Car Accident Prompts Premises Liability Action

April 1, 2004

Michael D. McEvoy, Sr., Michelle A. Hancock, and Richard D. Newman successfully obtained a motion for summary judgment in a wrongful death case.

Plaintiff, a 20 year-old, and his friend were driving their respective cars on a rural highway in Temecula. Plaintiff lost control of his vehicle, due to the fact that he was driving at an excessive rate of speed. His car hit the curb of the roadway and landed in a drainage trench that was under construction on adjacent private property. Investigating police officers arrived at the scene and estimated that, after hitting the curb, the plaintiff's car became airborne and traveled over 100 feet in the air. The car impacted the side of the trench and fell in upside down. The trench was filled with rainwater. Decedent was unable to extricate himself and died from drowning.

Plaintiff sued the subcontractor who constructed the trench and the general contractor for the residential development. The defense filed a motion for summary judgment on behalf of the subcontractor and general contractor, on the grounds that the contractors did not owe the plaintiff duty since the trench was over 100 feet from the road. Plaintiff argued that the trench was a dangerous condition to motorists on the adjacent highway and since the occurrence was foreseeable, defendants had a duty to place barricades, warning signs, etc. around the trench. The court granted the motion and concluded that there was no duty under these circumstances.