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Allen v. Sully-Miller Contracting Company6/13/2002
Civil Code section 3333.4 (section 3333.4) was enacted through passage of Proposition 213 in the November 5, 1996 General Election. Known as "The Personal Responsibility Act of 1996," Proposition 213 sought to restrict the ability of uninsured motorists, convicted drunk drivers, and convicted felons to recover for losses suffered in accidents.
In this case, an uninsured motorcyclist was injured in a single-vehicle accident while turning across an unmarked elevated "bus pad" on a public roadway. We shall address whether section 3333.4 bars the motorcyclist from recovering non-economic losses in his premises liability action against the private construction company that maintained control over the roadway at the time of the accident. We conclude that it does.
Factual and Procedural Background
The City of Los Angeles (the City) hired Sully-Miller Contracting Company (Sully-Miller) as the prime contractor for certain road construction work, including street widening and the installation of concrete bus pads on the road at bus stop locations. Sully-Miller, in turn, subcontracted with Daniel J. Lopez Concrete Construction (Lopez Construction) to construct the bus pads. Sully-Miller retained responsibility for providing traffic control at the construction sites, which entailed the installation and maintenance of road barriers and delineators to warn motorists and others of ditches and uneven road surfaces.
One of the bus pads constructed by Lopez Construction was not level with the asphalt surface of the street; it rose three inches above the street surface in some places. On the night of August 13, 1996, there were no barricades or delineators marking the differentiated height of the pad when Dacus Wade Allen (Allen), who was driving his motorcycle, attempted to make a right-hand turn across the pad. Allen's tire caught on the elevated lip of the pad and his motorcycle fell, causing injuries to his knee.
Allen brought a negligence and premises liability action against the City, Sully-Miller, and Lopez Construction. On the day scheduled for trial, defendants moved to preclude the introduction of evidence of Allen's non-economic damages based on Allen's admission that he did not have liability insurance for his motorcycle at the time of the accident. The trial court granted the motion, finding the action subject to the restrictions of section 3333.4.
At the close of Allen's case, the trial court granted a non-suit in favor of Lopez Construction. Subsequently, the jury found, by special verdict, that the public property in question was in a dangerous condition at the time of Allen's accident. Although the jury found that the City was not liable because it had no actual or constructive notice of the condition, it evidently accepted Allen's theory that Sully-Miller was negligent in failing to install barriers or delineators to warn of the elevated nature of the bus pad. Allen was not assessed with any comparative negligence. The jury awarded Allen $24,080 in economic damages for his medical expenses and lost earnings. The trial court entered judgment on the jury verdict and denied Allen's motion for a new trial.
The Court of Appeal reversed and remanded for a new trial. Relying on Hodges v. Superior Court (1999) 21 Cal.4th 109 (Hodges), the appellate court concluded that section 3333.4 does not apply in an action for premises liability against a private entity.
We granted review and held the matter pending our decision in Day v. City of Fontana (2001) 25 Cal.4th 268 (Day), which involved the question whether section 3333.4 applied in an action against two local public entities for nuisance and dangerous condition of pro
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