In Maksimow v. City of South Lake Tahoe, published November 4, 2024, the Third District Court of Appeal affirmed summary judgment for the defendant city. On the morning of March 26, 2020, the plaintiff slipped on a patch of ice, 3' x 4', in a public parking lot. The ice was located near a car in…
In Downey v. City of Riverside, published July 22, 2024, the California Supreme Court reversed the lower appellate court's ruling, which in turn affirmed the trial court's demurrer. The plaintiff was talking to her daughter on a cellphone when she heard the sounds of her daughter's car crashing. She called her daughter's name multiple times, and…
In Helm v. City of Los Angeles, et al. ordered published May 13, 2024, the Fourth District Court of Appeal, Division 1, the appellate court affirmed summary judgment for the defendants in a case alleging dangerous condition of public property. The defendant city owns the area where the plaintiff was injured, and the defendant county maintains…
Update: the California Supreme Court granted review of this case on May 15, 2024. In Whitehead v. City of Oakland, published February 13, 2024, the First District Court of Appeal, Division 3 affirmed summary judgment for the defendant city. The plaintiff participated in a multi-day group bicycle ride fundraiser from San Francisco to Los Angeles. The…
In Perez v. Oakdale Irrigation District, published January 8, 2024, the Fifth District Court of Appeal affirmed summary judgment for the defendant district. The plaintiffs' decedents died when their motor vehicle overturned and ended up in a drain, and they drowned in irrigation water. The plaintiffs alleged that public property owned, operated, possessed, used, constructed, built,…
In Stufkosky v. California Department of Transportation, ordered published November 28, 2023, the Second District Court of Appeal, Division 6 affirmed summary judgment in the state's favor based on design immunity. On a state highway, a vehicle struck a deer. The impact sent the deer into the opposing lane, where it struck another vehicle. That vehicle…
In Jones v. Regents of the University of California, ordered published November 28, 2023, the Fourth District Court of Appeal, Division 3 affirmed summary judgment for the defendant regents. An employee of the regents who worked on the UC Irvine campus was riding home from her work on a bicycle. Ten seconds into her ride, while…
In Summerfield v. City of Inglewood, published October 25, 2023, the Second District Court of Appeal, Division 8 affirmed dismissal of a wrongful death suit after demurrer was sustained without leave to amend. In January 2021, the plaintiffs' decedent drove to a park in the defendant city to play basketball. While he was in his vehicle,…
In Carr v. City of Newport Beach, published August 29, 2023, a divided panel of the Fourth District Court of Appeal, Division 3 affirmed summary judgment for the defendant city. The plaintiff walked onto a 20-foot groin jutting out from a beach, and dove off of it. His head struck bottom and he was rendered a…
In Altizer v. Coachella Valley Conservation Commission, published August 21, 2023, the Fourth District Court of Appeal, Division 2 affirmed summary judgment for the defendant commission. The commission, a public entity, owns a 160-acre piece of unoccupied desert land, consisting of several parcels between residential areas. Public paved streets run north-south of the property. There are…