California Bar Journal
OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE STATE BAR OF CALIFORNIA - MAY 2002
spacer.gif (810 bytes)

TRIALS DIGEST

spacer.gif (810 bytes)

Credit union sued
Award: $293,175

Plaintiffs claimed that their credit union did not adhere to the terms of a previous settlement regarding the minimum interest to be paid on plaintiff's IRA accounts (Foster v. I.L.W.U. Credit Union, Los Angeles County Superior Court).

Boy accidentally shot
Award: $200,000

A young boy was injured in an accidental shooting during the course of a wild pig hunt, allegedly negligently supervised (Zwiaska v. Pickle, San Francisco County Superior Court).

Shopper slips at Wal-Mart
Award: $725,000

When a woman slipped and fell on a french fry dropped by another shopper at a Wal-Mart retail store, she fractured her knee (Moore v. Wal-Mart, Stanislaus County Superior Court).

CFRA claim
Award: $93,250

Plaintiff employee alleged discrimination, retaliation and defamation under the California Family Rights Act (Jackson v. United Parcel Service, San Francisco County Superior Court).

File cabinet falls
Award: $1,177,835

A bank employee sued a construction company for negligence, alleging that a filing cabinet, which fell over and injured her, had been moved during the night by a construction crew and the crew failed to re-attach a metal safety strap (Donnellan v. DEB Construction, Alameda County Superior Court).

Airport wins nuisance suit
Award: Defense

Homeowners sued the City of Santa Monica for inverse condemnation and nuisance caused by the Santa Monica Airport. Twenty plaintiffs received no damages. Three plaintiffs did receive a total of $72,000 in nuisance damages (Cole v. City of Santa Monica, Los Angeles County Superior Court).

Asbestos-caused cancer
Award: $3,029,849

A retired Navy man sued defendant for the manufacture of defective products that exposed him to asbestos (Taylor v. John Crane Inc., San Francisco County Superior Court).

Lab sues doctor
Award: $114,557

Unpaid bills resulting from a doctor's failure to provide proper billing information led a medical laboratory to sue the doctor  (Unilab Corp. v. Aguolu-Okwonkwo, Los Angeles County Superior Court).

Negligence at birth
Award: $5,000,000

An infant allegedly was born with cerebral palsy as a result of negligence on the part of the doctors and the hospital (Ison v. East Bay Ob-Gyn Medical Group, Alameda County Superior Court).

EDITOR'S NOTE: California Bar Journal publishes this abbreviated summary of important trials in California provided by Trials Digest Publishing Inc. For a free complete trial report on any case listed, call 510/420-1800.