Schumann v. Hull Brothers Roofing Company, Inc., et al.
Published: Mar. 29, 1997 | Result Date: Mar. 14, 1996 | Filing Date: Jan. 1, 1900 |Case number: SC009961 – $4,041,170
Judge
Court
L.A. Superior Santa Monica
Attorneys
Plaintiff
Robert Alan Sheinbein
(Robert A. Sheinbein, Attorney at Law)
Defendant
Daniel V. Ginzburg
(Frontier Law Center)
Donna M. Maryanski
(Mark Weiner & Associates)
Facts
In 1994, plaintiff Vivianne Schumann, a 46-year-old woman, co-owned a condominium unit at the defendant's condominium complex with the defendant co-owner (settled) who was a member of the homeowners association. The common areas of the four-unit complex were maintained by the defendant homeowners association. The building was built by defendant 3832 Overland Investors, a California limited partnership whose general partner was defendant Abel Rodriguez, Jr. The defendant homeowners association hired the defendant roofing company to perform roofing work, on the common-area roof, including an area with a skylight. In order to perform their work, the defendant roofing company, removed and replaced the skylight. Another defendant roofing company performed roofing work on the plaintiff's patio adjacent to the common area roof with the skylight. In doing the work, the second defendant roofing company removed plants, from the patio and placed them on the common area roof, failing to return them after completion of the work, despite the plaintiff's requests to do so. On July 12, 1990, in retrieving her plants from the common-area roof, the plaintiff caught her pant leg on a protruding nail and fell through the skylight. The plaintiff brought this action against the developers, the roofing companies, the homeowners association, the architects and the skylight manufacturer based on negligence and respondeat superior theories of recovery.
Settlement Discussions
The settlement discussions were not disclosed.
Specials in Evidence
$174,336.27 $151,862 $505,103 (present value) $ _______
Injuries
The plaintiff claimed she sustained severe neurological, orthopedic dental and related injuries including a subarachnoid hemmorrhage, three fractures of her pelvis, ultimately resulting in a hysterectomy, a fracture of her right fibula and tibia, requiring three screws to be placed in her right knee, fractures of her right and left mandibles a broken bridge and crowns, malocclusion, and multiple bruises to her skull, eyes, arms, feet, face, neck, chest, legs and buttocks, among other injuries. The plaintiff claimed that as a result of these injuries she was hospitalized from July 12, 1990 to Aug. 14, 1990 and was on orthopaedic disability thru Aug. 27, 1990, when she returned to work. The plaintiff worked through Nov. 27, 1990, but then quit her employment to give herself a chance to recuperate fully from her injuries. The plaintiff also claimed that due to the strong medications required to treat her injuries and to the length of time she was bed-ridden she developed rectal inflammations, rectal bleeding, and associated problems, for which she ultimately required further hospitalization and medical care. The plaintiff also claimed that in July 1990, she became pregnant; that in December 1990, the plaintiff was involved in a minor auto accident and re-injured her right knee; and that in January 1991, her knee gave way and she fell down on the stairs, causing a fracture of her sacrum, and a spontaneous abortion.
Other Information
The award was reached approximately five years and two months after the case was filed. The arbitration was held on Sept. 6, 1996 before Steven Sauer resulting in the reported award. Pre-arbitration settlements totalling $410,000 were reached with the roofing companies, the homeowners association, the architects and the skylight manufacturer.
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