Falling sign Award: $12,751,600 A 28-year-old man was rendered a paraplegic after a 1,700-pound marquee sign
from an abandoned theater fell on him as he was walking by (Doll v. Arena
Group 2000 LP, San Diego County Superior Court). UC fee dispute Award: $28,093,260 A class action suit was filed on behalf of thousands of University of California
students, alleging that UC breached its promise to hold the amount of professional
degree fees constant for the duration of a student’s enrollment (Kashmiri
v. The Regents of the University of California, San Francisco County Superior
Court). Brakes overheat Award: $2,000,000 A passenger in a pickup truck hauling a trailer sustained massive injuries
when the brakes overheated and failed while going downhill because the owner
of the trailer failed to hook up the brakes on the trailer (Grajeda v. Maack
Wholesale Inc., Imperial County Superior Court). Wal-Mart bicycles Award: Defense Ten minors were injured while riding bicycles purchased from Wal-Mart, allegedly
due to defective quick-release levers (May-Carmen v. Wal-Mart Stores Inc.,
Marin County Superior Court). Aqueduct drowning Award: $9,995,000 A mother sustained severe brain damage and her three children died when her
vehicle plunged into a California aqueduct lacking a guardrail mandated by
CalTrans (Ramirez v. CalTrans, Los Angeles County Superior Court). Patent royalties Award: $500,100,000 A non-profit public benefit corporation sued Genentech for royalties on patents
obtained using the corporation’s research on recombinant DNA technology (City
of Hope National Medical Center v. Genentech Inc., Los Angeles County Superior
Court). Asbestos exposure Award: $5,151,000 A 52-year-old mechanic contracted terminal lung cancer as a result of asbestos
exposure while working on refrigerator compressors (Morrison v. Copeland
Corp., San Francisco County Superior Court). Overtime pay Award: $2,000,000 A class action lawsuit was brought by former managers at Abercrombie & Fitch
stores who claimed that they were improperly classified as exempt to avoid
the payment of overtime wages (Kimbell v. Abercrombie & Fitch Stores
Inc., Los Angeles County Superior Court). Trip and fall Award: Defense An 86-year-old shopper tripped on a pallet in the aisle of a market and sustained
a broken hip (Frank v. Daily Seafood Inc., San Mateo County Superior
Court).
Editor's Note: California Bar Journal publishes this abbreviated summary of important trials in California provided by Trials Digest, a Thomson West business. To report your case results, go to west.thomson.com/trialsdigest/form.asp or call 415-344-6000.
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