REGULARS

TRIALS DIGEST

A minor was killed when the car in which she was riding as a rear seat passenger was crushed by an out-of-control tractor trailer (Rodriguez v. Arrow Truck Leasing, Los Angeles County Superior Court).

Slip/fall at Jack's joint
Award: $105,234

A woman broke her ankle when she slipped on a wet walkway at the Castaic Jack-In-The-Box (Lenahan v. Jack-In-The-Box, Los Angeles County Superior Court).

Waitress sexually harassed
Award: $650,000

A woman suffered emotional distress from harassment by a 50-percent owner of the restaurant/lounge where she worked (Mueth v. The Brass Monkey Inc., Los Angeles County Superior Court).

Golden parachutes killed
Award: $1,269,123

Corporate officers claimed breach of contract after the new board of directors repudiated their golden parachute agreements (Horwitz v. Datametrics Corp., Los Angeles County Superior Court).

Attorney malpractice
Award: $15,262,241

An attorney's conduct in handling the underlying medical malpractice action against UCLA was found to constitute malpractice (Morales v. Fagel, Los Angeles County Superior Court).

Defective roofs claimed
Award: $917,385

A group of 85 homeowners claimed that concrete roofing systems in their subdivision were defectively installed (Allenson v. W.A. Davidson Co., San Diego County Superior Court).

Baskin-Robbins cleared
Award: Defense

A customer claimed he sustained back and neck injuries when a plastic chair at Baskin-Robbins collapsed under him (Crawford v. Heckscher, San Francisco County Superior Court).

Ammonia injures scientist
Award: $224,000

A Department of Fish and Game aide was injured by a cloud of ammonia during a fish market inspection (Uglum v. Quality Refrigeration Co., Los Angeles County Superior Court).

Hose injures trucker
Award: $898,414

A truck driver sustained a skull fracture when a tractor unit hose and metal fitting recoiled and struck his head (Tinajero v. Dart International, Los Angeles County Superior Court).

Chevron fraud claimed
Award: Defense

A class of service station operators claimed fraud by Chevron under its mandatory Variable Rent Program (Lowe v. Chevron U.S.A. Inc., San Francisco 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.