Cover of The Pencil Case Behind a $15.3M Verdict, with Bob Zimmerman

The Pencil Case Behind a $15.3M Verdict, with Bob Zimmerman

The Pencil Case Behind a $15.3M Verdict, with Bob Zimmerman

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A gunman ignored a convenience store’s cash register and went straight for a pencil case holding $14,000 — money used to pay winners of the store’s slot machine–like “skill games.” That detail helped Bob Zimmerman of Saltz Mongeluzzi Bendesky win a $15.3 million compensatory verdict for the family of store worker Ashokkumar Patel. Looking beyond the shooter, Bob traced the danger to the companies behind the games, which set the rules and profited from refills while workers handled the cash payouts. Joining host Brendan Lupetin, Bob explains why he framed the machines as “dangerous by design” and how that theme shaped the case. Tune in to hear the simple question a defense executive refused to answer at trial.Learn More and Connect☑️ Bob Zimmerman | LinkedIn☑️ Saltz Mongeluzzi Bendesky | LinkedIn | Facebook | Instagram | X | YouTube☑️ Brendan Lupetin | LinkedIn☑️ Lupetin & Unatin, LLC☑️ Connect: Facebook | LinkedIn | YouTube☑️ Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTubeEpisode PreviewAshokkumar Patel had worked at the Hazleton, Pennsylvania, gas station for about a week when the incident happened. Part of his job included monitoring an all-cash skill game betting operation.For the skill game’s payouts, the store held thousands in cash in a pencil case under the register. On the night of the incident, it held $14,000 — and a gambler who had lost thousands at the store walked in at closing.Bob explains that while casinos have cameras, armed security, and locked cashier cages, none of those physical protection measures exist in the "gray area" skill game world.With the legality of skill games still unsettled at the time of trial, jury selection centered on how jurors felt about gambling and whether it’s regulated enough. Their answers shaped which jurors Bob struck and how he themed the case in its late stages.Even with Ash’s family more than 5,000 miles away and no client in the courtroom, Bob found a way for the jury to feel their loss.In one of the most impactful moments of the trial, Bob showed a picture of the skill game called "Living Large" and asked whether it looked like a slot machine. According to Bob, the defendants’ corporate designee “killed his credibility” with his answers.Although the jury apportioned 20% of the verdict to the two trial defendants, Bob had it molded so they also bear the murderer's share, and the trial court agreed.Ready to refer or collaborate on med mal, medical negligence, and catastrophic injury cases? Visit our attorney referral page at PAMedMal.com/Refer. We handle cases in Pennsylvania and across the United States.Produced and Powered by LawPods, a podcast marketing agency for law firms
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