1250 Broadway, 27th Floor New York, NY 10001

$15M JUDGMENT AGAINST JOEL STEINBERG, STANDS

In the late 1980's, Joel Steinberg, a "convicted child killer and abuser," was involved in a horrific criminal case which is still ingrained in the minds of many.

On November 4, 1987, six-year-old Lisa Steinberg was killed by a "staggering" blow to her head.* And, Mr. Steinberg, her father, was later convicted of manslaughter in the first degree.

In a civil lawsuit commenced by the administratrix of Lisa's estate, Joel Steinberg, Hedda Nussbaum ("his live-in girlfriend"), and various City employees and agencies were sued on several grounds, including negligence.

The administratrix, Michele Launders, was later awarded $15 million dollars as against Mr. Steinberg, who appealed the judgment alleging that it was, among other things, "excessive."**

In a decision released yesterday, January 16, 2007, the Appellate Division, First Department, by a 3-2 margin, upheld the award.  Clearly, the majority was repulsed by Steinberg's conduct and the insensitive statements contained in his submissions to the court.  As the AD noted in its decision:

Steinberg's assertions are entirely without merit. First, for Steinberg to dismiss the eight to ten hours preceding Lisa's death as "at most eight hours of pain and suffering" or as he alternatively states, a "quick loss of consciousness" demonstrates that he is as devoid of any empathy or human emotion now as he was almost 20 years ago when he stood trial for Lisa's homicide. As any parent and, no doubt, most adults who have taken trips with young children can attest, the oft-heard question, "are we there yet?" is a clear illustration that, the more anticipated an event or destination so, seemingly slower the passage of time in a child's mind. For Lisa, lying on a bathroom floor, her body aching from bruises of "varying ages," her brain swelling from her father's "staggering blow," those eight to ten hours so cavalierly dismissed by Steinberg must have seemed like eternity as she waited and wondered when someone would come to comfort her and help make the pain go away.

The court concluded that the unprecedented nature of the case justified the sums awarded.  In particular, the AD found no reason to reverse the punitive-damage component, finding it neither "excessive" nor inappropriate under the circumstances:

In urging this Court to affirm the punitive damages, the plaintiff appropriately describes Steinberg's conduct as a heinous and inexcusable assault upon a defenseless child. The plaintiff states: "[T]he cavalier disregard of Lisa's welfare evidenced by [Steinberg's] failure to summon aid is exceeded only by the sadistic mechanism he employed to bring about the need for medical treatment in the first place." The heinous nature of Steinberg's intentional and deliberate abuse and manslaughter of a defenseless little girl earned him the cognomen "monster" almost 20 years ago. Now, the revisitation of the horror that was Lisa Steinberg's life continues to elicit a palpable sense of outrage. We therefore affirm the award for punitive damages.

For a copy of the Appellate Division's decision, please use this link: Launders v. Steinberg

UPDATE:

The judgment was modified on appeal to the New York State Court of Appeals. To view our post on that decision, please use this link: COURT REVISITS TRAGEDY

--------------------------

*Mr. Steinberg reportedly applied "tremendous force equivalent to a fall from a tall flight of stairs or third-story window ...."

**Here was the trial court's breakdown of the award:

"For the pain and suffering during those 8-10 tormented hours before Lisa's death, I award plaintiff $5,000,000 ($5 million).
"For the general pain and suffering resulting from the injuries she endured as a battered child, I award plaintiff $5,000,000 ($5 million).
"For punitive damages resulting from the heinous and outrageous crime committed against Lisa Steinberg, I award plaintiff $5,000,000 ($5 million)."
Categories: