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CONFIDENTIAL

Feb. 10, 1996

Personal Injury (Non-Vehicular)
Negligent Installation
Design Defects

Confidential

Settlement –  $385,000

Judge

Floyd Schenk

Court

Orange Superior


Attorneys

Plaintiff

Natasha Roit


Defendant

Jane E. Randolph
(Anderson, McPharlin & Conners LLP)

Kevin R. Crisp
(Lester & Cantrell, LLP)


Experts

Plaintiff

Hillel Lewis
(medical)

Bernd S. Givon
(technical)

Peter Formuzis Ph.D.
(technical)

Defendant

Jeremy E. Levenson
(medical)

Donald C. Cox
(technical)

Richard C. Warner
(technical)

Gary Rosenberg
(technical)

Facts

The plaintiff husband, a 35-year-old car salesman, was a tenant in a single family home owned by the defendant landlord. On January 15, 1994, the plaintiff husband attempted to retrieve his car from the garage but the garage door did not operate. He walked to one side of the garage door and saw that a bracket appeared to be loose. He attempted to tighten the bracket with a screw driver. As he did this, the bracket, which was attached to the spring, came loose and struck him in the head near his eye. The plaintiff husband lost vision in his right eye. The plaintiff husband brought this action against the defendant landlord and defendant manufacturer based on negligence and premises liability theories of recovery. The plaintiff wife brought this action against the defendants based on a loss of consortium theory of recovery.

Settlement Discussions

The plaintiffs made a $300,000 (policy limits) settlement demand from the defendant landlord. The plaintiffs made no firm demand to the defendant manufacturer. The defendants landlord and manufacturer made no offers until the mandatory settlement conference.

Specials in Evidence

$40,000 $100,000 $______ $______

Damages

The plaintiff wife claimed loss of consortium.

Injuries

The plaintiff husband alleged that he sustained loss of vision in right eye (irreparable) as a result of the accident.

Other Information

The settlement was reached at the mandatory settlement conference before Honorable Floyd Schenk approximately eleven months after the case was filed.


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