A Philadelphia jury found a skills game designer and manufacturer partially liable this week for the fatal shooting of a gas station clerk who made large cash payouts to people placing bets on unregulated skills game machines. On Monday, a jury for the Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas rendered a $15.3 million verdict in favor of the estate of Ashokkumar Patel, who had worked as a store clerk at a gas station and convenience store in Hazelton, Pennsylvania, where he was shot and killed by an alleged skill games player. Pace-O-Matic (POM), which designs skills games, and Miele Manufacturing, which manufactures and distributes the games, were found negligent for lax safety protocols that led to Patel's death. Patel's estate claimed there was a lack of safety measures for the unregulated skills gaming machines at the store, such as count rooms, drop safes, cashier cages, partner-shift work, and surveillance. The trial started on Nov. 3 and lasted one week. The jury began deliberating on Monday, returning a verdict the same day, said John Lang of Saltz Mongeluzzi Bendesky, one of the attorneys who represented plaintiff Edward M. Biggin as the administrator of Patel's estate. The jury awarded the estate $10 million for the loss of guidance, teaching, advice, care, comfort, and moral upbringing, $5 million for Patel's pain and suffering, and $300,000 for loss of support. POM was assigned 14% fault and Miele was found to be 6% at fault. Robert W. Zimmerman, also of Saltz Mongeluzzi Bendesky, said the estate intends to collect $11.4 million from POM and Miele under the doctrine of joint liability, while claiming the remainder of the verdict is assigned to the owner of the property, who settled prior to trial. The shooter, who was convicted of fatally shooting Patel, was assigned 55% fault. "The facts came out," Zimmerman said about the verdict. "We hope that POM sees what happened here and takes action." The incident took place Dec. 12, 2020, at a time when all legal casinos were closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the estate, Patel was responsible for a "mini-casino," paying out winners of the unregulated "skill games" by handing them cash from an unlocked bag beneath the store counter while the winner stood and watched. Patel was responsible for making large cash payouts to people placing bets on the game machines without security measures in place to protect him from foreseeable risks, the estate claimed. The stash of money contained around $7,000, and the shooter, who was known to have previously lost money on the gambling machines, robbed the store. Patel was fatally shot during the robbery, the complaint said. POM and Miele both argued in their respective pretrial memos that it was unclear how many games were at the location, including how many of the games were actually POM/Miele games, alleging that the estate failed to produce any evidence that the games the shooter allegedly came in and often played their games. The defendants argued that they didn't owe a statutory duty to the plaintiff and that there was no causal connection between their alleged conduct and the robbery and murder. "As part of its business model, POM does not assemble any hardware or any gaming terminals. Rather, POM sells the software contained in the POM game. One entity that POM sells its software to is Miele Manufacturing, Inc. Similar to Miele, the POM defendants do not place POM games in locations, and, as such, any security plans are not something that are within the purview of the POM Defendants," POM alleged in its pretrial memo. Zimmerman said that a key part of their trial strategy was showing that the defendants were in control of their games and declined to follow standard safety principles. According to Zimmerman, they stressed to the jury that this was POM's enterprise, using visuals like a chart graphic showing POM at the head of its skills games operation. Zimmerman said the team also relied on expert witnesses, including Derk Boss, a security consultant who specializes in gaming security and surveillance who testified on safety rules within the state, and forensic pathologist Dr. Wayne Ross, who took the jury through the last 30 minutes of Patel's life after he was shot multiple times. The estate also showed the jury the footage of Patel attempting to crawl through the store to call for help, and him struggling to speak after being shot in the jaw, Zimmerman said. Matthew H. Haverstick of Kleinbard, in Philadelphia, represented the POM defendants and noted that they plan to appeal. "I think the danger of a verdict like this to business in Pennsylvania is potential liability to products in stores having nothing to do with the commission of a crime," Haverstick said. Marc F. Lovecchio of McCormick Law Firm, in Williamsport, represented Miele Manufacturing and referred comment to POM. Monday's verdict follows a $3.8 million settlement that was reached in August between the estate and Sunoco defendants, Palisades Fuel, G&G Oil Company, Kevin Smith Amusements, Banilla Games, and Primero Games.