Garo Mardirossian, Armen Akaragian, Stanley Jacobs -2009 Consumer Attorney of the Year finalists

Sam Pannu was left a partial quadriplegic when his 1998 Land Rover Discovery I rolled several times on a Los Angeles freeway after colliding with another vehicle. The work of Garo Mardirossian, along with Armen Akaragian and Stanley Jacobs, led to life-saving changes in the vehicles design. Their office litigated the case for more than five years, with more than 50 depositions, including two trips to England to depose Land Rover officials. Their investigation found the Discovery I had preventable problems with handling stability and roof strength. Drop tests showed that a very inexpensive design change in the Discovery Is roof would provide enough strength to prevent Pannus injury from the rollover. And Land Rover made simple changes to the vehicle when it began production of the Discovery II that prevent such a rollover from happening. After a bench trial, Los Angeles Superior Court judge found the Discovery I was defectively designed and awarded significant damages to Pannu.

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