Jay R. Walch v. Howard J. Askenase
Published: Jun. 13, 1998 | Result Date: May 20, 1998 | Filing Date: Jan. 1, 1900 |Case number: BC162009 Arbitration – $0
Arbitrator
Court
L.A. Superior Central
Attorneys
Claimant
Respondent
Facts
This case arose out of a Dec. 5, 1995, dispute over a parking space which, plaintiff alleged, escalated into a physical altercation. Plaintiff Jay Walch, a 35-year-old paralegal/legal assistant, had just parked at 320 South Hamel, near Cedars Sinai Medical Center, when the defendant drove up. Defendant Howard J. Askenase asked the plaintiff to pull forward, so that he could park in a space behind the plaintiff's car. An argument ensued, and ultimately, the plaintiff beat the hood of defendant's parked car with a baseball bat. The plaintiff claimed he had been assaulted and battered by the defendant so he grabbed the toy bat from his car's trunk in order to defend himself and kept swinging it in front of himself, telling the defendant to stay away from him. He hit the medallion on the front of defendant's car, and the defendant became enraged. The defendant denied ever having touched the plaintiff and denied the plaintiff touched the defendant. The defendant believed that both he and the plaintiff kept asking people in the area to call the police. The police arrived and sent them both on their separate ways. The plaintiff brought this action against the defendant based on intentional infliction of emotional distress, assault, battery and negligent infliction of emotional distress theories of recovery.
Settlement Discussions
Per defendant, the plaintiff made a C.C.P. º998 settlement demand for $24,999. The defendant did not make any settlement offers.
Injuries
The plaintiff allegedly suffered bodily injury as a result of the incident. He claimed to have exacerbated an admittedly pre-existing hernia condition. He also allegedly sustained soft tissue damage. In addition, the plaintiff complained of extreme stress, anxiety and depression. He was receiving psychiatric or psychological treatment at an outpatient clinic and, after the incident, he took Prozac because of his severe depression and anxiety.
Other Information
The award was rendered approximately 1+ years after the case was filed.
Length
six hours (Arbitration)
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