Letter from a Reader
Dear Marc and Mike,
One of our lawyers recently turned me on to your blog on California attorneys’ fees, and I have found it extremely helpful and informative. This is a fantastic resource. With that in mind, I wanted to let you know about an attorneys’ fee award received in a case that Moses Lebovits and I tried together in September before Hon. Dudley Gray in Dept. M in Redondo Beach.
The case involved an automobile vs. pedestrian accident at the intersection of 2nd street and Meadows Avenue in Manhattan Beach on November 7, 2006. Moses and I represented the plaintiff, a former partner at Howery, who was returning home from walking her children to school that morning. She was in the center of the street, crossing corner to corner in an unmarked crosswalk when the defendant, assistant general counsel for Toyota Motor Sales USA, Inc., ran over her causing a vestibular head injury with residual vertigo, a 6mm herniated disc at L4-5 and a torn labrum in her right hip. Three eyewitnesses all confirmed that the defendant struck the plaintiff in the center of the road in the area where a marked crosswalk would have been. The investigating police officer concluded that the defendant caused the entire accident by striking a pedestrian in an unmarked crosswalk in violation of California Vehicle Code section 21950(a). During discovery, our office served well tailored requests for admissions on the issues of liability and causation which were denied by the defense. This was clearly a case which should have been tried solely on the issue of the plaintiff’s damages; yet, the defense forced a trial on all issues – contesting liability to the bitter end without one shred of evidence to support their position. On September 17, 2009, the jury returned a unanimous verdict in favor of the plaintiff and awarded her damages of just under $624,000, which is the largest plaintiff’s verdict ever obtained in Redondo Beach.
Subsequently, our firm filed a motion to recover costs and fees, including the cost of a biomechanics expert and an accident reconstruction expert, utilized in proving the facts on which request for admissions were sought prior to trial. The motion was heard on October 26, 2009. Judge Gray took the motion under submission and issued the attached order awarding an additional $123,445.15 including $84,875 in attorneys’ fees. I am also attaching a copy of our motion. Defense counsel has indicated that his client intends to pay the underlying judgment and appeal the award of fees and costs. In light of recent cases posted on your website, I thought you might find our case of particular interest for your readers. If either of you have any questions or need additional information, please do not hesitate to give Moses or me a call. Keep up the good work.
Jason Tortorici
Daniels, Fine, Israel, Schonbuch & Lebovits