Mitsubishi Cement Corporation Victorious In Major Personal Injury Action - Summary Judgment Granted

March 4, 2008

Senior Partner Guy R. Gruppie, Partners Corine Zygelman and Gina E. Och and Associate Adrian J. Barrio have successfully defended Mitsubishi Cement Corporation in a major personal injury action filed on behalf of a truck driver who was seriously injured in a tractor-trailer accident.

Judge Joseph E. DiLoreto, of the South District of the Los Angeles Superior Court, granted Mitsubishi Cement's summary judgment motion, finding as a matter of law that Mitsubishi Cement did not cause or contribute to the incident that occurred after the driver had picked up a load of cement at a facility owned by the defendant. The driver lost control of the tractor-trailer as it rounded a curve, leading to a crash where the driver suffered serious and alleged permanent injuries with medical bills reaching into the hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Mitsubishi Cement submitted undisputed evidence that its loading facility at the Port of Long Beach contained electronic and computerized scales that included fail-safe devices to prohibit any tractor-trailer from leaving the facility in an over-loaded condition. Moreover, the moving party successfully argued that the same driver had made other prior load deliveries from the Mitsubishi Cement facility with bills of lading issued each time confirming the gross load of the vehicle was under the 80,000-pound cut off. As such, the court was able to conclude that factors other than the conduct of Mitsubishi Cement — including, quite possibly, the conduct of the driver himself — were substantial factors in the occurrence of the accident. At a pending trial against other defendants, plaintiffs are expected to seek a total award exceeding seven figures.