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# SM settles $20K lawsuit
- URL: https://www.smdp.com/sm-settles-20k-lawsuit/
- Published: 2004-10-08T15:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-23T05:16:10.000Z
- Author: Guest Author
- Tags: Government & Politics, Santa Monica, #archive-import

*Bus accident case set for trial at end of month*

*By PAM WIGHT Special to the Daily Press*

CITY HALL — Officials here recently settled a lawsuit for $20,000, brought by a man who claimed he was injured when the city bus he was riding made a sudden stop, causing him to hit his head.

Eddie Johnson of Los Angeles claims he was traveling on a Big Blue Bus four years ago when it clipped the side mirror of a parked Jaguar.

Johnson claims the driver of the Jaguar, Lindsay Gardner, then chased the bus to the next stop while honking and yelling for attention. He allegedly cut in front of the bus and forced it to a sudden stop. The stop pitched Johnson forward, causing him to suffer severe injuries, his suit claims. Johnson alleges that his injuries resulted in some permanent disabilities and the loss of income.

Johnson sued City Hall about two weeks after the Nov. 3, 2000 accident. His suit claimed “injuries, disabilities, losses and damages.”

City Deputy Attorney Debra Kanoff said Johnson originally asked for more than $150,000, including medical expenses for major surgeries. The Santa Monica City Council approved the settlement on Sept. 28.

“The city was exposed to over $100,000 in expenses,” Kanoff said, adding officials feared a jury might be sympathetic toward Johnson. “It was too risky.”

Johnson also sued Gardner. The case is scheduled for trial on Oct. 25 at the Santa Monica Courthouse.

Both defendants and an independent witness, who was on the bus the day of the accident, tell a different version of what happened. They said the bus never made a sudden stop. Gardner’s attorney, Michael Nork, could not be reached for comment, but court documents show that his client denied forcing the bus to stop.

Nork also argued that Johnson’s doctors have been unreachable to testify about his alleged injuries and medical treatment. Nork characterized the medical treatment as unreasonable and medically unnecessary. He claimed that the medical expenses were excessive and weren’t reasonable related to medical billing procedures in California.

Johnson’s attorney, George Baltaxe, maintains that the doctors have been on vacation. He said the entire case rests upon whether the bus was forced to suddenly stop, or if it did at all.

“All parties agree, and the Jaguar driver admits that he was honking and yelling for the bus to stop at the next bus stop,” Baltaxe said. “But we think the bus was forced to a sudden stop beyond the next bus stop by the Jaguar.”

*Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on October 8, 2004.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/100804.pdf?ref=smdp.com)