The city of Toledo is hoping to enlist the help of a West Virginia consulting firm in a case currently pending in the Lucas County Court of Common Pleas.

Toledo City Council is expected to vote at its meeting Tuesday on an expenditure not to exceed $30,000 from the Risk Management Fund that will allow the city’s law department to enter into an agreement with Brookshire Barrett LLC for services in the case Robinson vs. Reditt and City of Toledo.

Toledo resident Julie Robinson is suing Toledo resident Robert Reditt and the city after she claims she was rear-ended in an accident caused by Mr. Reditt when he was driving a city dump truck.

According to her complaint, Ms. Robinson said she was stopped at a light in the southbound direction on Lagrange Street in Toledo. She said Mr. Reditt was traveling southbound on Lagrange Street and failed to stop at the light, striking a flatbed tow truck in between Ms. Robinson and Mr. Reditt. The vehicle was pushed into Ms. Robinson’s Jeep Cherokee.

The defendants, which include the city and Mr. Reditt, admit that Mr. Reditt was involved in a vehicle accident and that he hit a 2017 Ford truck owned by Wall Street Towing.

“Our dump truck rear-ended the flatbed tow truck, which in turn, hit the Jeep Cherokee,” said Edward Mohler, the city’s senior attorney. He declined to comment further, citing pending litigation.

William Price, who is representing Ms. Robinson, did not respond to requests for comment on the case.

According to its website, Brookshire Barrett specializes in economy theory, data sources, and methods to litigation issues and courtroom testimony. Most of their work involves calculating “economic damages in personal injury and wrongful death cases.”

The law department is asking council to waive the competitive bidding provisions because the firm was identified through an informal selection process and its fees and services are reasonable. According to legislation submitted to council, it is “in the best interest of the City to retain the firm for the provision of expert witness services” in the case.

Ms. Robinson is also claiming that the city negligently entrusted the truck to Mr. Reditt. She says the city “should have known that Mr. Reditt was incompetent and should have anticipated that such entrustment would have resulted in an accident.” The defendants are denying that they were negligent.

According to the complaint, Ms. Robinson said she suffered injuries to her neck, hips, face, and back. She had a concussion at the time of the incident and now suffers migraines. She also had to have two back surgeries. As a result, she experienced medical expenses, pain and suffering, loss of enjoyment of life, and lost wages.

Ms. Robinson is asking for $750,000 from the city, as well as more than $1.1 million for lost future income, claiming she can no longer work, Mr. Mohler said. The defendants are denying those claims.

The matter is set for trial on Aug. 18, with a settlement pretrial scheduled for July 18. Judge Joseph McNamara is presiding over the case.

First Published March 23, 2025, 11:30 a.m.