Cha Fong Xiong; Lee Vang v. Brink's, Inc., Greg Rico et al.
Published: Oct. 4, 1997 | Result Date: Jul. 30, 1997 | Filing Date: Jan. 1, 1900 |Case number: 119859 – $0
Judge
Court
Butte Superior
Attorneys
Plaintiff
Dennis P. Wilson
(Law Office of Dennis P. Wilson)
Defendant
Experts
Plaintiff
Farshid F. Hekmat
(medical)
Edwin Pejack
(technical)
Mohsen M.D. Hamza
(medical)
Ronald Grusel
(medical)
Defendant
George E. Sims
(medical)
Richard N. Stuart
(technical)
James C. Stoody
(medical)
Facts
On Feb. 14, 1996, plaintiff Cha Fong Xiong, a 38-year-old unemployed man, was driving a Honda Accord owned by him and his cousin and passenger plaintiff Lee Vang, a 34-year-old unemployed man. Plaintiff Xiong pulled out from a stop sign at the intersection of Highway 70 and Pacific Heights Road just south of Oroville, intending to turn left and proceed northbound on Highway 70. The Honda was broadsided by defendant Brink's armored truck, driven by defendant Greg Rico, who was traveling at 55 mph. The plaintiff brought this action against the defendants based on a negligence theory of recovery.
Settlement Discussions
The plaintiffs made a joint settlement demand for $250,000. The defendants made a C.C.P. º998 offer of compromise for $8,000.
Specials in Evidence
$55,000 (plaintiff Xiong); $22,000 (plaintiff Vang) $50,000 (plaintiff Xiong); $25,000 (plaintiff Vang)
Damages
Judge Lamb found Prop. 213 constitutional and applied it retroactively to this case, excluding the plaintiffs' claims for general damages.
Injuries
Plaintiff Xiong alleged he suffered a severe right knee fracture requiring future meniscus surgery. He also claimed post traumatic epilepsy and soft tissue injury. Plaintiff Vang claimed post-traumatic epilepsy, a torn meniscus in the left knee, requiring future surgery and soft-tissue injuries.
Other Information
The verdict was reached approximately one year and two months after the case was filed. A settlement conference was held on May 12, 1997 before Judge Jerome E. Warren, of Butte County Superior. It did not resolve the matter. The trial was bifurcated. The liability phase was tried, resulting in a defense verdict.
Deliberation
33 minutes
Poll
10-2 (defense)
Length
eight days
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