Blind quadriplegic who fell in mine loses court appeal

By Cy Ryan

Thursday, Feb. 24, 2011 | 10:27 a.m.

CARSON CITY – The Nevada Supreme Court has turned down the appeal of a man who was rendered a blind quadriplegic after falling down a mineshaft during a high-tech scavenger hunt in Clark County.

The court said District Judge Jackie Glass didn't abuse her discretion in refusing to provide three jury instructions sought by Robert Lord in his suit against Chee Chew, one of the organizers of the hunt.

Lord and his wife Jacqueline gained a $9.7 million settlement from the other defendants. But the couple said the settlement left them $6 million to $15 million short of being whole.

Chew and others created the scavenger hunt in which teams would solve a clue that directed them to one location and then more clues that sent them to other sites until they reached the finish line. There was no prize.

One of the sites was the abandoned Argentena Mine.

Lord, described as a 37-year-old software engineer in a brief filed with the Supreme Court, plunged down the mine in 2002 and he and his wife sued, claiming the unusual dangers were not disclosed to the participants.

Before trial the Lords settled with scavenger hunt organizers Joe Belfiore, Kevin Shields and Walter Smith, each for $3.25 million.

Before trial in 2006, Chew offered a settlement for $300,000. It was rejected and the case went to trial.

The Lords lost and Glass ordered them to pay $511,980 in attorney fees and $254,365 in costs.

The Supreme Court reversed the award of the attorney fees and said Glass failed to develop a record to show the fees were justified. It sent the case back to Glass to determine if attorney fees were warranted.