John A. Hood v. Debby Chang and Yee Chang
Published: Jun. 6, 1998 | Result Date: May 1, 1998 | Filing Date: Jan. 1, 1900 |Case number: LC030644 – $0
Judge
Court
L.A. Superior Van Nuys
Attorneys
Plaintiff
Defendant
Experts
Plaintiff
James Iwanoff
(medical)
James D. Mays
(medical)
Defendant
John F. Perry
(technical)
Phillip J. Kanter
(medical)
Facts
On Jan. 31, 1994, plaintiff John A. Hood, a former Agoura mayor, was stopped in his Mercedes, eastbound at a red signal at Clarendon and Topanga in Woodland Hills. Defendant Debby Chang rear-ended him in her Lexus. Property damage was disputed. The plaintiff brought this action against the defendants based on a negligence theory of recovery.
Settlement Discussions
In 1995, the defendants served a C.C.P. º998 offer for $5,000. Per defendant, the plaintiff offered to settle in 1995 for "around $40,000." The defendants offered $0 at trial. Also, per defendant, the plaintiff was willing to discuss settlement on the first day of trial, but no number was mentioned.
Specials in Evidence
Approximately $500,000 (by providing his individual income tax records from 1990 to 1997, his corporate tax income records, his corporate diary from 1990 to 1997, the corporate journals from 1992 to 1997.) The plaintiff claimed that even if + of his injuries and loss of earnings was attributed to the prior January 1993 collision, then not less than $250,000 should be awarded. However, the plaintiff claimed he was on the verge of recovery before the January 1994 accident. The plaintiff asked the jury for an amount just over $500,000.
Damages
Although plaintiff had accumulated $5,024.37 in treatment for the January 1994 accident, the specials were not claimed.
Injuries
The plaintiff suffered multiple spinal injury in a 1993 accident with cervical disc protrusions at C3-4 and C5-6, and lumbar disc protrusions at L3-4 and L5-S1. The plaintiff claimed this 1994 accident exacerbated those healed injuries. He had stopped treating for the prior injuries in September 1993.
Other Information
The verdict was reached approximately three years and three months after the case was filed. The defense counsel reported that the three dissents wanted to give him less than $100.
Deliberation
two hours
Poll
9-3
Length
six days
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