Congratulations to San Diego Partner JohnPaul Salem on his recent MSJ victory in a wrongful death case!
Plaintiffs, the family of a pedestrian who was struck and killed by a train at a San Diego trolley station when he walked onto the tracks while warning lights and bells were active, filed suit for (i) dangerous condition of public property; and (ii) negligence arising out of the accident. Plaintiffs alleged BWB&O’s Client had created a dangerous condition and failed to warn of the alleged danger.
Partner JohnPaul Salem brought a Motion for Summary Judgment based on design immunity showing: 1) a causal relationship between the plan/design of the Station and the accident; 2) the Station was designed by competent engineers and was subsequently approved; and 3) substantial evidence of reasonableness via multiple engineers approving the design prior to construction and compliance with applicable government standards.
Although Plaintiffs found an expert to disagree with the reasonableness of the Station’s design, the Court found the Station met the criteria for design immunity and granted Summary Judgment in BWB&O’s Client’s favor! A fantastic result!