Tusant v. City of Hemet et al.

Personal injury, dangerous condition

Riverside County Superior Court

Angel M. Bermudez

$25.656 million

From left, attorney Robert Karwin poses with Jessica and Richard Tusant, the parents of his client Nicholas Tusant alongside fellow plaintiff's lawyers Tyler Vanderpool and Ryan Saba the day of the verdict outside of the Murietta Courthouse. (Photo courtesy of Rosen Saba LLP and Law Office of Robert P. Karwin)

Plaintiff's Lawyers: Rosen Saba LLP, Ryan D. Saba, Tyler C. Vanderpool; Law Office of Robert P. Karwin, Robert P. Karwin

Defense Lawyers: Burke Williams & Sorensen LLP, Brian I. Hamblet, Algeria R. Ford; Ford, Walker, Haggerty & Behar LLP, Jennifer L. Russell

Beverly Hills attorney Ryan D. Saba took on the city of Hemet on behalf of a high school teen who was struck by a truck and injured while crossing a crosswalk.

It was one of the last trial verdicts he completed just before the COVID-19 pandemic shuttered in-person proceedings and jury trials. The jury rendered a verdict of $25.6 million for the teen on Feb. 2.

"This was a heartbreaking case," Saba said. "Our client was 16 years old when he was run down in a crosswalk on his way to school."

"The trial testimony of his parents was so emotionally charged that it was really hard to get through," he added. "I give them a lot of credit for being able to face that jury and tell their story," Karwin said.

"The legal issues as to the City of Hemet were hypertechnical." said sole practitioner Robert P. Karwin, who worked with Rosen Saba LLP on the case. Tusant v. City of Hemet et al., MCC1701206 (Riverside Super. Ct, filed Sept. 12, 2017).

"Our support staff did an amazing job wading through city council minutes and construction documents to find what we needed to disarm governmental immunity," Karwin added. "I don't think we could have gotten the result we did trying this case virtually. It really required a level of attention from the jury that I think would be hard to achieve without them in the courtroom."

The main question posed for jurors to consider boiled down to whether or not the city improperly modified a crosswalk, which Saba contended made it more dangerous for students to cross the street in order to get to school.

The city's lawyers argued it was solely the driver's fault for hitting the teen when he was distracted while looking for his phone. The jury ended up finding that the city was 80% at fault, and the driver 20% responsible.

"Our argument was that the crosswalk was always dangerous at times, and the city should have removed that crosswalk. The city just added in-ground lighting and added signs," Saba said. "There shouldn't have been a crosswalk at all."

Saba argued the city knew the crosswalk was dangerous, which was why it modified it in the first place. But instead of modifying it, "they should have barricaded it and completely removed it to prevent people from going over there," he said.

What was challenging for the plaintiffs was to prove to the jury that the crosswalk should not have been there at all. That's where Saba fixated all of his attention, which he believed helped sway the jury into finding the city made a mistake.

In order to get over that hurdle, Saba did some old-school investigating, knocking doors of nearby residents to ask what they often witnessed at the crosswalk.

"Some of our best witnesses we found weren't in police reports," Saba said. "We found our most powerful witnesses in the case by knocking on doors and finding people."

After surveying several residents and putting them on the stand, the jury was told how several complained to the city about the crosswalk only to be ignored.

Saba's witnesses testified that they constantly heard tires screeching and saw near-misses of students being hit by cars in such a congested, dangerous location.

"The neighbors worried that someone would get into a major accident," Saba said.

The city was represented by Brian I. Hamblet and Algeria R. Ford of Burke Williams & Sorensen LLP. The truck driver was represented by Jennifer L. Russell at Ford, Walker, Haggerty & Behar LLP.

Russell said she had one expert, a traffic engineer, and argued there was shared responsibility. The city should be held more responsible than the driver, Russell argued, and the jury agreed.

"Our contentions were that while there was shared responsibility, the city should be more responsible," Russell said. "I believe the jury did the right thing, finding 80% on the city. We're pleased with the verdict, and we're happy the plaintiff can get the care and treatment he needs moving forward."

The case settled shortly after the verdict. While Saba couldn't confirm the exact figures, he confirmed his client was "extremely happy and satisfied with the settlement."

-- Gina Kim