yamaha
yamaha UberDork
8/1/13 3:21 p.m.
AP said: ST. LOUIS (AP) - An Illinois businessman outraged by a court order that he return more than $500,000 in insurance money related to a 2001 wreck that killed his teenage son wanted to pay the money back in pennies in protest, only to recognize that was unfeasible. So, Roger Herrin settled on quarters — four tons of them. Packed in 150 transparent sacks each weighing about 50 pounds, the $150,000 in coins were nearly one-third of the money an appellate court required Herrin to pay back to resolve years-long legal feuding among the crash's survivors over how $800,000 in insurance proceeds were apportioned. Obtained from the Federal Reserve in St. Louis, the backbreaking load of quarters were brought in Wednesday by an armored vehicle and delivered on a flatbed truck to two law firms that represented other victims of the wreck. "There was no satisfaction from doing that," Herrin, who also serves on the Southern Illinois University system's governing board, told The Associated Press on Thursday. "The loss of a child is the loss of a child, and all the money doesn't replace that. "I just wanted to draw attention to what went on here," the 76-year-old man added before mustering a laugh. "I really wanted to do it in pennies." It ended the legal wrangling that's happened since Herrin's 15-year-old son, Michael, was killed in June 2001. He was a passenger in a Jeep Cherokee that was broadsided by a truck that blew through a stop sign near Raleigh in southern Illinois' Saline County. Three other occupants of the Jeep were injured. Roger Herrin got $1.6 million compensation through his own coverage. Of an additional $800,000 paid out through other insurance, the Herrin estate got the bulk of it because of Michael Herrin's death, with the remainder of that money distributed to survivors. Those survivors appealed and won when the Mount Vernon, Ill.-based 5th District Appellate Court ruled against Roger Herrin, a retired foot surgeon whose business holdings include three southern Illinois nursing homes. Herrin has owned seven community banks, but he's sold those off in recent years. Herrin complied in paying back the money, but "obviously in protest" with the plastic-sacked quarters he called "heavy as hell." "I've had 10 years to think about this a little bit, and I'm very, very bitter at this ruling," he said. "It's wrong, and everybody knows it's wrong." Mark Prince, an attorney for the Jeep's driver and her son, who was also a passenger, declined to discuss the case's merits Thursday, calling that "counterproductive" and a potential violation of a confidentiality agreement. While saying Herrin's choice of repayment method was his prerogative, Prince said he did find the unannounced delivery "surprising" — and a burglary risk for his law firm in Marion, Ill., given the media attention instantly foisted onto the thousands of dollars in coins. "We've been on pins and needles because we had a lot of cash suddenly laying around, it was publicized," Prince said. "We don't have safes or vaults, and we lock our front door. Advance notice would have been nice, because we could have made arrangements to have it delivered to the bank." Douglas Dorris, an attorney for the Jeep's fourth occupant, agreed. "I am not going to criticize a man who lost his son, who is obviously upset with the decisions of the court," he said. "But I believe the decisions of the appellate court follow the law correctly."

http://money.msn.com/insurance/news.aspx?feed=AP&date=20130801&id=16767296

Best part........

Mr. Herrin said:

"I just wanted to draw attention to what went on here," the 76-year-old man added before mustering a laugh. "I really wanted to do it in pennies."

Swank Force One
Swank Force One MegaDork
8/1/13 3:26 p.m.

That's.... a really berkeleyed up situation in general, actually.

alex
alex UberDork
8/1/13 3:36 p.m.

I would have opened the bags into a dump truck and emptied the truck in their parking lot.

Knurled
Knurled UberDork
8/1/13 4:42 p.m.

I did that with nickels on the PA turnpike once.

Smaller scale, for sure.

DrBoost
DrBoost PowerDork
8/1/13 5:13 p.m.

Good for him.

Anti-stance
Anti-stance UltraDork
8/1/13 5:35 p.m.

A guy that was in my shop in the Marine Corps tried to tell me he bought a new car with nothing but pennies. I can't remember the amount he said. Not only did I call bullE36 M3 but I figured out the cubic volume and weight of a penny and also the volume and weight capacity of a 53' trailer.

He stopped trying to tell stupid made up stories after that.

JamesMcD
JamesMcD HalfDork
8/1/13 6:26 p.m.

Could they have done a better job of obfuscating what the berkeley actually happened? "Survivors appealed and won." OK, I got it.

Donebrokeit
Donebrokeit HalfDork
8/1/13 7:53 p.m.

Quiet a few years ago I was selling a car, to a "buyer" that knew I was bucks down made a fair offer on the car and left a $400 deposit and was to return in two days and bring the balance of cash owed on the car. I used the $400 to put fuel in the truck and keep the rent paid up.

On the third day the buyer changed his mind!!!! No good for nothing @#$%&^# 23##%$%%##%6^$@$%$ %$#%^^$%# berkeleyer! I was just a little bit upset as I had turned down another offer in the two day. About six weeks and 20 phone calls later I had put together $400 in lose coins in one VERY HEAVY paint bucket I did let him count the coins on my stone stoop ( In January) at night.

Streetwiseguy
Streetwiseguy UltraDork
8/1/13 9:15 p.m.

I'm probably being cruel again, as my exwife often suggested, but $800K doesn't now, nor will it ever, return his son. It might, however, help the survivors with medical bills, physical therapy and potential lifelong problems. I say give it to the people who might be able to use it to create some good.

moparman76_69
moparman76_69 Dork
8/1/13 9:21 p.m.

I'm not intending this to be a flounder, but it probably will be.

If I read this right, he received 500K of a 800K payout from the insurance of the driver that blew the stop and hit them? And the survivors appealed to the court that he should get nothing and they should split it all? That isn't fair at all. Giving him the lion's share of it wasn't exactly fair either, but that fact gives them (the survivors) no right to say he gets nothing. It should have been split evenly between the 4 parties. The fact that he didn't "need" the money or that he received 1.6M from what I assume is a personal life insurance policy has no bearing on the settlement from the other driver's insurance.

motomoron
motomoron Dork
8/1/13 10:38 p.m.

In reply to Donebrokeit:

That's why it's written as either a non-refundable or only partially refundable deposit. Want to buy it, or just dick around?

AngryCorvair
AngryCorvair PowerDork
8/2/13 4:33 p.m.

twat lawyer said

he did find the unannounced delivery "surprising" — and a burglary risk for his law firm in Marion, Ill., given the media attention instantly foisted onto the thousands of dollars in coins.

boo to the motherberkeleyin hoo

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