Huerta v. City of Santa Ana

39 Cal.App.5th 41

252 Cal.Rptr.3d 56

Cynthia HUERTA, et al., Plaintiffs and Appellants,

v.CITY OF SANTA ANA, Defendant and Respondent.

G056076

Court of Appeal, Fourth District, Division 3, California.

Filed August 23, 2019

OPINION

GOETHALS, J.

Cynthia Huerta, Maria De Jesus Gonzalez and Andres Gonzalez are the parents of three girls who were tragically killed on Halloween night in 2014 when they were struck by a speeding motorist while they were crossing the street in a marked crosswalk. The driver fled the scene. He was later arrested and pleaded guilty to felony vehicular manslaughter.

Huerta and the Gonzalezes sued the City of Santa Ana (the City), alleging a cause of action for damages based on a claim that the crosswalk constituted a "dangerous condition of public property" pursuant to Government Code sections 835 and 835.2.¹ They contend the trial court erred by granting summary judgment in favor of the City, arguing there were triable issues of fact related to whether the crosswalk qualified as "a dangerous condition of public property" and whether the City had notice of that dangerous condition before this accident.

While it has long been the law that, in the absence of a statute or charter provision to the contrary, a city has no duty to light its streets, an exception to that rule may exist if a " ‘peculiar condition’ " of the property makes lighting necessary. ( Antenor v. City of Los Angeles (1985) 174 Cal.App.3d 477, 483, 220 Cal.Rptr. 181 ( Antenor ).) Huerta and the Gonzalezes assert that a large tree adjacent to the north end of the crosswalk, in conjunction with a nearby street light, caused a shadow to be cast over the crosswalk making it unreasonably dark at night. As a result, they argue their children were rendered invisible to any approaching driver—thereby creating a "peculiar condition" that qualifies as an exception to the Antenor rule, thus requiring additional lighting in the crosswalk. They also argue the crosswalk constituted a "dangerous condition of public property" because the posted speed limit in the area was too high for the nighttime conditions.

For reasons discussed below, we disagree with both contentions. After scrutinizing these facts, we cannot find a "dangerous condition of public property" or any "peculiar condition" that would trigger an obligation by the City to modify its street lighting at the accident scene. Moreover, as the trial court observed in granting the City's motion for summary judgment, it is undisputed that the driver who hit the girls was exceeding the posted speed limit, and therefore the speed limit was not a proximate cause of these tragic deaths. We therefore must affirm the judgment.

FACTS

On Halloween night in 2014, Huerta's daughters, Lexi Perez-Huerta and Lexandra Perez-Huerta, and the Gonzalezes' daughter, Andrea Gonzalez, were all struck and killed by a car while crossing Fairhaven Avenue in a marked crosswalk. The speeding driver who killed the girls later admitted he was criminally reckless when he pleaded guilty to three counts of felony vehicular manslaughter involving "gross negligence."

1. The Intersection

Fairhaven is a two-way, four-lane street that runs east-west. The accident occurred at the "T" intersection where Old Grand Street meets Fairhaven from the south. The marked crosswalk bisects Fairhaven from the southeast corner of the intersection to the northern side of Fairhaven. There is an elementary school at the northern end of the crosswalk, where a large tree grows between the street and the school.

The posted speed limit for that section of Fairhaven is generally 45 miles per hour, but it is reduced to 25 miles per hour when children are present. There are several signs along the northern (westbound) side of Fairhaven, alerting approaching cars to the existence of the upcoming crosswalk; these warnings begin approximately 630 feet east of the crosswalk. During school hours, the crosswalk is monitored by a crossing guard.

At night, the intersection is illuminated by a single street light at the southeast corner of Fairhaven and Old Grand, near the south end of the crosswalk. The next closest street light is on the south side of Fairhaven, approximately 230 feet west of the intersection. In their complaint, Huerta and the Gonzalezes assert that on the night of the accident, "the intersection was ‘pitch black’ at the subject crosswalk."

The civil engineering expert retained by Huerta and the Gonzalezes stated in a declaration filed with the court that the night time lighting at the intersection—as measured two years after the accident in November 2016—was "dim." Directly below the one street light at the southeast corner the light level was according to the expert significantly below what would be "expected." The expert also stated that the north end of the crosswalk, farthest away from the street light, was the "dimmest" part of the crosswalk. There is a large tree on the north side of Fairhaven that overhangs the right lane of Fairhaven (the number two westbound lane) where the crosswalk terminates in front of the school.

