Iowa court upholds Texas woman’s $4.9M verdict from icy sidewalk fall

DES MOINES, Iowa - The Iowa Court of Appeals has upheld a $4.9 million jury verdict awarded to a Texas woman after she fell outside a hotel on an icy sidewalk.

The court in its ruling Wednesday rejected arguments by Marriott International that the jury's 2018 verdict was excessive and the result of jury prejudice against the corporation.

Brenda Alcala, a software consultant for Genesis Health Systems, filed the lawsuit. She was staying at the Bettendorf Courtyard by Marriott in January 2010 when she slipped on ice and broke an ankle.

In 2016 the Iowa Supreme Court threw out a $1.2 million verdict from the first trial in 2014 and ordered a new trial over errors in jury instructions. The latest ruling upholds the 2018 verdict.

Marriott's attorneys didn't immediately reply to a message.