Esther Cook v. Carousel Mall, et al.
Published: Sep. 21, 1996 | Result Date: Aug. 9, 1996 | Filing Date: Jan. 1, 1900 |Case number: SCV07595 – $0
Judge
Court
San Bernardino Superior
Attorneys
Plaintiff
Defendant
Joseph Arias
(Arias & Lockwood)
Experts
Plaintiff
Ann W. Burgess
(medical)
Peter J. Sofia
(medical)
Facts
On July 13, 1992, at approximately 11:30 a.m., after parking her car in defendant Carousel Mall's parking lot, plaintiff Esther Cook, a 72-year-old woman, was assaulted by an unknown assailant. The assault occurred while she was walking to the mall. (The assailant was not apprehended.) Defendant Carousel Mall is an RDA project and is owned and maintained by the defendant city of San Bernardino, although defendant Carousel Mall owns the satellite stores and the anchor stores are privately owned. The plaintiff brought this action against the defendants based on negligence theories of recovery.
Settlement Discussions
The plaintiff made a C.C.P. º998 settlement demand for $750,000. The defendants made no settlement offers.
Specials in Evidence
$79,318 $87,273 $47,239 $47,239
Damages
The plaintiff claimed $27,927 in lost home services (past) and $35,095 (future) and $2,719 in lost retirement (past) and $11,417 (future).
Injuries
The plaintiff alleged she sustained a fractured left hip requiring four surgeries including total hip replacement and surgery to repair torn rotator cuffs on both her left and right shoulders. The plaintiff also alleged she suffered post-traumatic stress syndrome.
Result
The verdict was reached approximately three years and one month after the case was filed. Per the plaintiff, the jury initially returned a signed verdict for the plaintiff on liability (involving three questions on a special verdict form) and then one juror took ill, and after an alternate replaced that juror, and the new jury returned a defense verdict.
Other Information
SETTLEMENT CONFERENCE: A settlement conference was held on Oct. 11, 1995 before Judge Davies. It failed to resolve the matter.
Deliberation
6 days
Poll
9-2 and 1 undecided
Length
24 days
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