Judge postpones Weller civil trial until January
SM COURTHOUSE A Santa Monica judge on Monday postponed the civil trial involving an elderly man responsible for killing 10 people and injuring dozens more when he drove his car through a crowded Farmers Market nearly three years ago.
With more than 15 attorneys looking on, Judge Valerie Baker ruled in favor of City Hall and operators of the Farmers Market on Arizona Avenue by granting their request to delay the trial until Jan. 16, 2007, roughly 90 days after criminal proceedings against driver Russell Weller are expected to be completed.
Weller, 89, has pleaded not guilty to 10 felony counts of vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence. He is scheduled to go to trial Sept. 6. The trial is expected to last six weeks, attorneys for Weller said.
On March 29, Baker had ruled to move forward with six of the 36 civil lawsuits filed against Weller, City Hall and others believed to be liable for the July 16, 2003 accident because some of the plaintiffs are aging or their health is deteriorating. One of the plaintiffs has already died while waiting for the civil and criminal cases to proceed, thus rendering the pain-and-suffering clam null and void for her estate.
That ruling was challenged in April by attorneys representing City Hall, who requested the civil trial be delayed so they can gather statements from Weller.
Weller has thus far refused to give a deposition in the civil case out of fear that his statements may be used against him in the criminal trial. This has all but prevented attorneys for City Hall from moving forward with their defense.
Visit us online at smdp.com defending City Hall, said Weller’s physical and mental state at the time of the accident are crucial to their defense, and without an opportunity to interview Weller or have him examined by doctors, Fox’s ability to present an adequate defense would be jeopardized.
Weller reportedly lost control of his car after rear-ending a Mercedes Benz at the intersection of Fourth Street and Arizona Avenue. Police say he hit the accelerator instead of the brake. Weller traveled 995 feet through the Farmers Market at speeds of up to 60 mph, avoiding parked cars but hurling pedestrians into the air before stopping, a California Highway Patrol report said.
The 10 people killed ranged in age from 7 months to 78 years old.
Defendants in the civil matter include Weller, City Hall, the Bayside District Corp., which is a nonprofit that manages downtown with money from City Hall, the Southland Farmers Market Association, and Step Up On Second, a social service agency that helps mentally ill homeless people and plays a large role in weekly markets.
The statute of limitations in the case ran out in September of 2004 and no more lawsuits are expected to be filed.
The attorneys for victims of Weller see Baker’s ruling on Monday as yet another attempt to deny them of their day in court. Representatives for the victims have continually charged District Attorney Steve Cooley with stalling the criminal case for political gain, a claim his office has denied.
Now, some of the victims charge defense attorneys with taking advantage of this alleged manipulation of court dates to further their cause as well. If more plaintiffs die during the delay, the less damages can be rewarded, victims’ attorneys said.
“We’re hearing from (Weller’s attorneys) that this ain’t over until it’s over, meaning there are going to be appeals (after the criminal case is heard),” said Stanley Jacobs, an attorney representing Shamsi Khani, a 92-year-old whose health has deteriorated rapidly in the last year and is now unable to testify. Khani suffered several injuries in the crash, including fractures to her right hip and left leg, as well as a severed temporal artery.
“We could be talking about five years from now before Mr. Weller is ready to talk, and by that time, who knows what he’ll remember … He isn’t some spring chicken,” Jacobs added.
Fox said he has done everything he can to move the proceedings along, having asked the District Attorney’s Office to grant Weller immunity, meaning his deposition in the civil case could not then be used against him in the criminal trial.Fox said that request was denied.
“I am committed to coming before the court ready for trial 90 days after the completion of the criminal trial,” Fox told Baker. “That’s the minimum amount of time we would need to prepare. That’s no fluff. I’m talking about a full-court press. That’s the bare minimum.”
Baker said she weighed arguments from both sides equally, and that she was presented with a difficult decision. It was either grant the delay in the interest of justice for the defense, or stick with the July 10 trial date originally set in March in the interest of justice for the plaintiffs.
In the end, she felt the law favored the defense. Baker said she took into account statements from the judge in the criminal case that no further delays would be granted,opening the door for her to set a firm trial date in January.
Still, Baker’s decision didn’t sit well with Jacobs, who said the court should treat Weller as if he was a man in a coma because of his advanced age and poor recollection of the accident.
“He’s an old, confused man,” Jacobs said. “Getting information out of him will be, quite frankly, like trying to get blood out of a turnip … Sometimes you can’t get the whole enchilada.”
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on May 23, 2006. Read the original PDF.