Facts

On June 27, 2006, at around 11 p.m., plaintiff Maria Villegas, 28, was going north on the Long Beach freeway carrying two passengers, plaintiffs Claudia Villegas and Edwin Campos. An accident occurred where the driver's side door of Maria's vehicle crashed into the front and passenger side of a taxicab driven by defendant Abumd K. Alikhan. Following the accident, Maria's car was hit from the rear by another car driven by Brian Tufts.

PLAINTIFFS' CONTENTIONS:
The plaintiffs brought an action against Alikhan and Tufts, claiming that they were negligent in the operation of their cars. They also brought suit against defendant Mohammed Hossain, the taxi's owner, and Administrative Services Cooperative Inc., the taxi cab company, claiming vicarious liability. The plaintiffs alleged that Alikhan switched lanes, and made a movement right into the plaintiffs' lane which resulted in the incident.

DEFENDANTS' CONTENTIONS:
Alikhan, Hossain, and Administrative Services Cooperative asserted that Villegas switched lanes, making a movement left into the taxi's lane, which resulted in the incident. They also claimed that the evidence made it impossible for the taxi to have maneuvered to the lane on its right, thereby causing the accident. This evidence was testimony regarding the taxi's position in relation to the other vehicle following the incident.

Defendant Tufts claimed that Villegas' headlights were not operable due to the accident, and that his attention was diverted by the taxi being positioned in the opposite direction following the first accident.

Settlement Discussions

Maria Villegas, Edwin Campos, and Claudia Villegas demanded $150,000, $60,000, and $15,000 respectively. The offer included $18,000 for Maria Villegas, $5,000 for Edwin Campos, and $5,000 for Claudia Villegas.

Damages

As the trial was bifurcated, no defense regarding damages was presented to the jury. Each of the plaintiffs claimed damages in relation to their pain and suffering as well as past medical expenses. Maria Villegas claimed she was owed around $6,000 for future medical expenses for the scar on her leg, and Campos claimed around $10,000 was owed to him for future medical expenses for his facial scar.

Injuries

The plaintiffs claimed that they suffered injuries to the back and neck, fractured ribs, headaches, kidney injuries, scars and/or facial disfigurement, leg disfigurement, and soft-tissue injuries. The trial was bifurcated on the issue of liability and damages. The plaintiffs were moved to a medical facility in an ambulance following the incident. Maria Villegas suffered injuries including fractured ribs, a lacerated kidney, a scar to her left leg, and soft-tissue injuries on her back and neck. She was put in the hospital for nine days. Later, she received treatment from a chiropractor and alleged residual neck and back injuries and stiffness as a result of fractured ribs. Campos suffered a facial scar and was let out of the hospital on the day that accident occurred and had no other treatment, but alleged that the scar he received required surgical improvement. Claudia Villegas suffered soft-tissue injuries on her back and neck as a well as headaches. She was let out of the medical facility on the day the accident occurred and alleged no other residual injuries.

Result

The jury returned a verdict concluding that Alikhan, Hossain, and Administrative Services Cooperative was not liable, but that Tufts was 35 percent liable and Maria Villegas contributed 65 percent of liability. After the determination of liability, Tufts entered a settlement agreement for an undisclosed amount.

Other Information

The insurance carrier for Tufts was State Farm and the insurance carrier for the defendants was Mercury Casualty Company.

Deliberation

2.5 days

Poll

10-2

Length

four days