Thang Ngoc Nguyen v. Coast Community College District
Published: Jan. 1, 2000 | Result Date: Jun. 29, 1999 | Filing Date: Jan. 1, 1900 |Case number: 793256 Verdict – $184,143
Judge
Court
Orange Superior
Attorneys
Plaintiff
Dale E. Washington
(Law Office of Dale E. Washington)
Defendant
Will Jay Pirkey
(Office of the Los Angeles City Attorney)
Experts
Plaintiff
Sandra Snieder
(technical)
Mark O'Callahan
(technical)
Terry Boycott
(medical)
Todashi Funahashi
(medical)
Defendant
Roderick D. Stroud
(technical)
Irwin L. Bliss M.D.
(medical)
Jacques Cohen
(technical)
E. Jeffrey Barney
(medical)
Facts
On Jan. 21, 1998, plaintiff Thang Ngoc Nguyen, a 53-year-old consultant, was with his wife, plaintiff Kim Nguyen, attending the Tet Festival at Golden West College in Huntington Beach. He stepped backwards into the path of a passing electric cart driven by a volunteer working for the defendant college. The wife did not see nor recognize her husband's scream when the cart struck the husband, injuring him. The plaintiffs, husband and wife, brought this action against defendant Coast Community College District, Union of Vietnamese Students Association of Southern California and Thiet Nguyen (no relation to plaintiff) based on negligence, respondeat superior premises liability.
Settlement Discussions
The plaintiffs made C.C.P. º998 settlement demands for $35,000 for the plaintiff wife and $332,000 for the plaintiff husband. The defendant made a settlement offer of $60,000, with an indication of $75,000.
Specials in Evidence
$22,113.90 $200,000 $1,022,266 (present value) $10,000 or less (surgery) and a request for lifetime physical therapy but no amount
Damages
In addition to economic damages, the plaintiffs sought $1 million in noneconomic damages for pain and suffering.
Injuries
The plaintiff husband suffered a "Weber C" fracture/dislocation of his right ankle, requiring open reduction and internal fixation with seven screws and a plate, with the possibility of future surgery to remove the screws and plate. The plaintiff husband claimed his injuries resulted in residual loss of motion, requiring a cane for walking, as well as pain, aggravation of diabetes, and reflex sympathetic dystrophy. The plaintiff wife claimed she suffered bystander emotional distress but no economic damages.
Result
(before/after reduction for comparative liability)
Other Information
The verdict was reached approximately one year and two months after the case was filed. The plaintiffs' gross negligence cause of action and punitive damage request non-suited at the beggining of trial. The plaintiff wife's emotional distress claim non-suited at the close of the plaintiffs' case. A settlement conference was held on Feb. 5, 1999, before Judge H. Warren Siegel, resulting in no settlement. Plaintiff's motion for new trial and judgment notwithstanding the verdict was denied. Defendants awarded costs on nonsuit of plaintiff wife.
Deliberation
one day
Length
five days
For reprint rights or to order a copy of your photo:
Email
jeremy@reprintpros.com
for prices.
Direct dial: 949-702-5390