Hawkins Parnell Wins Defense Verdict for Tire Retailer in $6 Million Los Angeles Trial

October 26, 2026 (Los Angeles, CA) – Hawkins Parnell secured a unanimous defense verdict for American Tire Depot in a personal injury trial in the Superior Court of California for Los Angeles County. Orange County partners Jerry Popovich and Ryan Sellers tried the case, with Courtney Lockhart handling pretrial preparation.

The case arose from an incident in which a front tire came off the plaintiff's car at approximately 30 mph, four days after two new rear tires were installed. The plaintiff, who later underwent knee replacement and lumbar fusion surgeries, alleged the retailer was negligent and asked the jury to award approximately $6.2 million.

The defense demonstrated that the retailer had not serviced the front wheels in more than 20,000 miles and was not authorized to work on the front tires during the rear-tire installation, when a visual inspection revealed no apparent issues. The defense also pointed to three missing lug nuts on the opposite front wheel as evidence of possible outside interference and presented evidence of the plaintiff's preexisting neck, back, and knee conditions.

The jury found American Tire Depot not negligent and returned a complete defense verdict after less than 30 minutes of deliberations.

About Hawkins Parnell & Young

Hawkins Parnell & Young is a national defense litigation firm that has represented many of the largest and most well-known companies in high-risk litigation and business disputes. The 250-strong litigation team works with clients to develop winning defense strategies and, if necessary, try cases to verdict in all 50 states.