Believing that the heirs of the victim, a 28-year old hairdresser, would be her parents and eight siblings in the poor and sar-riven state of Mali, the jury awarded compensation of $4.25m against the company of the truck which killed her. One of the documents found on the highway was believed to be her birth certificate. However, a paralegal who could read French realised that it was a marriage certificate.

Contempt of court

This led, through a series of events, to the judge reversing the $4.25m award. The plaintiffs - who were no longer her true heirs - were barred from bringing a new case. Her husband - a New York cabbie who is now established as her heir - eventually reached settlement for a much smaller sum, $60,000 with the truck company. The settlement is seen as being substantially lower because a jury might have been far less sympathetic to him than to her extended family. The dead woman's uncle, who had served as administrator of her estate, has been convicted of contempt of court. Source: ABA