Facts

On Feb. 19, 2008, at 5:30 a.m., Miguel Ibanez, 42, was driving to work on Micke Grove Road, a public road. The road was dark and there were no streetlights. His vehicle collided with a horse and pony that were standing in the northbound lane of the road. The darkness and the early morning fog obscured the animals.

The horse came up onto the hood of his car and smashed through the front windshield, striking Ibanez, knocking him unconscious and killing him. The plaintiffs were his four children and one grandchild.

The animals had escaped from defendant's property. The tenants leasing the land boarded the horses on the owner's property. The tenants had no insurance and fled to Mexico.

The California Highway Patrol investigated the collision and concluded that the decedent caused the collision by violating California Vehicle Code section 22350 by driving at an unsafe speed for the prevailing conditions.

PLAINTIFF'S CONTENTIONS:
Plaintiffs contended that the death occurred as a result of the combined negligence of the property owners and their tenants. Plaintiffs argued that the horse and pony were able to get onto the road by going through openings in the fences on the property that were badly maintained, due to the negligence of the property owners. Plaintiffs further contended that the owners prepared the lease for the tenants that allowed horses to be boarded on the property and retained the right to make repairs on the property and had, in fact, constructed and repaired some of the fencing themselves.

Plaintiffs contended that the decedent was traveling at the 35 mph speed limit and that the horse and pony were both dark colored and were an unexpected hazard that could not have been seen before the collision.

DEFENDANT'S CONTENTIONS:
The property owners contended that they did not own the animals and that the tenants owned and controlled the horse and pony and had the duty to maintain the fences around the horses. The owners contended that the tenants, left a corral gate open, allowing the animals to get out. The owners contended that they lived out of the area and had no control over the animals.

Specials in Evidence

The decedent had worked for Micke Grove Golf Course for five years. His earnings in 2007 were $31,000.

Damages

$20,000 (funeral).

Injuries

Miguel Ibanez was survived by his common-law wife, who could not be a plaintiff because they were not married, and their children, ages 19, 18, 12, and 6, and a 2-year-old grandchild.

Result

The parties reached a settlement, after discovery depositions, for the insurance policy limits of the property owner's insurance in the amount of $300,000.