A jury awarded $7.6 million last week to the family of John Nigg, a construction superintendent who, in 2021, was crushed and killed when a forklift tipped over during the renovation of the Westin Beach Resort and Spa at Frenchman’s Reef on St. Thomas. He was 50 years old.
Nigg’s son and mother filed a lawsuit in 2022 against the hotel’s owner, CREF3 USVI Hotel Owner Inc., Bluewater Construction Inc., and Bluewater’s managing agent. The family was represented by C. Jacob Gower, of Gower Legal, with co-counsel Morgan and Morgan.
“The untimely and preventable death of a child is among the most painful things a parent can experience, and in this case, one of our clients lost her only son and the other lost his father before his 25th birthday,” said John Morgan, and attorney Kendall Shortway in a statement. “Each defendant in this case refused to take responsibility for what happened, despite someone being killed on the job site of a $400 million-dollar project. They continued to blame the deceased — and each other — until the moment the jury decided in our favor. We are proud to have accomplished justice in this case and to have achieved accountability and closure for the bereaved mother we represent.”
The plaintiffs added claims against the Georgia-based Project Development Services in an amended complaint filed in February 2023, and they reached a settlement with CREF3 — a subsidiary of Fortress Investment Group — earlier this month, according to court documents.
The jury trial of the remaining defendants occurred from Feb. 10 to 14. According to the judgment signed by V.I. Superior Court Judge Carol Thomas Jacobs, the jury assigned 25 percent of the blame for the incident to Project Development Services, 45 percent to Bluewater Construction, 20 percent to Bluewater’s agent and 10 percent to Nigg himself — reducing the verdict by more than $765,000.
Editor’s Note: This story has been revised to reflect that Gower Legal was the lead law firm on this case, with co-counsel provided by Morgan and Morgan.
