially responsible for the injuries to a British tourist during the Las Vegas Strip show’s signature disappearance in 2013
Gavin Cox and his wife Min-Khan Cox claimed that the multimillionaire wizard, the hotel, two Copperfield companies and a construction company that is renovating the hotel, caused permanent brain injuries to Cox when he fell while participating in the trick as a random member. of the audience.
In a complex verdict handed down in May 2018 after several weeks of testimony, the jury found that Copperfield, the Copperfield hotel and company, Backstage Disappearing Inc., were negligent but not liable for Cox’s downfall.
Cox had asked for hundreds of thousands of dollars in medical expenses and damages, but jurors found him responsible for his own injuries and he received no money.
Brian Harris, the couple’s lawyer, said on Friday that the court had split 5-2 in its ruling on Thursday.
“If the differing opinion was shared by the majority, our clients would be looking for a new process,” Harris said. “We are disappointed that we will not have this opportunity.”
Five judges dismissed Harris’s argument that the judge should not have allowed hotel lawyers to show jurors video footage of Cox walking with apparent ease in court with his dog on a leash.
In the courtroom, jurors saw Cox helping the witness stand by his lawyer or court staff. He testified that he needed help when he was not in court.
Copperfield’s illusion, dubbed the “bypass” by writers, seems to have caused as many as 13 volunteers from the audience to disappear on stage and reappear at the back of the theater.
The jury heard that in less than 90 seconds, stage staff with flashlights led the audience outside the stage through dark curtains, down the hallways, outdoors and then indoors through the kitchen, to re-enter the theater for the show’s finale. .
During the trial, Cox’s lawyer told the jury that the hotel’s renovations had left building dust to cover an alley through which the group passed.
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