Confidential
Settlement – $1,133,000Facts
The plaintiff was riding a German-made motorcycle on March 19, 2000 in the Malibu Hills, and at a relatively
low speed, when it backfired. Within seconds, the motor cycle and the plaintiff's right leg were engulfed in
flames and the plaintiff sustained consequential injuries.
Settlement Discussions
The plaintiff demanded $1.6 million from the manufacturer and $800,000 from the dealership. The manufacturer agreed to pay $1 million. The dealer offered $25,000. Ultimately, the plaintiff and the dealer settled for $133,000.
Specials in Evidence
$35,000 The plaintiff contended that his loss of monthly payments under two specific contracts, as a result of the accident, amounted to $400,000 The plaintiff contended that his loss of anticipated commission over the lifetime of the sales contracts could be as high as $1.4 million. The defendants contended that the plaintiff's present value economic losses under the agreements were closer to $300,000 to $500,000 and that the plaintiff had an obligation to mitigate (despite the plaintiff's claim under Seaboard Music Co. Inc. v. Germano, 24 Cal.App.3d 618 (1972), that mitigation is not required or applicable where the plaintiff's contractual obligations are non-exclusive and do not preclude plaintiff from engaging in the contemporaneous performance of other contracts. The plaintiff claimed future medical care for expenses, including multiple procedures to improve residual scarring and psychiatric treatment totaling approximately $65,000. The defendant's burn expert estimated that the plaintiff's future medical expenses were less than $1,000
Injuries
Second and third-degree burns to the right leg requiring two skin-grafting procedures; post-traumatic stress disorder. The defendants conceded the extent of the plaintiff's burn injuries but contended that the plaintiff required minimal future medical treatment and that he had fully recovered and was not disabled to any significant degree.
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