A judge has rejected Tesla’s appeal to overturn a $243 million jury verdict that found the automaker partially liable for a deadly accident involving its Autopilot driving assistance system.

“The grounds for relief that Tesla relies upon are nearly identical to those Tesla presented previously during the trial and in their summaries on summary judgment — arguments that have already been evaluated and dismissed,” stated Hon. Judge Beth Bloom’s ruling. “Moreover, Tesla fails to introduce new arguments or relevant law that convinces this Court to change its prior decisions or the jury’s verdict.”

In August of last year, a jury awarded a $243 million verdict against Tesla concerning its responsibility in a 2019 fatal incident in Florida that took the life of Naibel Benavides and critically injured Dillon Angulo. The jury placed two-thirds of the fault on the driver and one-third on Tesla. Importantly, punitive damages were exclusively assessed against Tesla.

Tesla’s legal team contended, in their request to overturn the ruling, that the responsibility lay with the driver, who contributed to the occurrence of the crash.