Confidential

Facts

On July 26, 2003, plaintiffs Gail Hunter and Adele Sanchez attended the San Diego Pride Festival in Balboa Park, San Diego. At approximately 3:30 p.m., the plaintiffs left the festival and hailed a pedicab, which was operated by defendant Frank Sanchez (d/b/a SoCal Pedicabs). The defendant picked them up at Sixth Avenue and Juniper and proceeded towards Third Avenue and Washington, the destination the plaintiffs requested. The plaintiffs desired to return to their vehicle.

From Sixth and Juniper, the defendant pedaled to Upas Street, turned left for one block, and made a right onto Fifth Avenue. Fifth Avenue is a one-way street with three lanes. Defendant traveled on Fifth Avenue in the right lane and proceeded to the left-hand side of the road in preparation for a left hand turn. In this area, Fifth Avenue is a three lane, one-way street with a speed limit of 30 miles per hour.

As the defendant continued to operate the pedicab northbound on Fifth Avenue, he maneuvered the pedicab from the far right lane into the center lane of traffic. At that point, the defendant was operating the pedicab at a speed between 3-5 miles per hour. After traveling in the center lane of traffic for 30 seconds to one minute, the defendant began maneuvering the pedicab into the far left lane of traffic. Before the defendant could completely transition the pedicab into the left lane, there was a loud skidding (or screeching) sound and the pedicab was struck by an automobile driven by Robert Cruz, an uninsured motorist driving on a suspended license. The impact from the collision sent the plaintiffs flying through the air and onto the Fifth Avenue roadway.

The vehicle that struck the pedicab fled the accident scene. Subsequently, Cruz turned himself into the police. The investigating officers at the scene of the accident ultimately determined that Cruz was the cause of the collision. Cruz was charged and plead guilty to felony Hit and Run With Injury, Death, or Permanent Serious Injury for his involvement in the accident. He was sent to prison.

PLAINTIFFS' CONTENTIONS:
The plaintiffs contended that the defendant, the owner and operator of the pedicab, was a contributing cause of the incident, by failing to ride "as close as practicable" to the left or ride hand side of one-way street as required of bicycles by the Vehicle Code section 21202.

The plaintiffs further contended that SoCal Pedicabs was a common carrier and therefore owed the plaintiffs the utmost duty of care. As such, the plaintiffs contended that the defendants were further liable for operating the bicycle-cab in the center lane of traffic for an extended period of time at 3-5 miles per hour.

The plaintiffs also contended that the defendant failed to equip the Pedicab with devices to increase its visibility to motorists, despite knowledge of the availability of such devices and use thereof in other jurisdictions. The plaintiffs contended that the pedicab was not properly visible to motorists as confirmed by an eyewitness who passed the pedicab just moments before the collision and who further testified that "I was in the left lane and as I passed the buggy I just said a little prayer, because I was so shocked to see that pedicab there. If I had been in the middle lane, I felt I would have hit it."

DEFENDANT'S CONTENTIONS:
The defendant contended that Cruz was the sole cause of the accident and disputed the plaintiff's theory that as a slow moving vehicle, the pedicab's visibility was a substantial factor in causing the accident. Cruz testified that he entered Fifth Avenue in the left lane. He moved to the middle lane. He was not looking in the direction of the pedicab. Instead, he was looking over his right shoulder in preparation to make a right lane change to the #3 lane. Cruz further testified that as a result of the alignment problem with Cruz' vehicle, his vehicle had a tendency to drift from side to side. Cruz took his eyes off the road for approximately three to four seconds, and to his surprise, when he turned back around, he realized that he had unexpectedly drifted into the left lane and was headed directly into the pedicab.

The defendant contended that Cruz' reckless conduct was the sole cause of the accident. In further aggravation, Cruz was driving on a suspended license due to a prior DUI offense. The defendant contended that the accident would have occurred regardless of the pedicab's visibility because Cruz' reckless conduct, inattention to the road, consumption of alcohol, failure to eat in the 24 hours before the accident, and the alignment problem with his vehicle were all factors which caused the accident and were beyond the defendant's control.

Settlement Discussions

The plaintiff's initial demand to Defendant Sanchez was the policy limits of $1,000,000. The matter did not settle at mediation and the parties continued settlement negotiations during the course of trial preparation. The defendant offered the plaintiffs $25,000 to settle on August 9, 2005. The plaintiffs demanded policy limits. The defendant countered with an Offer to Compromise for a waiver of costs. On Sept. 21, 2005, the plaintiffs lowered their demand to $500,000, to which the defendant countered with $99,000. The parties finally reached a settlement in the amount of $200,000.

Specials in Evidence

$126,361 (Adele Sanchez); $57,381 (Gail Hunter)

Damages

Adele Sanchez: Past medical specials: $126,361 Gail Hunter: Past medical specials: $57,381

Injuries

Adele Sanchez: closed head injury with residual traumatic seizure disorder, right temporal epidural hematoma, requiring a surgical craniotomy, fractured right clavicle, fractured right scapula. Gail Hunter: closed head injury, right pelvic wing fracture, C-2 compression fracture, lacerations.

Result

Settlement: $1,315,000 ($200,000 from SoCal Pedicabs; $1,100,000 from State Farm for Adele Sanchez' uninsured policy limits; $15,000 from Nationwide Mutual Insurance for Gail Hunter's uninsured policy limits).