Confidential
Settlement – $550,000Judge
Court
L.A. Superior Santa Monica
Attorneys
Plaintiff
Defendant
Stephen M. Ziemann
(Early Maslach & Hartsuyker)
Facts
Plaintiff Kandi Burruss, age 26, was a Grammy award-winning songwriter and an acclaimed recording artist/entertainer with platinum and gold records. Three years ago, the plaintiff was pinned between two vehicles by a hotel valet attendant in charge of parking her Jeep Cherokee. When the plaintiff exited her car, the valet attendant, Enrique Aguilar, was waiting for her. She told him she did know where her valet ticket was, but Aguilar said he remembered her from the previous day and gave her a new ticket. The plaintiff got out of the car and proceeded towards the back of the vehicle. She observed a Lincoln Town Car parked several feet behind the Jeep. As she was walking around the rear of the Jeep, she heard the Jeep's engine rev up and it began rolling towards her in a fast reverse motion. Her legs were then pinned between the back bumper of the Jeep and the front bumper of the Lincoln. Her trapped legs were finally released when the Jeep moved forward. The plaintiff sued Aguilar for negligence and his employer, Le Montrose Suites Hotel, for vicarious liability under the doctrine of respondeat superior. The defendants contended that the plaintiff left her car in gear and that the car backed up on its own.
Settlement Discussions
The case settled for $550,000, one day prior to mediation before retired Judge Russel A. Bostrom at Judicate West.
Damages
She had to use crutches and stay off her leg for a month, causing her to cancel performances and previous engagements. At the time of the accident, the plaintiff, a former member of the award-winning quartet Xscape, was about to shoot her first video for her first single that was to launch her highly-anticipated solo career. The dance-song video required a high-energy dance number. Because of her injuries, the music video had to be altered dramatically, as she could not wear the wardrobe as planned nor could she perform the dance routine. The plaintiff claimed the accident affected her solo career because Columbia Records subsequently dropped her from its label. Past and future economic losses were unspecified.
Injuries
The plaintiff suffered a large, wide, penetrating wound into the inner surface of her thigh near the right knee and a ragged avulsion of the knee tissue, requiring sutures. The inner part of her right knee has a highly visible scar, which causes tightness, contracture, itching and pain. The impact also tore some tissue of her right leg, causing the right leg to be smaller than the left leg. The left leg sustained only minor injuries. Past medical costs were $7,500. The estimated cost of surgical revision was $10,050.
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