WeHo case similar to that of farmers’ market accident
By KATHLEEN BISHOP Special to the Daily Press
SM COURTHOUSE — A judge here ruled Tuesday that the city of West Hollywood wasn’t liable for a man’s injuries when he was struck by a car in a crosswalk at Sunset Boulevard and Alta Loma Road.
Santa Monica Superior Court Judge Valerie Baker’s ruling said that despite strong evidence, Jason Eli Sayers’ attorney, Santa Monica-based Browne Greene, didn’t sufficiently prove that the intersection was dangerous at the time of the accident.
“I’m shocked beyond words in light of the evidence and the attitude of the city of West Hollywood,” Greene said after the ruling was handed down.
He added that the ruling was “not encouraging” for him since Judge Baker also will preside over the city of Santa Monica’s liability cases related to the Santa Monica Farmers’ Market crash which occurred in July 2003. Greene’s law firm, Greene, Broillet, Panish & Wheeler, LLP., located at 100 Wilshire Blvd., has filed several of the civil cases on behalf of victims who were injured in the accident.
Greene cited West Hollywood’s own study in which zero out of 42 motorists yielded for pedestrians at night.
“Yet the judge still finds this not to be a dangerous condition?” he said. “I just don’t understand it.”
Sayers was permanently brain damaged after being hit by a car driven by Danielle Mason on April 24, 2001. Sayers filed suit against the city in December 2001 for negligence and dangerous condition of public property.
“The judge followed the law and the evidence,” said D. Michael Lyden, a Calabasas-based attorney representing West Hollywood. The case went to trial Sept. 27 and lasted 11 days. Both sides agreed to waive a jury trial.
Greene argued that West Hollywood staffers knew the intersection was dangerous and chose not to fix broken pavement lights, and didn’t clear foliage in front of pedestrian signs or take additional steps to make conditions safer. Attorney Scott Haith argued that the city of West Hollywood met safety standards. He also argued that Sayers’ and Mason’s lack of due care and inattentiveness caused the accident.
Greene acknowledged that the Sayers’ and farmers’ market cases have different circumstances, but said, “If any third person were looking at (the ruling), they wouldn’t think it’s very good news” for the outcome of the pending lawsuits.
The similarities between the cases are that they both involve pedestrian accidents and focus on whether a city can be held liable for dangerous conditions on public property. Greene said Judge Baker’s ruling “sends a chilling message about pedestrian safety.”
Ten people were killed and dozens injured in the farmers’ market accident when 86-year-old Russell Weller apparently lost control of his car and drove through the crowded market.
Nearly 30 civil lawsuits have been filed in the aftermath of the July 16, 2003 crash, all of which are being heard by Judge Baker.
Victims of the crash argue City Hall officials knew or should have known that there was a dangerous condition of public property. Victims will argue that the city of Santa Monica should have known to erect barriers to keep Weller’s 1992 Buick LeSabre out of the market.
The National Transportation Safety Board’s preliminary report apparently supports those claims. Among safety recommendations put forward in the report were for City Hall to construct a “temporary rigid barrier system” at market ends, and to update traffic plans annually dealing with road closures.
The city of Santa Monica has maintained that it was a tragic accident which could not have been foreseen. However, since the accident the city has placed parked vehicles at both ends of the market.
Weller also is targeted in the civil suits, but the retired grocer’s assets will likely be exhausted quickly. Criminally, he faces 10 felony counts of voluntary manslaughter and is scheduled to appear in court later this month.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on October 21, 2004. Read the original PDF.