Carrera v. Maurice J. Sopp & Son, No. B204911

In plaintiffs' wrongful death action against defendants on theory of duty owed by owner or bailee of a motor vehicle, trial court's grant of summary judgment in favor of defendants on the issue of duty is reversed where the trial court erred in finding an absence of special circumstances as here, the tow truck falls within the ambit of the special circumstances rule, and the tow truck was left unattended in a high crime area with the key in the ignition and accessible to thieves.  Finally, the sum total of the policy considerations under the Rowland factors leads to the conclusion that defendant owed a duty of care to the plaintiffs. 

Read Carrera v. Maurice J. Sopp & Son, No. B204911

Appellate Information

Filed September 3, 2009

Judges

Opinion by Judge Klein, P.

Counsel

For Appellant:  Moreno, Becerra & Casillas, Arnoldo Casillas and Christian Pereira, Law Office of Daniel Michah Dembicer, Blanchard Stein & Stein, Andrew D. Stein & Associates, Rebecca A. Davis-Stein.

For Respondent:  Horvitz & Levy, David S. Ettinger, Jason R. Litt, Schaffer, Lax, McNaughton & Chen, Kevin J. McNaughton and Yaron F. Dunkel.