Facts

On May 27, 2010, plaintiff Marvin Kay, age 67, was driving in drizzling rain, stopped in stop and go traffic, rear-ended Mark Lazar. Chiara Slewett slid into Lazar.

PLAINTIFF'S CONTENTIONS:
Plaintiff contended that he was hit twice and both were heavy impacts.

DEFENDANT'S CONTENTIONS:
Defendants disputed two impacts and contended that impacts were minor.

Settlement Discussions

At mediation, plaintiff demanded the policy limits from each defendant, $300,000 from Lazar and $250,000 from Slewett. Lazar made a CCP 998 offer of $75,000 and Slewett made a CCP 998 offer of $35,000 at completion of mediation one month prior to trial. On the morning of first day of trial, plaintiff demanded $250,000 combined total.

Injuries

Plaintiff claimed that he suffered torn posterior tibial tendon injury requiring surgery. Surgery was completed in December 2011 and recovery expected to last 12 to 18 months. Defendants claimed that plaintiff's foot and ankle injury did not occur as a result of accident.

Result

Unanimous defense verdict for Slewett and (10-2) defense verdict for Lazar. On the issue of negligence, both defendants were found to be negligent (12-0). On the issue of whether negligence was a substantial factor in plaintiff's damages, the jury voted 10-2 in favor of Lazar and 12-0 in favor of Slewett.

Deliberation

1.5 hours

Length

five days