Facts

Plaintiff James Reinholtz's 1968 Corvette Stingray was stolen while it was being repaired at Dependable Carburetor Exchange. Plaintiff reported his loss to his insurance company, Allied Property and Casualty Insurance Company, who paid him on his claim. Plaintiff believed Allied underpaid him on his claim and sued Allied for insurance bad faith.

Plaintiff also sued Dependable Carburetor for the loss for his Corvette.

Plaintiff and Allied entered into a confidential settlement, leaving Dependable Carburetor as the only defendant.

PLAINTIFF'S CONTENTIONS:
Plaintiff contended that Dependable Carburetor had a duty and promised to store his 1968 Corvette inside its building to prevent the car from being stolen. Plaintiff also claimed that Dependable Carburetor failed to store his car inside its building and most likely parked it on the street, resulting in the theft of plaintiff's car.

DEFENDANT'S CONTENTIONS:
Dependable Carburetor denied it ever agreed to store plaintiff's car inside its building. Dependable Carburetor claimed that it parked plaintiff's car on its uncovered lot and that other were parked in a manner that boxed in plaintiff's car to prevent its theft.

Settlement Discussions

Plaintiff made a CCP 998 demand of $29,999.99. Dependable Carburetor made a CCP 998 offer of $5,000.

Result

The jury found in favor of plaintiff on his breach of bailment claim and awarded him $15,378.

Deliberation

five hours

Poll

12-0 (liability for breach of bailment)

Length

three days