By Maya Meinert
Special to the Daily Press

SM COURTHOUSE — After being found guilty on Friday of 10 counts of vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence for his role in the 2003 Farmers’ Market crash, George Russell Weller will next face a civil trial, scheduled to begin early next year.

Thirty-six lawsuits were filed against Weller; City Hall; the Southland Farmers Market Association, operators of the farmers market on Arizona Avenue; Bayside District Corp., a nonprofit organization that operates downtown with money from City Hall; and Step Up on Second, a social service agency whose members volunteer at the market.

City Hall was released from liability in July because of a law that grants design immunity to cities that have constructed an intersection or traffic management plan according to state standards and approved by a licensed engineer.

Southland Farmers’ Market Association was subsequently granted a motion for summary judgment.

Meanwhile, Step Up on Second is in the process of negotiating a multi-million dollar settlement with victims and their relatives.

That leaves Weller and Bayside District Corp. as defendants in the civil case, set to begin Jan. 16, 2007.

Weller, who was 86 at the time of the accident, drove his car through a bustling Farmers’ Market on Arizona Avenue on July, 16, 2003, killing 10 and injuring 68 others.

Attorneys for some of the plaintiffs reacted strongly to Friday’s verdict.

“It would add weight to the defendants’... arguments that Weller is solely responsible,” said Michael Piuze, attorney for the families of three people who were killed by Weller.

“The verdict of guilty cannot help the plaintiffs in the civil case, and there have been people associated with the case who have thought the real purpose of the prosecution was to help out the city of Santa Monica,” Piuze said.

Stan Jacobs, attorney for a woman seriously injured by Weller who ultimately died before her civil trial went to court, is one of those people.

“Weller is the fall guy, when the real culprit is the city of Santa Monica,” said Jacobs. “The city of Santa Monica played Russian Roulette with the people who attend that market.

“The city should be held accountable.”

Attorneys for the plaintiffs appeal the decision by Santa Monica Superior Court Judge Valerie Baker to grant City Hall immunity, however, the California Supreme Court has refused to hear the case.

Dana Alden Fox, an attorney with the law firm Lynberg & Watkins, which is representing City Hall, had a different reaction to the verdict.

“I was not shocked,” Fox said. “I think the District Attorney Ann Ambrose presented a compelling case. This verdict validates the city’s position in the civil case that the city is not responsible or liable for this tragic incident.”

Attorneys for the plaintiffs have filed a motion to have the trial postponed until sometime in March 2007 to allow them time to prepare for trial. That hearing is schedule for Oct. 24.