Steven Zale v. Kevin Trinh, Bi Trinh
Published: Apr. 1, 2006 | Result Date: Mar. 3, 2006 | Filing Date: Jan. 1, 1900 |Case number: 05C01071 Verdict – Defense
Judge
Court
L.A. Superior Torrance
Attorneys
Plaintiff
Defendant
Experts
Plaintiff
Behrouz Dardashti
(medical)
Facts
On Sept. 30, 2004, the plaintiff claimed the defendant rear-ended him in San Diego while traveling at 60 mph and cause him to lose control of his vehicle and suffer soft-tissue injuries. The defendant testified that the third, unidentified "black" car rear-ended the defendant, causing the defendant to lose control, strike the center divider, ricochet off a concrete divider, strike the plaintiff's Jaguar twice, spin across four lanes of traffic and come to rest on the freeway shoulder. While parked behind the defendant, the plaintiff took a disposable camera out of his glove compartment and took photo of defendant's rear bumper for license plate identification. The photo showed cracked taillight. The plaintiff claimed soft-tissue injuries including cervical sprain and bruised left shoulder. The plaintiff did not start treatment until Oct. 15, 2004 and did not receive treatment in November since he flew to Thailand for job.
Settlement Discussions
Pretrial, the plaintiff made a C.C.P. Section 998 demand for $10,000; the plaintiff demanded $20,540 during trial. The defendant made a C.C.P. Section 998 offer for waiver of costs.
Other Information
During trial, the passenger in defendant's Camry testified that the defendant was not speeding, weaving in and out of lanes, or passing other cars (as plaintiff claimed). Instead, he testified that the defendant was minding his own business in lane one when the passenger "felt a bump" and defendant lost control.
Deliberation
45 minutes
Poll
9-3
Length
two days
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