Hollace Cassell v. City of San Jose
Published: Mar. 8, 1997 | Result Date: Oct. 16, 1996 | Filing Date: Jan. 1, 1900 |Case number: C9620479 – $0
Judge
Court
USDC Northern
Attorneys
Plaintiff
Defendant
Experts
Plaintiff
Patrick Besan-Matthews
(medical)
Ron Martinelli
(technical)
Massoud Vaneghi
(medical)
Defendant
Richard T. Mason
(medical)
Martin Blinder M.D.
(medical)
Donald P. Van Blaricom
(technical)
Facts
On May 7, 1993, at 1:30 a.m., decedent Carl Sciabarra, a 22-year-old unemployed man who was under the influence of methamphetamine and armed with a pair of scissors, was walking the streets in the defendant city of San Jose at 1:30 a.m. in the morning, when he came into contact with a man who felt threatened and flagged down a passing patrol car. Defendant police officers Glenn Baldwin and Daniel Carley, ordered the decedent to drop the scissors, but the decedent allegedly refused to comply with their requests. Back up officers arrived and they used various methods to get the decedent to drop the scissors, including voice commands, the use of pepper spray and baton. A foot pursuit ensued. The defendants claimed that the plaintiff's decedent suddenly stopped and lunged at the pursuing officers. The defendant officers shot the decedent 15 times, allegedly in self defense. The plaintiff, the decedent's mother, claimed that the defendants escalated a routine incident and shot the decedent while he was fleeing. The plaintiff brought this wrongful death action against the defendants based on violation of civil rights and negligence theories of recovery.
Settlement Discussions
The plaintiff made a settlement demand for $475,000. The defendants made no settlement offers.
Damages
The plaintiff claimed loss of care comfort and society. The plaintiff sought punitive damages and $2,400 in funeral bills.
Injuries
Death of son.
Other Information
The verdict was reached approximately three years after the case was filed. SETTLEMENT CONFERENCE: A settlement conference was held in June 1996 before Magistrate Ed Infante. It did not resolve the matter.
Deliberation
6 hours
Poll
9-0
Length
10 days
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