Lydia and John Chavez v. David Brown
Published: Oct. 8, 1994 | Result Date: Sep. 19, 1994 | Filing Date: Jan. 1, 1900 |Case number: VC012813 – $0
Judge
Court
L.A. Superior Norwalk
Attorneys
Plaintiff
Defendant
Eric T. Lamhofer
(Wolfe & Wyman LLP)
Experts
Plaintiff
Robert L. Westin
(technical)
Reginald Sampson
(medical)
Gaius C. Steiner
(medical)
Defendant
Charles Aronberg
(medical)
Facts
In the late 1970's Plaintiffs Lydia and John Chavez originally rented the subject residence from the deceased property owner, Paul Brown, the father of Defendant David Brown, one of the trustees of a family trust under which the property is held. Allegedly in 1981, Plaintiffs notified landlord Paul Brown that an electrical outlet on the north wall of their apartment unit was not functioning. According to the Plaintiffs, Brown failed to repair the outlet and, instead, gave Plaintiffs an extension cord which he replaced in 1988 with a heavier model extension cord; these cords were to enable Plaintiffs to power electrical appliances along the north wall from the outlet on the south wall, behind the living room sofa. On August 13, 1992, while Plaintiffs were away from home, an electrical fire broke out behind the sofa on the south wall due to the shorting out of an extension cord. Plaintiffs sued David Brown and Camacho and Owens Investments, the property management firm that assumed full time management of the property in April of 1991, following the death of Paul Brown. Camacho and Owens was voluntarily dismissed during trial.
Settlement Discussions
Defendant contends he offered $8,500 and Plaintiffs demanded $45,000 at the mandatory settlement conference; reduced to a 998 in the amount of $20,000. Plaintiff contends Defendant offered $4,500.
Specials in Evidence
$3,300 $11,050
Damages
Loss of personal property in the amount of $23,340; hotel and rental expenses in the amount of $1,100.
Injuries
Lydia Chavez allegedly sustained an eye injury from getting ashes into her left eye about 1 1/2 weeks post-fire, when she re-entered the premises to retrieve personal belongings. John Chavez claimed loss of consortium, but the Court refused to instruct on that issue. Defendants contended any eye injury involved only a minor corneal abrasion which healed within a couple months and that Lydia's subsequently developed cataract in the left eye and need for surgery was not related to any incident of getting ashes in her eyes. The total medical expenses claimed included psychological counseling, treatment of the eye injury and future cataract surgery. Lydia was impeached as to denial of prior eye problems, anxiety, and usage of Valium.
Other Information
A prior arbitration resulted in a Plaintiffs' award of $8,500; trial de novo by Plaintiffs.
Deliberation
1.5 days
Poll
9-3
Length
4 days
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