Sample Projects

Litigation | Insurance | Government

Sample Litigation Services Projects

Caterpillar, Inc. v. John Deere, Inc.

In 1996, Caterpillar and John Deere engaged in contentious intellectual property litigation, with Caterpillar accusing John Deere of infringing its patent for an innovative tractor design. John Deere claimed that they did not infringe, and that the Caterpillar patent was invalid due to obviousness. ARCCA provided ongoing communications consulting and exhibited development and presentation technology support over six years, including:

Strategic development of exhibit concepts for both graphics and animation
Production and editing of a video affidavit for the key engineering expert
Design and production of graphic boards and a computer-based presentation for the Markman hearing
Development of a trial presentation database that integrated documents, visual exhibits and a subset database previously developed for overseas litigation
Logistical planning and setup for presentation in the courtroom

Result: Caterpillar settled favorably after exhibit exchange on the eve of trial

Seavey v. Mazda

In this automotive product liability case, Mrs. Seavey was injured when she was rear-ended while driving a Mazda Protégé. Seavey was belted, but the driver's seat collapsed backwards, causing her to be thrown into the rear compartment, where she hit the upper part of the back seat and fractured a vertebra. She was left paralyzed from the waist down. Seavey sued Mazda, alleging that the seatback failed due to inadequate design. ARCCA was involved in this matter from initial investigation through trial. Specific tasks included:

Engineering investigation and analysis
Seat strength testing
Development of key visual exhibits for trial, including graphics and animation
Expert Testimony

Result: Case went to trial and Seavey was awarded $2.7 million dollars

Nebraska Power v. General Electric

This case involved a dispute over nuclear fuel rates. We were asked to develop effective visuals for an arbitration hearing. ARCCA creative consultants designed and produced 20 graphic exhibits that were used in the arbitration, including an illustrative tutorial of the fuel-making process, key document excerpts and an explanation of the nuclear fuel rate structure currently in place.

Result: G.E. received a successful arbitration.

F&G v. Keytronic

ARCCA represented inventors Falcon and Gilligan in their trade secrets case against Keytronic Corporation. F&G alleged that Keytronic misappropriated and illegally sold their idea and prototype for scrolling mouse technology. ARCCA developed and produced 15 graphic exhibits for trial, including a master timeline of events and a breakdown of the invention's key features.

Result: Case went to trial and F&G was awarded $16.5 million dollars

Sample Insurance Services Projects

Bucchomuzo v. Budget Car Rental
(Client: Wilson, Elser, NY)

Mr. Bucchomuzo was a right-front passenger in his girlfriend's car when they were hit by a car owned by Budget. He suffered injuries and sued Budget for damages. ARCCA was called in by the defense team to determine whether the use of his seatbelt would have precluded some or all of his injuries.

ARCCA services included:

Proffering the "Seat Belt Defense"
Trial testimony
Development of key graphic exhibits comparing the belted and unbelted

Result: Verdict reduced by half due to seat belt defense.

Lemmon v. Ernst
(Client: A major national insurance company: Special Investigations Unit)

Ms. Lemmon was the right-front passenger in a 1987 Camaro when it was impacted in the rear by a 1994 Buick. Ms. Lemmon sued a major national insurance company for damages. Defendant, a major national insurance company, retained ARCCA to evaluate the impact severity, the injuries received and to determine if the injuries and could have been received in the subject accident.

ARCCA services included:

Biomechanical and low speed impact analyses
Accident reconstruction analysis
Trial testimony - accident reconstruction and biomechanics
Development of key graphic exhibits

Result: Verdict in favor of the defense, no award against a major national insurance company

Sample Government Services Projects

Test and Evaluation of an Integrated Seat System for the HMMWV
(client: U.S. Army Tank Automotive and Armaments Command, National Automotive Center (NAC)).

ARCCA designed, tested and evaluated the effectiveness of an integrated seating and restraint system in frontal, side and rear impact crashes. It included review and analysis of the HMMWV crash mishap data to identify the mechanisms of injuries and potential for minimizing the frequency and severity of the injuries by incorporating an occupant protection system which included specially designed seat belts and an integrated seat design. The design efforts from this work resulted in the issuance of a US Patent No. 6,155,601.

Child Dummy Injury Assessment
(client: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Office of Research & Development)

The objective of this project was to determine if the current Hybrid III Three-Year-Old Child Anthropomorphic Test Devices (ATD) replicates a child's dynamic kinematic response and predicts the potential for cervical injury. Our approach was to identify two real-world motor vehicle frontal crashes in which restrained child occupants of approximately the size of the Hybrid III Three-Year-Old Child ATD sustained serious cervical injuries. Once we identified candidate crashes, we developed a test plan to simulate these crashes during sled tests. The primary goal of the sled tests was to determine if the biofidelity of the Hybrid III Three-Year-Old Crash Test ATD accurately represented the kinematics of the children and predicted their injuries. A secondary goal was to gain insights into the performance of child restraints systems and their interaction with the test vehicle.

Click on above image to view video. (1.6 MB)

Advanced Belt Restraint Geometry
(client: Snively Foundation, a private non-commercial foundation).

Due to the symmetry of the human pelvis, the lap belt portion of seat belts are most effective when anchored symmetrically about the pelvis with a belt angle that approximates 65 degrees back and down. ARCCA engineers found repeated injuries that appear to result from asymmetrical lap belt anchor positions. This study tested this hypothesis through a series of simulated vehicle accidents using both computer modeling and sled testing.

Crusader Weapons System Presentation
ARCCA was engaged by United Defense, LP (UDLP) to produce an interactive CD-ROM for the United States Congress to promote and demonstrate UDLP's proposed state-of-the-art military weapon system called the Crusader. Working with UDLP, ARCCA's Visual Communications Group combined video, animation and graphics into an effective presentation. This CD was used to explain to Congress the battlefield challenges the US faces today, and how the Crusader can integrate the latest tactical and reconnaissance technology to meet those challenges.