2. The Accident

The three girls were all wearing black clothing on Halloween. At approximately 6:45 p.m. that evening, they entered the crosswalk at the southern end where the street light is located, and began to cross Fairhaven northbound toward the school. A westbound vehicle, preparing to turn left onto Old Grand Avenue, yielded for them in the westbound left turn lane.² Moments after they passed in front of that stopped car, Jaquinn Ramone Bell, driving at a speed somewhere between 50 and 70 miles per hour in the westbound number two lane, struck and killed all three girls. The accident was captured on the adjacent school's surveillance video.³ There is no evidence Bell attempted to stop before hitting the girls. Bell fled the scene, but he was apprehended two days later following an investigation and manhunt.

Huerta and the Gonzalezes sued Bell, the City of Santa Ana, and the Orange Unified School District. As against the City, they alleged a single cause of action for damages based on the theory that the crosswalk qualified as a "dangerous condition of public property" pursuant to section 835.

In August of 2017, following extensive discovery, the City moved for summary judgment, or alternatively for summary adjudication, of the following five issues: (1) it was entitled to design immunity pursuant to section 830.6; (2) the intersection of Fairhaven and Old Grand Street does not constitute "a dangerous condition of public property" as defined by sections 830 and 835 ; (3) there is no evidence the City had actual or constructive notice of a dangerous condition at the intersection of Fairhaven and Old Grand Street; (4) Bell's criminally negligent driving, amounting to felony vehicular manslaughter, was the proximate cause of Huerta and the Gonzalezes' injuries; and (5) to the extent there is any dangerous condition at the intersection, it constitutes a trivial defect pursuant to section 830.2, and is otherwise foreclosed by sections 830.4 and 830.8.

In granting the motion for summary judgment, the trial court focused largely on the second and third issues raised by the City. The court found the City had met its burden of showing there was no dangerous condition involving the crosswalk by "provid[ing] evidence that there were no peculiar conditions of the road at this location: The crosswalk was clearly marked, the street is level and straight, there are no sight obstructions, the crosswalk is clearly marked in advance both by parkway signage as well as street lettering, and the accident data showed no accidents involving pedestrians in the eight years preceding this accident." The court also noted the City provided authority demonstrating "it could not be held liable for a dangerous condition based on the absence of lighting because a city has no duty to install lighting. ( Antenor v. City of Los Angeles (1985) 174 Cal.App.3d 477, 483 [220 Cal.Rptr. 181].)"

The court rejected the assertion that the posted speed limit on Fairhaven was too high for night-time driving because drivers might " ‘outdrive’ their headlights" at that speed, reasoning that "[t]he posted speed limit is simply the maximum speed a driver may drive at any time. A driver must still adhere to the basic speed law which prohibits driving at a speed which endangers people or property. (See Veh. Code, § 22350.) A driver who proceeds at a speed that ‘outdrives’ his or her headlights is not obeying the basic speed law and is not using the public street in a safe and reasonable manner, even if the posted speed limit is higher." The court also concluded the asserted impropriety of the posted speed limit was not the proximate cause of the accident because "[i]t is undisputed that Bell was not driving the posted speed limit, but far above it."

DISCUSSION

1. Standards Applicable to Summary Judgment

"A motion for summary judgment should be granted if the submitted papers show that ‘there is no triable issue as to any material fact,’ and that the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. [Citation.] A defendant moving for summary judgment meets his burden of showing that a cause of action has no merit if he shows that one or more elements of the cause of action cannot be established, or that there is a complete defense. [Citation.] Once the defendant has met that burden, the burden shifts to the plaintiff to show that a triable issue of material fact exists." ( Myers v. Trendwest Resorts, Inc. (2007) 148 Cal.App.4th 1403, 1409, 56 Cal.Rptr.3d 501.)

"There is a genuine issue of material fact if, and only if, the evidence would allow a reasonable trier of fact to find the underlying fact in favor of the party opposing the motion in accordance with the applicable standard of proof. Initially, the moving party bears a burden of production to make a prima facie showing of the nonexistence of any genuine issue of material fact. If he carries his burden...