Facts

Plaintiff Keith Barrows was riding a friend's Harley Davidson M/C on Sepulveda Pass, when he had a solo crash. The City of Los Angeles owned the street. Pacific Bell had done some work at this location several years before.

PLAINTIFF'S CONTENTIONS:
As to the City, Plaintiff contended that the street had been in disrepair for many years and the City had failed to conduct yearly inspections of the roadway. As to Verizon, Plaintiff contended that Verizon improperly backfilled a trench underneath Sepulveda Blvd. Plaintiff offered an eyewitness who had observed large sections of old asphalt being removed from an area directly over the Verizon trench. Because the trench had been backfilled with oversized pieces of asphalt, it was never properly compacted and the street subsided, causing the subject roadway depression.

DEFENDANT'S CONTENTIONS:
Defendants contended that the street was in safe condition when used with reasonable care, and that there were no prior similar accidents, even with over 2 million vehicles traveling in the immediate area.

Settlement Discussions

Plaintiff demanded $6 million.

Specials in Evidence

Approximately $1 million.

Injuries

Plaintiff suffered broken bones.

Result

The case resulted in a plaintiff verdict against Verizon for failure to properly backfill and compact the soil underneath Sepulveda Blvd. The City was not found liable. The case settled before the damage testimony was presented.

Other Information

Trial was bifurcated regarding liability and damages.

Deliberation

one day

Poll

11-1 (in favor of City of Los Angeles), 9-3 (against Verizon)

Length

seven days